Time for Kurdish lobbies to act

By Solin Hacador:

I strongly believe in promoting the work of the civil society groups, which are usually non-governmental organisations. There are also some, which have ties to the political parties or states, but it is always preferable for these organisations to have an autonomy in managing their affairs. Nonetheless, considering the challenges we Kurds are facing at present, it is better for us to focus on how to work together to promote the struggle for our rights and defend our lands and the people.

At the beginning of the 21st century we are, once again, heading for an historical conjuncture. As opposed to a hundred years ago, we are jealously guarding our rights and have no appetite to give up our hard-won gains in all parts of Kurdistan. I, however, believe that we do need to organise better at the international level, not only for influencing the policy makers, but also to explain our struggle to the public in many different countries of the world. It is particularly important that we do explain our cause and grievances to the Turkish, Arabic and Iranian people and show them why they cannot establish a just and democratic state while oppressing their Kurdish population.

In short, we need to establish Kurdish lobbying groups or strengthen to existing ones to represent “our special interests,” in a better and more effective way. I do not think we should shy away from stating what our special interests are, but it is important to show the world that we are the representatives of a just struggle and that we are defending the universal, democratic principles without having a sectarian agenda. It should be clearly shown that we Kurds are victims of hundreds of years of injustice and that we are striving to live in a dignified way.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Kurds had been deceived by the international bodies for which we have paid a dear price, from the Anfal campaign of Saddam Hussein to the recent Robotski and Syrian Kurdish massacres, and the ethnic cleansing plans towards Syrian Kurds. There are so many other examples of injustice that have been inflicted upon us. There is still the danger of further catastrophes and persecution as our colonisers are not willing to accept our demands, despite the fact that 40 million strong Kurdish people can no longer be denied their right of self-determination.

If we compare ourselves with the states we are struggling against, we have limited resources and no doubt we are suffering from not being able to represent ourselves via an organisation that  represents all different political parties and others. There are many problems and difficulties, of which we can make a long list, but these difficulties should not demoralise us as we need to lobby in all parts of the world in a more dynamic way. It should also be noted that lobbying means persuading individuals or groups with decision-making power to support a position we believe is right.

In ten years’ time it is highly likely that there will be new states in Middle East; the local as well as the international players are very well aware of this fact and, as a result, they are endlessly repositioning themselves to have the winning hand at the negotiation table. They are well aware of the fact that there can be no solution without Kurds being at the table, but they won’t stop trying to create new Lausannes. Therefore we should not hesitate to come together and ceaselessly promote our struggle.

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