III. DID KURDS EVER HAVE THEIR OWN STATE?

In the Preface to his book, Mehrdat Izady traces the origin of the Kurds back to 50,000 years ago.11 He presents the Kingdoms of Cappadocia, Commagen and Pontus in Anatolia as Kurdish.12 Izady admits that he has to reconstruct Kurdish history due to the lack of a distinctive Kurdish civilization and history.13 If such efforts to boost Kurdish national identity are set aside, the only state Kurds ever had was the Kurdish Republic in Mahabad founded in 1946 and lasted only for one year. The Republic was formed under the Soviet influence and not supported by Kurdish tribes in Iran.14 It was destroyed easily by the Teheran government since Soviet influence ceased to exist.

The Treaty of Sevres signed on August 10, 1920 but never put into effect is commented by pro-Kurdish circles as a great opportunity toward statehood. Article 64 of the Treaty stipulated as follows; "... If Kurdish peoples within the areas defined in Article 62 (Southeastern and some parts of Eastern Turkey) shall address themselves to the Council of the League of Nations in such a manner as to show that a majority of the population of these areas desires independence from Turkey, and if the Council then considers that these peoples are capable of such independence and recommends that it should be granted to them, Turkey hereby agrees to execute such a recommendation, and to renounce all rights and title over these areas.…" The Treaty of Sevres was imposed on the government in Istanbul by Allied Powers who won World War I and who by then occupied the city. The Treaty was never put into effect as occupying forces in Anatolia were expelled with the support of the Kurds under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The experience of Kurdish Republic in Mahabad and the Treaty of Sevres prove that initiatives to form a Kurdish state were taken not with local people’s demand but by outside powers that sought to gain influence in the Middle East. As already expressed above at the end of CHAPTER II, social realities compel people of Kurdish descent to share the common destiny of Turkey. Therefore, they should not be expected to sympathize with a separate Kurdish state or political entity.

11 Izady, The Kurds, p. XIII.

12 Izady, The Kurds, p. 36.

13 Izady, The Kurds, p. 23.

14 David McDowall, "Kürt Sorunu: Tarihsel Bir Bakış" [The Kurdish Question: A Historical Review] in Kürtler: Güncel Bir Araştırma [The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview], p. 27; Feresteh Koohi-Kamali, "İran Kürdistanı'nda Ulusçuluğun Gelişmesi" [The Development of Nationalism in Iranian Kurdistan] in Kürtler: Güncel Bir Araştırma [The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview], p. 183.