12.03.2014 Views

Kurdistan and The Kurds A Divided Homeland and a Nation without ...

Kurdistan and The Kurds A Divided Homeland and a Nation without ...

Kurdistan and The Kurds A Divided Homeland and a Nation without ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Necessary Words<br />

<strong>The</strong> Kurdish Question is that of a persecuted people<br />

aiming at forming an independent nation <strong>and</strong> lifting the<br />

rule of persecution <strong>and</strong> social injustice. <strong>The</strong> Kurdish<br />

Question has existed since the beginning of the nineteenth<br />

century <strong>and</strong> has, at different stages, occupied the forefront<br />

of events in the Middle East. It remains one of the earliest<br />

national questions in the region <strong>without</strong> a resolution to<br />

date due to its complexity <strong>and</strong> numerous external factors.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se are crude oil, strategic geographic position, water<br />

supply, in addition to <strong>Kurdistan</strong> being divided between<br />

five countries <strong>and</strong> political units (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria<br />

<strong>and</strong> the Former Soviet Union). <strong>The</strong> break-up of the Soviet<br />

Union has further divided our <strong>Kurdistan</strong> into two parts,<br />

the first bordering the Republic of Armenia <strong>and</strong> the second<br />

the Republic of Azerbaijan.<br />

That is why the issues involving the identity of the<br />

Kurdish people <strong>and</strong> its particularity had to be dealt with<br />

in this book as a realistic background for the right of the<br />

Kurdish people to build their own united <strong>and</strong> independent<br />

nation state. In explaining the roots of the Kurdish<br />

Question, the issues that take up much of the space in<br />

this book are the geography of <strong>Kurdistan</strong>, the history of<br />

the Kurdish people, its cultural <strong>and</strong> intellectual<br />

characteristics <strong>and</strong> its political inclinations. Consequently,<br />

we can identify the factors that have contributed in<br />

preventing the social, economic <strong>and</strong> political development<br />

of <strong>Kurdistan</strong> <strong>and</strong> its national liberation objectively <strong>and</strong><br />

subjectively, as well as the role of tribal leaders, thinkers<br />

<strong>and</strong> scientists in this.<br />

- 17 -

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!