Peshmerga ministry condemns Turkish minister’s denial of Kurdistan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Peshmerga ministry on Sunday condemned recent comments from Turkey’s defense minister denying the existence of the Kurdistan Region in a rare case of officials in Erbil publicly wading into Kurdish issues in its northern neighbor.
In a parliamentary meeting last week, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar interrupted an MP after they used the word Kurdistan. “There is no Kurdistan in Turkey or elsewhere,” Akar said, prompting a response from Garo Pylan, an MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
“Why? Doesn’t Iraqi Kurdistan exist?” Pylan asked in an exchange sent by HDP to Rudaw English.
Akar replied with “No.”
The Ministry of Peshmerga questioned the Turkish defense minister’s denial of a demographic and geographic reality, it said in a statement.
“The mentality of denying a nation or its geography has always been the source of problems and does not lead to anything good,” the ministry said, urging Akar to look at Ottoman history to know “whether Kurdistan exists or not.”
Much of the land inhabited by Kurds was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. After its dissolution a century ago, Western powers redrew the map of the Middle East and Kurdish lands were divided into modern day southeast Turkey, northern Iraq (the constitutionally recognized Kurdistan Region), western Iran, and northeast Syria (Rojava), which Kurds collectively call Greater Kurdistan.
Akar visited the Kurdistan Region in January of this year where he met with Kurdish leaders. He also visited Turkish troops based in the Region in May.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended usage of the word “Kurdistan” in September 2013 while he was prime minister, during the early months of a historic but short-lasting peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that fights for the right of Kurds and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.
Erdogan told journalists that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, had used the word Kurdistan around a century ago. “Is hero Mustafa Kemal a separatist for using this word?” he asked. “These are facts in our history. If we take the matter all the way to the Ottoman Empire, it is already very clear there.”
In recent years, however, use of the word “Kurdistan” has created controversy in Turkey. A Kurdish man was arrested for saying “Kurdistan” in late October. In 2017, HDP lawmaker Osman Baydemir was suspended from parliament for saying “Kurdistan” in the legislature.
In a parliamentary meeting last week, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar interrupted an MP after they used the word Kurdistan. “There is no Kurdistan in Turkey or elsewhere,” Akar said, prompting a response from Garo Pylan, an MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
“Why? Doesn’t Iraqi Kurdistan exist?” Pylan asked in an exchange sent by HDP to Rudaw English.
Akar replied with “No.”
The Ministry of Peshmerga questioned the Turkish defense minister’s denial of a demographic and geographic reality, it said in a statement.
“The mentality of denying a nation or its geography has always been the source of problems and does not lead to anything good,” the ministry said, urging Akar to look at Ottoman history to know “whether Kurdistan exists or not.”
Much of the land inhabited by Kurds was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. After its dissolution a century ago, Western powers redrew the map of the Middle East and Kurdish lands were divided into modern day southeast Turkey, northern Iraq (the constitutionally recognized Kurdistan Region), western Iran, and northeast Syria (Rojava), which Kurds collectively call Greater Kurdistan.
Akar visited the Kurdistan Region in January of this year where he met with Kurdish leaders. He also visited Turkish troops based in the Region in May.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended usage of the word “Kurdistan” in September 2013 while he was prime minister, during the early months of a historic but short-lasting peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that fights for the right of Kurds and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.
Erdogan told journalists that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, had used the word Kurdistan around a century ago. “Is hero Mustafa Kemal a separatist for using this word?” he asked. “These are facts in our history. If we take the matter all the way to the Ottoman Empire, it is already very clear there.”
In recent years, however, use of the word “Kurdistan” has created controversy in Turkey. A Kurdish man was arrested for saying “Kurdistan” in late October. In 2017, HDP lawmaker Osman Baydemir was suspended from parliament for saying “Kurdistan” in the legislature.