COOPERATE OR DIE

“Assume that five men who have acquired a rudimentary ability to speak and to understand each other happen to come together at a time when all of them suffer from hunger. The hunger of each will be satisfied by the fifth part of a stag, so they “agree” to cooperate in a project to trap one. But also the hunger of any of them will be satisfied by a hare, so, as a hare comes within reach, one of them grabs it. The defector obtains the means of satisfying his hunger but in doing so permits the stag to escape. His immediate interest prevails over consideration for his fellows.”(Rousseau, 234)

This example is very simple; however, its implications are vital. Today, the Kurdish people are mainly living in four parts of Kurdistan--in Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. In addition to these four countries we can also add a fifth category: the Kurds living in diaspora. As the example implies, the five hunters are the five parts of the lands in which the Kurds live. The stag is the freedom that all the Kurds are starving for and, finally, the hare is the short term benefits offered to Southern Kurdistan by the US in exchange for the freedom of all Kurdistan.

Ever since the British divided Kurdistan after World War I, its reunification has been made almost impossible by the policies implemented by its occupiers: Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The bottom line of all these policies is to use one Kurdish group against the other. Thus, a “Good Kurd-Bad Kurd” policy is implemented. Even though this policy was used by the occupying countries to balance their power in the region at first, globalization recently enabled the international implementation of this policy. The regional “Kurdish Question” became an international problem through the intervention of the EU, the US and the other major powers. The promises of a hare to Southern Kurdistan, however, exacerbated the hunger of all the Kurds living in the other parts and widened the gap between each, because the award promised by the US to the Southern leaders required the continuation of the “ Good Kurd-Bad Kurd” dilemma. The only way that Kurds can get their freedom is through cooperation among themselves and not by accepting any short term benefits only for the leadership of one part of Kurdistan.

Today, in general we can see two main movements for the Kurdish rights struggle. One is PKK and he other is the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). For more than two decades PKK has maintained an armed struggle for the basic rights of the all Kurds living in all parts of the Kurdistan through the “Democratic Confederalism” project. The hard core of this project aims at autonomous structures within the occupier countries’ borders. The KRG, on the other hand, only has the aim of maintaining the gains it has been granted by the US, and it does not have any political or ideological project for the other parts of the Kurdistan. Since the position the KRG gained was given by the US, in order not to risk its gain, the KRG strictly follows the policies dictated by the US. Thus, it is completely dependent on the US.

With the cooperation of Iran, Turkey, and Syria, the PKK has been labeled as a “terrorist” organization for demanding basic rights. In the occupying countries, those rights are not only denied the Kurds, but also Kurdish existence is not recognized (Even though Iran has recognized the existence of the Kurds within its borders, it strictly avoids granting any rights to them). Furthermore, Turkey has pressured the US and most of the European countries to accept the PKK as a terrorist group. For this purpose, Turkey bribed both the US and EU by pouring millions of dollars to lobbying groups and giving big stakes in business interests to the US and European countries. It used the geostrategic importance of its territory as a bargaining chip against the US. Thus, it made its anti-Kurdish lies recognized by these major powers and justified its Kurdish annihilation policies as a legitimate right of a “war on terrorists”.

Most of the PKK members are in Turkey, where a small number reside in “Mountain Qendil”, in the KRG’s Northern Iraq territory. For more than one year Turkey has pressured the US to allow it to make a cross-border operation against the PKK members in Qendil. According to Turkey, PKK fighters in Qendil cross the border and attack Turkish soldiers in Turkish territory. However, this claim is neither true nor innocent; Turkey’s intention is not only to attack the PKK in Qendil, but also to destabilize the KRG and destroy it, if possible. Turkey sees the KRG as a growing danger for its own integrity; it fears that autonomy in Southern Kurdistan might influence its own Kurdish population, which may lead to separatist movements among Turkey’s Kurds.

On November 5th, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visited the US president and made a deal with him. According to this deal, the US would provide intelligence to the Turkish army to use against PKK in Northern Iraq. In turn, Turkey would not conduct any comprehensive operation in the Kurdish territory in North Iraq. On December 16th fifty Turkish aircrafts bombed the Qendil region based on intelligence the US provided to Turkey. Turkish aircraft bombed more than a dozen villages in the Kurdish region, destroyed one school and a hospital, and killed five PKK members as well as two civilians. Since Turkey had permission from the US for these attacks, and since the Southern leaders were to obey US orders unconditionally, the leaders’ protest did not go beyond a weak grumbling.

Historically South Kurdistan’s leaders always depended on neighboring countries for maintaining their groups’ existence. For instance, Iran generally supported Talabani whereas the Baghdad government supported Barzani. For a period of time, Barzani’s KDP cooperated with Turkey against the PKK. The fact is both Kurdish factions were fighting against each other and the Kurdish people suffered. After the US invasion of Iraq, even though these two leaders appear to be united in order to profit by the gains granted by the US, today Turkey and the US are forcing them to have no relationship with the PKK and to shut down PKK camps and political offices in the Kurdish region. Furthermore, the KRG is expected to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group. The Southern Kurdish leaders are in a dilemma now: either condemn the PKK, label it as a “terrorist organization,” and maintain their current status for a while, or cooperate with the PKK and not allow other forces to play the “Good Kurd – Bad Kurd” game any more. If the KRG chooses the American-Turkish side, later on these two countries will come with new demands and force the KRG to do things it is not willing to do. The delay in the Kirkuk referendum, for instance, is a result of the compromise of the Barzani and Talabani. If they had taken a clear stand against American and Turkish demands for a delay, it is more than likely that the Kirkuk referendum would be held at the end of 2007.

Today, the Southern Kurdistan’s leaders must cooperate with the PKK. This is their historical responsibility. Why the Southern leaders? Because they are the only ones who can voice the demands of the Kurds in the international arena; they are considered the “Good Kurds” and they have opportunity to coordinate cooperation among Kurds living in places other than Southern Kurdistan. The Kurds in Northern, Eastern and Western Kurdistan are under severe pressure and are subject to physical and political annihilation. DTP, the pro-Kurdish party in Turkey, for instance, is under a political lynching campaign by both the Turkish political parties and the Turkish military. Another reason that the Southern leaders must take responsibility is that the policies of the US require the support of the Southern Kurds for the Greater Middle East project. For that reason, the Southern Kurdish leaders must be very careful in decision making. They must not put all their eggs in the same basket and be too optimistic that the US will be in the region forever. That is not true! Politics, and thus, the balance of power changes frequently, so they must seek the ways to secure all Kurdistan's general good, not only their own good. Besides, history and the recent air strikes of the Turkish air force in Southern Kurdistan clearly show how unreliable the US is with regard to keeping its promises. To make it clear, if the US is to choose Turkey or Southern Kurds, it will definitely choose Turkey. This was the first question the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan asked Bush in the meeting at the White House on November 5th . Bush made his choice. Who do you think he chose? The air strikes that began right after their meeting are clear indications of his decision, I think.

What should the Southern leaders do?
There are at least four vital points that the Southern leaders can do:

1) Create a common Kurdish National Policy,
2) Use oil contracts with Western countries as a card against them,
3) Found high quality universities to train the brightest youths from all over Kurdistan,
4) Use international media effectively,


1-Create a common Kurdish National Policy.

A common Kurdish National Policy is possible with a gathering of all the Kurdish parties to form guidelines for the policies that must be followed for the general good of all the Kurds. In that sense, primarily KDP, YNK, PKK, DTP and other, if any, Kurdish representatives must come together and make the whole world know that all the Kurds are united and will not let any power to crack their solidarity by using the “Good Kurd-Bad Kurd” dilemma.
The Kurdish National Policy must elaborate short- and long-term common political, economic, military, educational and cultural policies, such as the steps must be taken for democratic solution, the formation of a council that includes leaders from each part of Kurdistan, agreement on a common alphabet, a common Kurdish dialect for education, and the establishment of good ties with rising powers,such as China and Russia, thus, to coordinate the basket-egg calculation based on new power distribution.

2-Use oil contracts with Western countries as a card against them.

Kurdistan is an oil-rich region. Today the general US policy aims to control as many oil-rich regions of the world as possible, in order to control the growth of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization members--primarily China, which owes its growth to oil (Further information about declining US and rising China can be found in my previous posts Big Picture I, II, III). Several US oil contractors are in Iraq and pushing to legislate the Oil Law, which will give big stakes to US oil companies. Not surprisingly, many CEOs and board members of these companies are officials in the Bush administration.
The US and EU must be pressured primarily to recognize the Kurds' rights internationally and to stop supporting the lies created by the occupiers of Kurdistan; if they do not, their oil companies in Kurdistan should be shut down and the related agreements should be unilaterally terminated. Furthermore, the Southern Kurdish leaders must EXPLICITLY state that the Kurdistan Regional Government will seek new contracts with China if the US does not support the common policies of the Kurds. Additionally, the Southern Kurdish leadership must assure the US that American bases in Southern Kurdistan will be shut down if US support for Kurdish policies is found lacking.

3- Found high quality universities to train the brightest youths from all over Kurdistan.

As a part of the National Policy, the KRG must found special universities to serve for special needs. For that purpose, each part of Kurdistan must elect and send the brightest Kurdish students to such universities. Accommodation and other necessities of the students must be provided free of charge and scholarships must be available for such students. The best professors, Kurdish if possible, must be invited to teach in such universities. These universities must aim to train students in specific branches of knowledge, such as political science, to train future Kurdish leaders, or in economics, to train the best future economists, and the like. Some students must also sent to the best schools in other countries such as US, China, Russia and the EU countries for their further education and to become familiar with foreign cultures.

4-Use international media effectively
The Southern leaders must found TV channels in the US, EU, China and Russia, in order to spread the truth of the Kurdish Question. Primarily, Turkey and the other occupying countries use media to spread their lies internationally, misinforming people and playing the victim. For instance, Turkey has several TV channels, primarily in the US and the EU, which broadcast anti-Kurdish propaganda. Kurdish media must be founded in the diaspora countries for the purpose of attacking Turkish propaganda, and the propaganda of the other occupying countries, and tell people the truth of the Kurdish Question. Kurdish channels must broadcast in English, Kurdish and the formal language of each country.

To conclude, these times require the cooperation of the all the Kurds in order to survive. Thus the Southern leaders who had fought against each other, and against their own Kurdish brothers from Eastern and Northern Kurdistan in the past, must stop being a tool in the hand of the imperialist powers. They must take advantage of the positions they are given by the US to coordinate cooperation among all Kurdish people for the general good of all the parts of Kurdistan.

Southern leaders, look there! The hare is just in front of you... You have two options: either ignore the existence of the hare and cooperate with your brothers to hunt the stag for the benefit of all, or selfishly ignore the stag and chase the hare at the cost of losing the stag, thus leaving all your brothers in hunger. Even if you chase the hare, no one can guarantee that you will catch it; but if you cooperate with your brothers it is guaranteed that all will benefit.

1. Jean Jaques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses, trans. G.D.H Cole, Everyman's Library Edition ( New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1950); esp. Inequality, pp.234.