Kurdification

Map of Iraqi Kurdistan

Kurdification is a cultural change in which something ethnically non-Kurdish is made to become Kurdish, usually in contexts of post-Saddam Iraq, in particular in relation to Assyrian Christians, Iraqi Turkmen, Shabak people and the ethno-religious group of the Yazidis.^[1][2][3][4] Kurds claim that Kurdification is used for the implementation of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution which ensured to restore the situation before Saddam Hussein's assimilation and deportation policies.

History

Kurdification has been an open policy of the KRG since 2003, according to Gareth Stansfield, a professor of Middle East politics at the University of Exeter.^[5]

Kurds have annexed Assyrian, Yazidi and Shabak villages which are now under Kurdish Control in North Iraq and in Turkey.^[6][7] In some towns, Assyrian politicians have been replaced with Kurdish ones.^[8] The entire Assyrian Triangle (between Greater Zab and the River Tigris) has been occupied by Kurdish intruders.^[9][10]

It is alleged that Kurds have clear plans for the annexation of the Nineveh Plains to the Kurdish occupation and they have always attempted to interrupt international protection for Assyrians in international forums.^[11] The Hareetz newspaper reported that the Kurds object to the establishment of a protected Christian enclave, because they want to annex the Nineveh Valley, most of whose residents are Christians.^[12][13]

Some Yazidis expressed concern over forced assimilation into Kurdish culture and identity. Some have accused the Kurdish parties of diverting US $12 million reconstruction funds allocated for Yazidi areas in Jebel Sinjar to a Kurdish village and marginalizing them politically.^[14] According to the Human Rights Watch, in 2009, "The goal of these tactics is to push Shabak and Yazidi communities to identify as ethnic Kurds. The Kurdish authorities are working hard to impose Kurdish identity on two of the most vulnerable minorities in Iraq, the Yazidis and the Shabaks".^[15]

Some sources have reported that, since 2003, there have been many cases of Yazidi women being abducted and forced to marry members of the Kurdish security force Asayish.^[16] However, the report was never confirmed by other organizations or authorities.

In addition to the Kurdish-speaking majority, there are significant Yazidi communities that speak Arabic as their native mother language.^[17] In 2002, at the request of a group of Yazidis led by Tamoyan, the Armenian parliament recognized the Yazidis as a separate ethnicity.^[18] The United Nations recognizes the Yazidis as a distinct ethnic group.^[19]

A quote from a lawyer Kuryo Meytap in an interview: "The policy of Kurdification is operated for decades. The Assyrian history is systematically distorted, many Assyrian villages still be kept busy, the names of the Assyrian cities and villages are specifically converted into Kurdish."^[20]

According to Hunain Qaddo, President of the Iraqi Minorities Council, Shabaks are currently undergoing a process of Kurdification.^[21]

On 15 August 2005, Shabaks organised a demonstration under the slogan "We are the Shabak, not the Kurds and not the Arabs", demanding recognition of their unique ethnic identity. The demonstration came under fire from Kurdistan Democratic Party militia.^[22]

On 21 August 2006, Shabak Democratic Party leader Hunain Qaddo, proposed the creation of a separate province within the borders of the Nineveh Plain, in order to combat the Kurdification and Arabization of Iraqi minorities.^[23]

In 2008, Mr Mirza Ismail, chairman of London Yezidis Community-Canada, accused the Kurdistan Regional Government of forcing Yazidis to register as Kurds, expanding Kurdish settlements in Yazidi regions, and forcing Yazidis out of Sinjar city.^[24]

In October 2015, Amnesty International said YPG had driven thousands of civilians from northern Syria and destroyed their homes in retaliation for perceived links to ISIL. Majority of the destroyed homes belonged to the Arabs, but also to Turkmens and Kurds.^[25] Turkish Daily Sabah claimed that Amnesty International has said that Kurdish PYD conducted ethnic cleansing against Turkmens and Arabs after seizing Tal Abyad.^[26] However, Amnesty International has published only one report about the Syrian Kurdish forces and it is related to destroying villages and homes, not ethnic cleansing at all.^[27] Arabs are also being displaced in previously mixed Kurdish-Arab villages in Iraq.^[28]

The minorities of Iraq have also founded parties to represent their people, for example: the Iraqi Turkmen Front, the Assyrian Patriotic Party, the Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress and the Shabak Democratic Assembly. They have also founded own militias to defend their villages, for example: the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, the Protection Force of Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains Brigade.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34]}

Flags of the ethnic and national minorities in Iraq

Assyrian Flag	Turkmen Flag	Shabak Flag	Yazidi Flag

See also

• Cultural assimilation
• Iraqi minorities
• Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq
• Iraqi Turkmen
• Yazidis in Armenia
• Shabak people
• Assyria
• Social exclusion

References

• A. Bazzaz, turkmen.nl "The Kurdification procedure was soon implemented by the Kurdish leadership after toppling Saddam down in April 2003"
• Park, Bill, The Kurds and post-Saddam political arrangements in Iraq The Adelphi Papers (2005), Taylor & Francis: "The Kurds, who are intent on the further ‘Kurdification’ of Kirkuk before any census is held"
• Park, Bill, Iraqi scenarios, The Adelphi Papers, Volume 45, Number 374, May 2005, pp. 49–66
• PKK Iran - Strategic Comments, 2004 - informaworld.com "recent months Turkish intelligence has begun to report Turcoman frustration with Ankara’s failure to prevent the increasing ‘Kurdification’ of northern Iraq"