Welcoming separatism -- cautiously
Kurds should
break the taboo and welcome separatism as the most appropriate
alternative at this stage
February 9, 2005
iranian.com
Recently the media has been talking about Iran as another potential
war zone. Some might wonder what the role of the Kurds would be
in such a situation.
Foremost, I hope and assume that because of being the victims
of genocide, war, and abuse, the Kurds wish that no one goes through
their bitter experience!
A quarter of a century ago hopeful Iranian
youths were receiving loaded messages from different political
groups. The ruling monarchists and the oppressed clergies were
calling
each other puppets of the West. They both were calling the
left, agents of the East (communists), and liberals,
the agents of the wind. Meanwhile the left and right were calling
the oppressed-but-assertive Kurds "treacherous separatists" and
welcomed
their suppression with all means. Above all every social, political,
and economic problem was attributed
to the influence of an external factor, America, the "Great
Satan".
The ultimate winners were the clergy who mobilized
fundamentalists. Under the influence of propaganda, some
Iranians conformed to the power of force, some lost their lives,
some
lost their hope and found refuge in addiction, and some found
hope
in
migrating to a foreign land.
Since then, fundamentalists have further stirred up the Middle
East, spread their ideas to other countries, murdered many who
had found refuge in the free world, and created a competition for
violence to the point that one of its factions destroyed the World
Trade Center in a city that symbolizes freedom, tolerance, and
prosperity!
 Surprisingly, the "Great Satan" still
trusts the fundamentalists in their new Mecca, the artificial
Iraq, and follows their lead. But at the same time, America ignores
the plight
of the Kurds, who have been described by some of those fundamentalists
as "Satan worshipers".
It seems the US is afraid
of losing the support of some of its allies, who look at the Kurds
the way
the Nazis looked at Jews or the Ku Klux Klan looks at
blacks. Likely it is based on such fear that the current U.S. Secretary
of the
State and her predecessor, who should know the history of second
class citizens, assure the status of the dominant groups in the
Middle East. They both seem to ignore the plight of the Kurds to
the point of avoiding words such as "Kurds" or "Kurdistan" in their
vocabulary,
in the name of unity.
Since unity suggests a higher stage of development, any establishment
considers separatism as taboo or something undesirable. There
is not much indication that the Third World is at such stage
of
development
to value and respect equality yet.
Considering the lack of conscience and underdeveloped mind
of many leaders of the opposing groups, the Kurds should
break the taboo and welcome separatism as the most appropriate
alternative at this stage.
An imbalanced unity can cause separatism by developed separate
entities who could unite as well. Since Iraqi Kurds have passed
through the initial developmental stage of statehood and might
not be betrayed
by the US at this time, they should claim their independence now
and help other parts of Kurdistan to go through similar stages.
 As for
Iranian Kurds, who have much in common with other Iranian
ethic groups, the most appropriate peaceful step now is likely
to keep
a cautious balance between remaining within Iran and developing
close ties with other Kurds until the public is ready to accept
a democratic referendum for independence vs. federalism in Iran!
About
Kamal H. Artin, MD, is from the Kurdish-American
Education Society in Orange County, California.
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