The Treaty of Sevres, Ataturk and the Kurds

[GreekMan]

The treaty of Sevres awarded the Kurds an autonomous Kurdistan.

What did Ataturk say or promise the Kurds to convince them to reject Sevres and fight the Greeks ?

What would be a better outcome than Sevres for the Kurds ?

From the Kurdish point of view, was this a Christian versus Muslim war ?

What promises to the Kurds did Ataturk break ?

(example : Ataturk promised not to abolish the Islamic Caliphate)

[Diri]

Welcome my Greek friend!

What did Ataturk say or promise the Kurds to convince them to reject Sevres and fight the Greeks ?

I have no real knowledge of this, yet - but what is likely is: The Kurds were promised more by Atatürk than what the Sèvres treaty promised... Sounds logical... I can however not think of what that might be... Perhaps larger area etc...

What would be a better outcome than Sevres for the Kurds ?

A better outcome? An independent Kurdistan - At the very LEAST this size:

From the Kurdish point of view, was this a Christian versus Muslim war ?

It is very unlikely... Because Kurds are not the most extreme when it comes to religion... And I believe the Turks might have tried that type of rhetoric to lure the Kurds - but in the end I think it was what was promised them that was the sole reason for their participation in the war - which by the way was more against England and France than against the Greeks...

What promises to the Kurds did Ataturk break ?

Perhaps he promised more lands, more wealth, more guns or just more empty lies...

But here we are then... Beraved and empty handed... Perhaps our main curse has always been our divided people??!!! - Because in no matter can one talk of "the Kurds" and suppose that they can all be put under the same category... That is not correct - both politically and socialy... The Kurds as a people - the only thing they have in "common" is like has been said before "common pain - common dreams"... MOSTLY... There are those traitor Kurds who have forsaken their roots...

But we can't talk of "was the war a Christian against Muslim war - for Kurds..." Because the Kurds have never been united under one rule and probably won't be before another 100 years...

So therefore it is unrealistic to talk of "the Kurds" as a united force with united goals and ambitions - when talking of the past... And even in some cases for today...

[GreekMan]

Thank you for your welcome, Diri.
I hope to contribute with interesting posts and discussions on this forum.

From http://home.cogeco.ca/~konuche/21-7-03-opinion-time-to-settle-kurdish-issue.html

Kemal had promised the Kurds extensive self-rule prerogatives if they helped him defeat the Greek invaders. The Kurds represent one third of Turkey's population, and they are the second largest national group. They live in their own regions, to the south of the country. The letters that were exchanged between Kemal and the Kurdish leaders before 1923, in addition to official documents regarding the recognition of Kurdish self-rule, are kept in the secret archives of Turkey.

Some were revealed in the early 1980s. Kemal withdrew from his promises and waged a fierce war against the Kurds. He destroyed many of their villages and executed over 40 of their leaders. Moreover, the Kemalist regime forced tens of thousands of Kurdish villagers to settle in the Western parts of Turkey.

I would love to know the content of these secret archives. What do Kurdish sources say ?

Did Ataturk promise a larger and independent Kurdistan ?

[Mosul]

the brits are the ones that screwed the kurds over

[Rumtaya]

What i want to say to this first world war and who did worked with who its very easy.


the kurds have been used for the plans of young turks and attatürk.
the assyrians have been used for the plans of brits and france all a big lie this war.


it was just who get the parts of oil my friends they didnt care about the poppulation of kurdistan of armenia, greece and assyrians.

we all have been used for the plans of the europeans assholes.
so lets learn from the past or we will do again the mistakes from it.

[Diri]

The question you are posing my greek friend is VERY interesting... DID he promise a larger and independent Kurdistan? And I too am very curious about the contents of those archives... Can it be that all the solutions to Kurdish problems can be solved through these archives? These must have been signed by Atatürk and the Kurdish leaders - which would support the legitimate claims of the Kurds...

But don't you think that the Turks might have burnt up these "secret" files??? In fear of being revealed to the outside world...?

And I am very curious - what is this "larger" Kurdistan? In e.g. how much larger than the one from the Sèvres treaty?