The US and the Kurds – from being welcomed to being rejected with stones
Today, history is being repeated against another indigenous population in the same part of the world: the Kurds.
By SORAN PALANIDisplaced Kurds stuck at a border after a Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria, wait to try cross to the Iraqi side, at the Semalka crossing, next Derik city, Syria, October 21, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/MUHAMMAD HAMED)
On October 9, President Donald Trump unexpectedly tweeted that US troops would be withdrawn from northern Syria – Rojava – a homeland to the Kurdish nation. Through Trump’s tweet, bloodthirsty Turkish sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan felt empowered and understood that he had been given the green light to carry out a massive genocide against a vulnerable nation.This genocide has long been planned and grandfathered in this century. Approximately 100 years ago, it was the ancestors of this same tyrant who carried out genocide against another nation indigenous to the region, the Armenians. Today, history is being repeated against another indigenous population in the same part of the world: the Kurds.A few days ago, while US troops, at the order of President Trump, were leaving Qamishli in Rojava toward Erbil in southern Kurdistan, we witnessed a strange incident; Kurds were stoning US troops. This incident reminded me of the fact that Americans were received with flowers by Kurds during the operation against Saddam Hussein’s regime only 15 years ago. However, it is very sad and sorrowful to see the relations between two important partners and allies become so damaged to the point where their common enemies can take advantage.Kurds and Americans have a long and complicated historical relation. Trump has stated that “the Kurds did not support the US in World War II.” This might have also been the reason that the US, in the time of secretary of state Henry Kissinger, betrayed the Kurds in the 1970s. Nevertheless, it is undoubtable that since the September 11 attacks, the Kurds have been a strong US ally in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East and around the globe.While the extremist and radical groups targeted, wounded and killed many US soldiers, the Kurds not only didn’t target Americans, but were doing their utmost to protect them. Despite the true support and protection that Kurds provided Americans, unfortunately, we are now witnessing a tragedy of a US administration betraying the Kurds and leaving them to be massacred by those who have always been an obstacle to the US fight against terrorism in the region.The Kurds have been fighting to protect their dignity and principles. Without the sacrifices of thousands of Kurdish lives, the region would have been in a more chaotic and unstable situation.It is a bitter truth that because we, the Kurds, are committed to our principles and values, we have a belief that others uphold similar values, and as a result we put our trust in them. Thus, while we sacrifice ourselves to protect our allies, they, on the other hand, betray and abandon us without a second thought.It is very painful to witness and live in an immoral era where the president of the most powerful state not only doesn’t appreciate the sacrifices of his country’s most loyal allies but accuses them of fighting for money.Today, in this world of political immorality, and in return for the sacrifices they have made, Kurds are being slaughtered and the world is in complete silence. This explains the fact that today’s world politics is based on selfish interests rather than morals and principles.Even though Kurds are facing genocide, they are guarding the prisons where ISIS fighters are being held to prevent them from escaping and reestablishing their caliphate.
FIVE YEARS ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop in the US as a guest from Kurdistan. The workshop subjects included an “Introduction to Human Rights and Democracy as Core US Values.”Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a rally in support of Rojava and against Trump’s decision to abandon the Kurds. I found it to be very sad to hear hundreds of people in the rally shouting “Shame on the USA.”Some demonstrators tried to convince others to change the slogan from “Shame on the USA” to “Shame on Trump,” as most still try to believe that it was solely Trump’s decision to abandon the Kurds, not the American people’s. We are still hopeful and believe that the vast majority of Americans, including well-known politicians such as Sen. Lindsay Graham and his colleagues, still believe and are doing everything possible to amend Trump’s decision and protect Kurds from being massacred by Turkey.Without a doubt, there will come a day when the world will apologize to the Kurds for causing them to face this massacre and genocide, as they have done for allowing the Armenians, the Jews and indigenous people of Canada to go through similar sufferings.Despite being disappointed and betrayed by the world, the Kurds remain steadfast in carrying on the struggle for peace and coexistence.Soran Palani is a Middle East political analyst and a former lecturer on constitutional law in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Koya University in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Twitter: @soranpalani1
