By Fianna Verret
Adjunct Instructor, International Relations at American Public University
In the past several months, conflicts in Kurdistan and Crimea emerged with similarly positioned issues around cultural and ethnic lines and questions about geographic borders and state boundaries.
Kurdistan, which covers a large swath of the Middle East and bleeds into Turkey and Central Asia, is the traditional homeland of the Kurdish people. It garnered attention through recent uprisings of religious groups—Shia and Sunni Iraq. The Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq stands on the brink of chaos and the ethnically-defined population teeters on a sectarian conflict.
Crimean Tatars live further east. Although they are not an exclusive indigenous group in the area, they are the largest undergoing political, martial, and economic unrest between Ukraine and Russia. Tatars inhabit the former Soviet Republics, occupying the region for centuries. They share a well-organized self-governance structure with the Kurds in the form of the Mejilis.
Crimea’s Tatars considered the resource-rich Black Sea region as their homeland (the Crimean Khanate) well before WWII when they were exiled under Soviet rule and during their re-establishment under the post-Soviet leadership of Gorbachev’s perestroika (rebuilding) era. That’s true even after Crimea joined the Russian Federation through the March 2014 referendum.
While the new Ukrainian polity may be preoccupied with the economic ascension to the European Union, the Tatars of Crimea must consider the impact of reunification with Russia to their way of life.
These two disparate ethnic populations are comparable in terms of the imaginary lines drawn around them and embedded in the conflicts of others. For the Kurds, the modern period is one of struggle and unrest, first under Baathist regime of Sadaam Hussein and now under the contentious al-Maliki regime. For Tatars, regardless of the provenance of Russian protection that is espoused through the “majority” vote for independence from Ukraine, they must adjust their expectations of livelihood, shelter and personal security, which were previously subsidized by established Ukrainian social welfare funds.
International government organizations that focus on populations culturally and ethnically joined across borders, such as the United Nations and non-government organizations like Human Rights Watch will play an active role in monitoring the interests of the Kurds and Tatars so they do not become lost in the power struggle in these emerging conflicts.
The saving grace for both may be their excellent record of establishing representation to the larger governance structure. In the case of Kurds, who experience splintering within subgroups, this may also be their undoing. Although the Crimean Tatars are not without their challenges, there is something to be said for the security and structure of geographic boundaries in Crimea, which is simply not applicable to the broader territory of Kurdistan, dangling as it does across so many disparate linguistically, theologically, culturally and politically charged states.
Working within the established system—and retaining a seat at the table as relations move forward among parties—will ensure that promotion of their rights is authentic and encourages a sustainable, cohesive community. Only through these actions will the longstanding presence for Tatars and Kurds continue.
While the role of external observers and mediators is important in establishing a protocol, reliance upon such measures is uncertain in a time when—as recently as last week (CSIS)—international hostages such as the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were released from separatist control in Ukraine.
About the Author:
Fianna Verret is an adjunct instructor of International Relations at American Public University, where she teaches courses on international relations, human rights, information literacy and human security. She earned her M.A. in Diplomacy with a concentration in Conflict Management and Resolution from Norwich University.
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