From: han@anadolu.michigan.com (hasan.b.mutlu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish,talk.politics.mideast,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.soviet,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.german
Subject: 'An Aryan Kurd' - Revisited: Turcophobia As A Variation On Liberalism.
Date: 7 Apr 92 04:41:00 GMT


<ktqsrjINNhmj@aludra.usc.edu>
madjdsad@aludra.usc.edu (Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi)

>The plus sign indicates that the exact populations are not known, not that
>there are inflated numbers.  I also believe that you wished to find other
>sources which I could photocopy and send to individuals.  I, myself, have
>my own estimates which are given below (the figures are ranges representing
>what I have considered to be the upper and lower limits of the Kurdish 
>population in the country being studied and comes from an examination of
>close to a hundred estimates of populations):
>Kurds in Turkey : 10 million to 12.5 million (estimate above probably close
>                  to correct)

I am at a loss to figure out what you are referring to here. I would
be interested in knowing the Turkish source of the above information.
I find this ridiculous information to be rather controversial, to 
put it mildly. In fact, I'd rather call it more a propagandist gesture
than a thoughtful political act. While we are at, though, did you
know that Turks are either a majority or the second largest ethnic
group in many Northern Iraq provinces? For example, there are 
450,000 Turks in Musul (40% of population); 215,000 in Erbil (35%);
400,000 in Kerkuk (75%); 300,000 in Selahattin (60%); and 220,000
in Diyala Province (33%). There are a total of 2.5 million Turks
in Iraq, compared to 3 million Kurds. Yet Germany, which mobilized
all its resources for the PKK, does not yet even acknowledge the
existence of Turks in Iraq. 

>As you can see, my own estimates differ from those of other groups.  I did
>not send this information up because it represents my own estimates based
>on a variety of sources.  Every source has a different number set.  In
>general, the Kurdish population is estimated at between 25 and 30 million
>in total.  The problem is dividing the numbers up.  The Kurdish population
>is not known for respecting national borders, making an accurate count
>particularly difficult.  As you can see, I believe that the actual numbers

Let me further improve this one for you, then. Had the Sevres Treaty
been implemented, the fate of the Kurds would have been far worse 
than under the Turkish Republic. Having concluded that the Kurds
could not govern themselves within the interest of the West, the
British advised long ago that a Kurdish mandate would be necessary
and that 'the Kurds would be ruled by force.' (Foreign Office 424/106).
Given that the Kurdish insurgency in Turkiye has taken tens of
thousands of innocent Turkish lives over the century, one can
legitimately question whether under Western colonial methods
the Kurds might have been subjected to some form of apartheid.
In contrast, under Turkish rule, the Kurds enjoyed economic 
equality and equal status as Turkish citizens united under one
nation for the well-being of the Turkish Republic.

Hasan B-) Mutlu

                     'Kill Turks and Kurds wherever you find them 
                      and in whatever circumstances you find them. 
                      Turkish children also should be killed as 
                      they form a danger to the Armenian nation.' 
                                     (Hamparsum Boyadjian - 1914)

Xref: sparky soc.culture.turkish:4245 talk.politics.mideast:10813 talk.politics.soviet:3435 soc.culture.soviet:3090 soc.culture.greek:3328 soc.culture.europe:3779 soc.history:3616 soc.culture.german:3064