Webinar: Washington Between a Turkish State Problem and a Kurdish Solution
Welcome to the Dr. Najmaldin Karim webinar series hosted by the Washington Kurdish Institute (WKI). For those who don’t know me, my name is Sierwan Najmaldin Karim, President of the Institute. I would like to start by thanking all of our distinguished speakers, and viewers for joining us.
Our discussion today will focus on: Turkey’s war against the Kurds, the United States’ Kurdish policy (or lack there-of), and US – Turkey relations.
We will hear from: Ambassador Peter Galbraith, Ms. Zainab Sohrab, Dr. Henri Barkey, Ms. Nilüfer Koç and Mr. Hiwa Osman.
When our Institute was founded 25 years ago, the term Turkish occupied Kurdistan would have referred to northern Kurdistan. However, today, Turkey occupies not only northern Kurdistan but also parts of western Kurdistan, or Rojava, in Syria, and areas in southern Kurdistan, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Within Turkey’s own borders, President Erdogan and his government continue oppressing Kurds through arrests, torture and the imprisonment of thousands including political opponents.
In Western Kurdistan, or Rojava, in Syria, local population has been subject to forced displacement, detention, extortion, kidnapping and murder.
Since the 2018 Turkish occupation of Afrin, the Kurdish population has gone from over 95% to less than 25%, with hundreds of thousands of Turkmen and Arabs settlers being brought to the area to occupy Kurdish homes.
In Southern Kurdistan, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Civilians have been killed by Turkish airstrikes, churches have been hit by airstrikes and the inhabitants of dozens of Kurdish and Christian villages have been displaced due to the ongoing bombardment.
President Erdogan is open with his intentions, and after nearly two decades in power he knows that a lack of response to his threats can be interpreted as a green light. Just days ago, he threatened to “clean up” the UN recognized refugee camp in Makhmour, and he followed up on this threat with unprovoked air strikes against the camp, resulting in the loss of innocent lives.
Turkey’s latest invasion of southern Kurdistan is a major threat to the existence of the KRG, which is the only recognized entity the Kurds enjoy after decades of fighting for freedom. All Kurds must be united against these threats in order to protect Kurdistan and its people at all costs.
At this critical time with another large-scale Turkish military campaign in southern Kurdistan underway, we are pleased to welcome our friends from the Kurdistan National Congress and our other distinguished speakers to discuss the regional and global consequences and policy ramifications of Turkey’s war against the Kurds and also to discuss possible policy approaches for Washington.