The Kurdish Problem in Türkiye in Light of the Reports of the Iraqi Commission in Ankara (1940-1958)

Abstract

    The Kurdish problem is one of the ethnic problems that have emerged in modern and contemporary history. It is a problem shared by several countries, namely Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. However, it has taken on a significant role in Turkey, as it constitutes the basis for the spread of Kurdish nationalism in the regions adjacent to modern Turkey.

  The Turkish government's approach to the Kurdish problem during the period 1940-1958 was based on racism. Through this policy, the Kurdish people in Turkey were subjected to various forms of injustice. Nevertheless, the Turkish government attempted to put an end to the Kurdish problem so that it could end the Kurdish issue entirely.

   We chose this period in time for several reasons. 1940 marked the beginning of Iraqi diplomatic representation in Ankara, while 1958 marked the end of the monarchy and the beginning of republican rule in Iraq, ushering in a new phase in foreign policy between the two countries. Naturally, the research had to be divided into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The first chapter was titled (The Emergence of the Kurdish Issue after World War I, 1918 to 1940). The second chapter was titled (The Kurdish Problem in Turkey in Light of the Reports of the Iraqi Commission in Ankara, 1940-1946). This chapter was important in studying the Kurdish problem in Turkey, as it dealt in a focused manner with the results of the Turkish government’s policy toward the Kurdish problem in the period before and during World War II. The third chapter was titled (The Kurdish Problem in Turkey in Light of the Reports of the Iraqi Commission in Ankara, 1946-1958). The research also relied on other sources, the most important of which were translated books such as the book (Modern History of the Kurds) by David McDowell, which provided the research with valuable information about the nature of the Kurdish movement in Turkey, the reasons for its emergence, and the Turkish government’s treatment of it, in addition to university dissertations and theses, the most important of which was the master’s thesis of researcher Zanyar Hamad Muhammad, entitled (Turkish Policy Towards the Kurdish Issue in Turkey between 2002-2015).