Bzhwen Ali

Do the Kurds have allies?

Pre World War One

I. Russo – Turkish War

• 1875 Bosnia & Herzegovina rose up and revolted against Muslim taxes.

- led to the rise of Serbs and Bulgarians.

- Turks made Bulgarians an example and crushed them .

• 1876 Russia joined with the Serbs and Bulgarians.

- could not declare war because of the “ Three Emperors League”

II. Rise of the Young Turks

• Wanted to force Turkey into modern era.

• Against monarchy of the Ottoman Sultans and favored constitution.

• 1908 came to power in a bloody revolution.

Armenian Genocide - Part one

I. 1860 – 70’s: Armenians appeal to Istanbul for more rights.

II. After Russo-Turkish War:

- Armenians look to Russia as a protector.

III. Oct 1, 1895: Hamidian Massacre

- 100,000 – 300,000 Armenians were slaughtered.

IV. April 1909: Adana Massacre

- Armenians supported Young Turks.

- Christian Armenians supported the coup against Sultan Hamid II.

- Sultan’s followers massacred 30,000 Armenians.

World War One

I. Side Reasons for WWI:

- Nationalism

- Imperialism

- Alliances

II. Main Reason: Assassination of Franz Ferdinand 1914

World War One

 I. Powers

1- Allied Powers: United Kingdoms, France, Russian Empire, Belgium, Serbia, Italy, Japan,
. Greece, and Romania.

2- Central Powers: German Empire, Austro Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Kingdom of
. Bulgaria

II. First Attacks (1914)

• Austro-Hungaria declare war on Serbia.

• Germany declares war on Russia.

• Germany declares war on France.

• Britain declares war on Germany.

• Austro-Hungaria declares war on Russia.

• Serbia declares war on Germany.

Armenian Genocide – Part two

I. Massacre in WWI

A. Armenians sided with Russia.

B. Turkish government decides to persecute Armenian population.

II. 1915 – 1917

A. Deported the Armenians to the Syrian deserts.

B. Massacre:

• 1 to 1.6 million Assyrians died.

• Starvation and dehydration.

• Doctors experiment on their children.

• Burned villages.

III. World’s Reaction:

A. Kurds were involved.

B. No country tried to stop it.

Ottoman Empire & WWI

I. Allied with Central Powers

 • 1914 signed Turco- German Alliance.

• Russo-Turkish war.

• Germany wanted Ottoman Empire b/c they wanted support from Romania and Bulgaria .

• Germany was a winner in previous wars.

II. Entered WWI on Oct, 28, 1914

• Bombed Russian Black Sea Ports

III. Sick Man of Europe

 Military weak compared to enemies.

 In huge debt.

 Neighbors wanted them dead.

 Sense of nationality was lost under the Ottoman Empire.

 Tried to copy Europe but failed b/c neighboring attacks.

 Lost almost all lands to France, Great Britain, and Russia.

 Left with a small a small region in central and northern Anatolia.

Treaty of Sevres 1920

• Abolished Turkish sovereignty.

• Rejected by Turkish Republican Movement.

• Used by Ata Turk to replace monarchy in Constantinople to a republic in Ankara.

• Granted autonomy to Kurdistan.

• Allied Power Divided Ottoman Empire

-English, French, Italians, Greek, Arabs

• Ottoman Empire was restricted to a strength of 50,000 men.

Treaty of Sevres 1920

• Abolished Turkish sovereignty.

 • Rejected by Turkish Republican Movement.

• Used by Ata Turk to replace monarchy in Constantinople to a republic in Ankara.

• Granted autonomy to Kurdistan.

• Allied Power Divided Ottoman Empire

-English, French, Italians, Greek, Arabs

• Ottoman Empire was restricted to a strength of 50,000 men.

Turkish War of Independence 1919 – 1923

I. Mustafa Kemal Pasha

A. Kemalism/ Atatürkism

- Principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey.

- Grand National Assembly

B. War of Independence

- Turkish national movement vs. Ottoman Empire .

- Located in Ankara.

- Result: - Sultan and his family were exiled.

- Turkish people all united and confronted their problems.

- Islam all over the world were against Kemel’s ideas b/c he made rules
. inferior to the laws of God.

C. Formation of new government

- Accomplishments: - Women’s school and rights.

- Liberal Government .

- Nationalist.

- Conducted secrete diplomatic negotiations with Germans.

Treaty of Lausanne 1922 - 1923

• Recognized boundaries of Modern Turkey.

 • Outdated the Treaty of Sevres.

• Delimited the borders of Iraq, Syria, Turkey

• Turkey recovered full sovereign rights over all its territory.

• No limitation was imposed on the Turkey’s military establishments or finances.

• Turkey “gave” minority rights.

• Demands on autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and were dropped.

Kurds and their Alliances

I. Kurds find alliances

- Agreement between France, GB, and Czar Russia.

- Russia needed Kurdish cooperation.

- Russia promised Kurds security during the war.

- Results:

-Young Turks deported Kurds from Djabachdjur, Palu, Musch, Erzurum, and Bitlis.

- Around 300,000 Kurds were forced to move southward to Urfa, and then westward to Aintab
. and Marasch.

- 1917 Kurds moved to Konia region in central Anatolia.

II. Kurds forgotten by their alliance.

- Russia left Kurds because of Bolshevik Revolution.

III. Kurds find new alliances

- Ataturk promised Kurdistan autonomy.

Back Stabbing Turks

I. Turkey making promises:

 A. Ataturk promises Kurdistan autonomy.

B. Promise is broken after he gains political control.

- Kurdish nation considered a threat.

- Turkish leaders wanted to eliminate Kurds by deporting them from their ancestral lands and
. dividing them into small pockets of exiled communities.

II. Destruction of Kurdish Nationalism

A. Material Law on Kurds

- Abolished Kurdish school, language, music, and flag.

B. Kurds were titled as “Mountain Turks” from Eastern Anatolia.

After WWI in Kurdistan

• Kemal Ata Turk prevented Kurdish autonomy that was promised by Treaty of Severs.

• 1927: Kurds declared independence and established Republic of Ararat.

• 1922 – 1924: Kingdom of Kurdistan was built in Iraq.

• 1920 – 1930: Iran & Turkey refused autonomy for Kurdistan.

• 1920’s – 1930’s: Kurdish revolts: most important

1- 1925: Saikh Said Rebellion.

2- 1930: Ararat Revolt.

3- 1938: Dersim Revolt.

• Following these rebellions, the area of Turkish Kurdistan was put under material law and a
large number of Kurds were displaced.

• By the end of WWI more than 700,000 Kurds were deported.

RESULT

I. Politics is all self interest.

II. Kurdistan

• Kurds form about 18% of modern Turkey.

• Kurds form largest minority group in Turkey.

• Kurds are alone.

• Kurds were/are never united.