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Genocide 1915 - Hypocrisy
as a Cornerstone of the Kurdish Narrative
by Abdulmesih BarAbraham,
Germany May, 2006
I much
appreciated Nuri Kino’s guest editorial appearing
in the May 6, 2006
issue of
Zinda Magazine, and his perceptive comments about Kurdish
selective amnesia. Nuri draws from personal encounters in Sweden
(where he currently lives), and other exchanges in the course of his
travels to Hasno Kifo (Hasankeyf, in Tur Abdin) the home of his
ancestors.
One could view
these fleeting portrayals as interesting anecdotes to be relegated
to the filing drawer. But to do so would be a mistake. Mr. Kino’s
observations, illustrated by the comments of Kurdish figures (both
in Sweden and in eastern Turkey), are a sad reminder of the
centuries-long intransigent mindset of many Kurds towards their
neighbors, such as the Assyrians (including Syrians or Chaldeans).
Assyrians in
Hasno Kifo were indeed among the first wave to be annihilated in the
Western region of Tur Abdin during the 1915 Genocide. Before the
sword fell on them, they witnessed the horror of the killings of the
Christians in Diyarbekir and other cities of the region. Gallo Shabo,
whose report is soon to be published among other eyewitness reports
by Jan Beth Sawoce of Nsibin Publishing, was a prominent Assyrian
figure and fighter during 1915 in Tur Abdin. He relays us the
following first-hand account obtained from eyewitnesses:
“While we
were sitting on the banks of the river Tigris, we witnessed how
groups of respectable figures were transported by small boats. One
of the guards accompanying the groups was seen taking the gold, the
money and even the clothes of the doomed men before he and the
others shot them dead. The guard was called ´Amar [Omar] son to ´Ali
Rammo [Kurdish tribe leader] and Perikhane [his mother]. This
ignoble guard did not have any scruples whatsoever robbing and
killing the Christians.”
“The corpses
were disposed of in the river Tigris. The Christians in Hasno Kefo [Hasankeyf]
saw the corpses floating on the surface of the river and began to
fear for their safety. In spite of all these atrocities the
Christians could not believe that genocide would occur on that large
scale. There was a kind of tacit belief that these atrocities were
directed to some categories of Christians. But the renewed killings
indicated that the Turks were aiming at getting rid of all the
Christians. The Kurds were a willing ally to the Turks in their
despicable pursuits.”
Other reports
indicate that after the Kurds killed the Christians of Hasno Kifo in
1915 – apparently including among them the relatives of Nuri Kino -
the Mukhtar of the village and his men lusted for still more
Christian blood. Led by the Mukhtar, they answered further Jihad
calls and moved on to participate in the siege of ‘Iwardo near
Midyat a few months later. From an elevated position the Mukhtar was
able to shoot at and kill more Christians, until a commando of three
Assyrian men went after him and killed him. One of the three men was
Musa Qashro (Abraham) – the Grandfather of my mother.
Nuri Kino’s
description of Baksi Kurdo seems to fit the stereotype of many
Kurdish intellectuals. In Sweden, his current home, Mr. Kurdo seems
to present himself as someone highly committed to Western-style
democracy, and one who treasures human rights. But on closer
scrutiny, his comments offer a different picture. One has to
conclude that Mr. Kurdo is either an uneducated person or, more
likely, someone hopelessly afflicted with the virus of extreme
nationalism. Nuri Kino’s essay is well-presented, but the facts he
recounts are by no means unique. I believe that many Assyrians in
Europe and elsewhere can attest to similar encounters such as those
Mr. Kino has shared with us. In over three decades of activism
representing and speaking for Assyrian organizations in Central
Europe, personally I had the sad opportunity of many such
encounters.
In October 2005
the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Potznan/Poland
organized an international academic conference on “Non-Moslem
Minorities of Iraq: History, Culture, Problems of Survival”. Some of
the scholarly presentations during this two-day conference concerned
the ChaldoAssyrians. In one presentation, a PhD student from the
University referred to the role of the Kurds in the Semile Massacre
of August 1933. Another speaker addressed current human right
violations by Kurds in eastern Turkey and Iraq. I spoke myself on
the current situation of Assyrians (“including Syrians or Chaldeans in
Post-Saddam Iraq – Between Hope and Fear”), making it a point to
discuss the fraudulent actions of Kurds in the recent elections in
Iraq, while pointing to the problem of the occupied Assyrian
villages in North Iraq.
The reaction of
some of the Kurdish attendees at the conference was regrettable,
though not surprising. The bill of particulars aimed at Kurdish
mistreatment of minorities in their midst certainly raise doubt on
the general image of the Kurds as innocent angels who have done no
harm to others, and who invoke a virtual monopoly on the role of the
most victimized people in the Middle East. While showing no sign of
apology or remorse, these Kurdish attendees started attacking the
speakers and the organizers of the conference, questioning sources
of the presenters in an aggressive partisan style rather than in a
scholarly dispute.
Extreme
nationalism undermines the very pluralism and the diversity that
ought to be prized at all strata of Middle Eastern society – whether
cities, communities, or states. The ills of extreme nationalism
exist today in various corners of the globe, but they certainly
exist in extreme form in Turkey and Iraq. In both of these
countries, the Kurds are not only victims, but they are also a
serious part of the problem. According to Rolf Ekeus, the former
High Commissioner of OSCE, “extreme nationalism arises when the
‘fetish’ of nation overtakes all other considerations…such
nationalistic narcissism too often spawns chauvinistic policies that
provoke fear and hatred in others”.
It is apparent
that Kurdish nationalism became more virulent in the face of extreme
Turkish chauvinism which, until recent times, denied the very
existence of non-Turkish people in Anatolia (for example, referring
to Kurds as “mountain Turks”). In more ways than one, we see Kurdish
nationalism adapting characteristics similar to those of the monster
it was combating (for example, referring to them as Christians only
or even ‘Kurdish Christians’). It can even be argued that unlike the
Turks, Kurdish society appears more receptive to intolerant Islamic
concepts. The emergence of Kurdish nationalism has negatively
impacted the Assyrians in a similar way as Kurds felt under Turks
and Arabs. In other words, the existence of Assyrians is threatened,
their basic rights are trivialized or denied, their land is grabbed
or occupied, and their history is falsified.
Kurdish
intellectuals consciously or unconsciously repeat misstatements for
which they were criticizing Turkish, Iraqi, and Persian
intellectuals since the 1970s. The latter were very
internationalist, though ignorant of the minorities in their
backyard. From an Assyrian perspective Kurdish intellectuals behave
in the same way today. Manifestation of chauvinism among the Kurdish
intelligentsia (particularly in Turkey) is very much linked to the
problem of denial of the Kurds’ role in the Genocide of 1915, side
by side with the Ottoman State. The Kurds lament Turkey’s failure to
acknowledge the Genocide, while at the same time the Kurds
themselves are consistent deniers of the Kurdish role in the same
bloodshed. In other words, a classic case of the pot calling the
kettle black.
The Kurds
should stop denying their role in the perpetration of the 1915
genocide. Moreover, today’s Kurdish intellectuals reveal appalling
insensitivity concerning the continued discrimination towards
minorities such as Assyrians, repeated violations of minority rights
in Kurdish populated areas of Turkey and Iraq. We can only hope that
one day soon they will confront their conscience. |