See the entire work at http://www.humanrights.de/~kurdweb/kwd/english/history/articles-his/his-articles-01.html Kurdish Tribes and the State of Iran: The Case of Simko’s Revolt By Martin van Bruinessen Their pretext is independence and their war cry is ‘Ashirat’, the Kurdish equivalent for Bolsheviki..." [An American eye-witness on Simko’s Kurds] Introduction Kurdish tribes (ashiret) have on several occasions played important roles in Iran’sn politics, both internal and foreign. The Kurds constitute one of Iran’s major ethnic groups, even though only a minority of all Kurds (some 3.5 millions out of an estimated 14 millions) live within the borders of Iran. During the past centuries the state of Iran has dealt directly and overtly with only a small fraction of the important Kurdish tribes. Covert contact with Kurdish tribes across the political border has, however, always been an ingredient of Iran’s foreign politics. The most recent and probably best-known instance of this was Iran’s massive support to the Kurdish insurgents in Iraq in the late 1960s and early 1970s which ended so dramatically in 1975. Iran was, however, not the only state, nor the most important one, to have an impact on the Kurdish tribes and on the political process in Kurdistan. Since the early sixteenth century most of Kurdistan had been incorporated in the Ottoman Empire, while during the past century and a half the impact of the great Powers can hardly be overestimated. The social and political organisation of Kurdistan, the very nature of the Kurdish tribes, underwent great changes as a result of contacts with all these states. The impact of the Kurdish tribes on these states was less dramatic: the Kurds themselves have always been quite marginal to their interests. The main threat that the Kurds posed to the states in which they lived was that of secession and/or collaboration with rival powers. (The term ‘bolsheviki’ in the quotation at the beginning of this chapter, though nonsensical, appealed to ever-present apprehensions). It was especially in connection with Kurdish nationalism and aspirations for independence that Kurdish tribes affected the state in more than one sense: the centralising and authoritarian tendencies of Kemalist Turkey and Pahlavi Iran were strengthened in reaction to Kurdish separatism. This chapter consists of two parts. In the first some general observations are made on the evolution of the social and political organisation of Kurdistan since 1800 under the impact of the states mentioned. These general remarks are then illustrated by a more detailed study of a case where Kurdish tribes challenged the Iranian state: the rebellion led by Simko in the 1920s. -- Mine Aysen Doyran PhD Student Department of Political Science SUNY at Albany Nelson A. Rockefeller College 135 Western Ave.; Milne 102 Albany, NY 12222 ____________NetZero Free Internet Access and Email_________ Download Now http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html Request a CDROM 1-800-333-3633 ___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
