Martyrs, Traitors and Patriots: Kurdistan after the Gulf War

by Sheri Laizer

Overview

What has happened to the Kurds since their great uprising against Saddam and the tragic exodus to the safe havens? What factors condition the course of the continuing guerilla war in Kurdistan? What policies have Turkey, Iraq and Iran pursued to deal with the Kurdish people, the largest ethnic group devoid of nationhood in the world? Can the Kurds establish their own distinct political identity, on a par with their cultural distinctiveness, or are they condemned to endless internecine conflict and tribal rivalries?

These questions are answered in depth in Sheri Laizer's new book. Informed by frequent recent visits to the frontline areas, she provides the reader with a clear analysis of Kurdish realpolitik, focussing on the political practices of the PKK and the other major Kurdish groups.

The issues facing the Turkish parliament and army, the long-term strategies pursued by Iran and Iraq, and the evolution of Kurdish democratic institutions are brought to the fore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781856493963
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/05/1996
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Sheri Laizer is a writer, poet, and film researcher as well as a respected authority on Kurdistan and the Kurdish struggle. Her other works include Into Kurdistan: Frontiers Under Fire (Zed Books, 1991). She is a respected authority on Kurdistan and the Kurdish struggle.
Sheri Laizer is a writer, poet, and film researcher as well as a respected authority on Kurdistan and the Kurdish struggle. Her other works include Into Kurdistan: Frontiers Under Fire (Zed Books, 1991). She is a respected authority on Kurdistan and the Kurdish struggle.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface by Michael Ignatieff
Glossary
Abbreviations
 
Maps
1. Area of Kurdish population prior to explusions
2. Kurdish liberated zone after 1991
 
1. The Kurdish uprising
The heady days of the uprising: ‘Free Kurdistan’/ The Kurdish city of Dohuk/ The Ba’ath Party’s legacy: prisons, forts and torture chambers/ The end of the uprising/ The fall of Dohuk/ Flight to the mountains/ The Turkish border: Isikveren Camp/ ‘Operation Provide Comfort’
 
2. Kurdish realpolitik and the failed uprising
 
3. Summer of the ‘safe haven’
The PKK camps/ Turkish attacks on the ‘safe haven’/ Intimidation and murder within Turkey/ Iraqi government collaboration with the Kurds
 
4. Waiting in the cold
The UN, UNHCR and UN guards/ The UN’s winterisation plan/ Landmines and security of life/ Playing off the Kurds of Iraq against the Kurds of Turkey/ Poem to Qazi Mohammad
 
5. The fratricidal war
Background to internal divisions/ Birakuji – fratricidal war/ The sandwich operation/ Why war?/ After-effects of fratricidal war on the Kurdish people
 
6. The dirty war in Turkey
The PKK ceasefire/ Gagging Kurdish MPs and the Kurdish press/ The village guard system: the jash of Turkish Kurdistan/ State terror and death/ Arms and allies/ The death squards and Hizb-i Kontras/ Challenge to the Turkish constitution and penal code/ The PKK’s role/ The Kurdistan Socialist Party and the PKK: a new political era?/ Outline of the Kurdish political movement in Turkey 1960-85/ Summary of the Kurdish movement in Turkey in the 1990s/ Summary of economic issues and differing viewpoints in Turkey
 
7. Death by a thousand cuts: sabotage of the enclave
The Kurdish parliament in session/ UN sanctions and Saddam’s embargo/ State terrorism and sabotage/ Iranian-sponsored sabotage/ Kurdish partisans in Iran/ Within the ring of crocodile teeth
 
8. The war of the colours
The enemy within/ Sanctions and political turmoil/ Political suicide in south Kurdistan/ Background to internal war/ Summary of the main players in Iraqi Kurdistan/ Outbreak of war between the KDP and PUK/ Like caged birds
 
9. Turkey: only a military solution
Regional elections in Turkey: March 1994/ Big Brother is watching/ Kurds flee from Turkey into South Kurdistan/ The show-trial of the Kurdish MPs/ The flight of the DEP chair and MPs into exile/ The Kurdistan Parliament-in-Exile/ Turkey invades Iraqi Kurdistan: Newroz 1995/ US-sponsored peace talks screened by Turks/ Turkey’s ‘Special research report on the Eastern Problem’/ KDP: a legitimate target of the PKK?/ Chaos in the Turkish coalition government
 
10. Kurdish women: identity and purpose
Daughters in the family/ The widows of Barzan/ Sirwa’s narrative of the Halabja massacre/ Nazdar’s dream/ Amina: ‘government by rape and execution’/ Nermin and the guerrillas/ Karnveli Hill
 
11. The international community and the Kurdish question
Kurdish identity in the diaspora/ Arms to Turkey to fight ‘terrorism’/ Responses to Turkey’s invasion of northern Iraq/ Arms to Iraq/ Criminalisation of the Kurdish community in the West/ Kurdish unity: a threat to Western interests in the Middle East?/ A Kurdish revolution: MED TV/ Extract from Our Dilemma
 
Postscript: beyond fratricide? 1996
Abdullah Öcalan and the December 1995 ceasefires
 
Appendix
Seventy years of military rule in Kurdistan authorised by Turkish Law
 
Select bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

A comprehensive account of the troubles of the Kurds since the end of the Gulf War, it is enlivened by much vivid description, fruit of the author's many visits to Iraqi and Turkish Kurdistan.” —The Guardian

“One of the most knowledgeable contemporary writers about the Kurds. Her passion and commitment shine through this absorbing and rich book.” —Andrew Whiteley, former director of Middle East Watch

“Laizer's skilfull and sensitive discussion of the question of Kurdish women in society is particularly welcome.” —David McDowall, author of A Modern History of the Kurds

“If you care about the Kurds, please read this book. It is the most vivid, detailed, up-to-date and passionate account of their struggle.” —Michael Ignatieff

From the Publisher