The Kurdish question has been a major issue since the beginning of the Iraqi invasion. It has posed a problem for the occupying imperialist coalition. When George Bush accused Saddam Hussein of mass murder or genocide against his own people, he meant the Kurds. Certainly, the Kurds were victims of Saddam�s ruthless rule. Bush used their liberation as part of his rationalisation for the conquest of the whole of Iraq. Of all the ethnic groupings present in Iraq, the Kurds have been the most wholehearted supporters. Saddam�s treatment of the Kurds has been a key rationalisation for those who consider themselves �left� or �progressive� and supported the war.
As the invasion was being prepared, Turkey put its foot down. In no way would it support an independent Kurdistan, breaking free from Iraq. The US and Coalition partners kowtowed and promised there would be no independent Kurdistan.
There isn�t a Kurdish state. However, there is an area where Kurdish people have quite a degree of freedom and local autonomy. Turkey finds this a threat as it shows what potentially can be achieved and might inspire Kurds within Turkey. The Kurds in Iraq are also in solidarity with those over the border. They support the freedom fighters that Turkey dismisses as terrorists. Turkey feels that it cannot tolerate this and is threatening to invade. Such an invasion could have massive consequences.
The Kurdish question was created by the imperialists. They drew up the borders and with a stroke of the pen the Kurdish nation (of over ten million people) ceased to exist. Divided between Turkey and Iraq, the Kurds have had to fight two wars simultaneously, against both countries. Their cause is just. Kurdistan has its own distinct language and culture, so it should be recognised as a nation. Revolutionary communists must fight for its right of self-determination. The imperialists only talk about self-determination, hypocritically, the bourgeois nationalists of Turkey and Iraq, not at all.
Imperialism raised the issue of Saddam�s treatment of the Kurds to rationalise invading Iraq. For decades the U.S. blocked with Saddam and Turkey supporting their bloody suppression. This suppression continues to this very day in Turkey. The threat of invasion is now threatening to increase oil prices. This makes the imperialists nervous. They should also be worried about a Turkish-Kurdish war which could develop into a Turkish-Iraqi war. This might find the U.S.-dominated coalition either forced to withdraw or fight Turkey.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has just completed discussions with Turkey. She concluded that the Kurdish question is not just an issue for Turkey but an issue for both the USA and Iraq as well. She now appears to be backing Turkey in branding the Kurds as terrorists. What she is conveying is that the Kurds not only have Turkey to deal with but the Coalition and the Iraqis as well. So it is right for Turkey but wrong for Saddam to fight the Kurds. The Kurds find themselves under attack from both sides. The limited respite they received after the invasion is now over.