KurdistanObserver.com

Kurdish Democracy

The Pro-Democracy Lobby
By: Daniel Bart

June 15, 2005

The Kurds are an exception in the Middle East in as how they relate to tyranny. The Kurds, unlike every other people of the region have never accepted oppression. The status of women among the Kurds is different from that among peoples further south. There is a near absence of Judaeophobia in Kurdistan, something that otherwise plagues the political cultures of the region.

The combination of those three factors is not only unique, but makes the Kurds exceptionally well prepared for liberal democracy. Democracy in the Middle East outside Israel will come to Kurdistan first and then to other nations.

Kurdistan is at a crucial stage in its project of nation building. There are many steps that need to be taken to safeguard the freedom and security of the Kurdish nation. One critical issue is increasing military spending. A democracy is helpless without a strong army and Kurdistan needs to move from weakness to strength in the military field as well.

The election of Massoud Barzani as president of Kurdistan is a watershed event in history. We should be careful to recognize his important and unique contribution to the Kurdish process of nation building. His achievement is unique and far beyond even what his father attained. A significant section of the Kurdish people is free in their own land.

The liberation of the rest of Kurdistan still remains but there is now another critical challenge and that is building Kurdish democracy. There needs to be separation of powers, respect for human rights and a liberal democracy that reflects international standards. Civil rights are critical in the effort to bring freedom and representative government. Ensuring that women are represented in all positions of power is a crucial element in this process of democratization.

Military power will make Kurdish democracy viable while respect for freedom and the rights of individual citizens will make it strong. This is the gargantuan task in making the transition to liberal democracy. Working for the benefit of the entire Kurdish people and safeguarding the freedom, rights and dignity of every Kurd in the world, no matter where she lives is the challenge for every free Kurd in general but for the leaders of the Kurdish state in particular.

Let me bring up a key issue in this context that well illustrates the uniqueness of the Kurdish people among the nations. Why, wonder many people do Turkey, which after all has a parliamentary multiparty system, persist in denying fundamental rights to the Kurds such as freedom of language?

There is a very specific answer to this question which every Kurd should know. The truth that the Turkish government and military are keenly aware of, is that the Kurds will no longer accept subservience once Turkey becomes a proper liberal democracy. The Turkish leadership knows the price of liberal democracy and they are not ready to pay it. The Kurds will become independent and it is only a matter of when and how because the Kurds survive all their oppressors and freedom is the calling of the Kurdish nation.

In traditional Kurdish religion, the leader of the archangels is Malak Taus or Lucifer, a benign figure in Kurdish culture. He executes the will of the silent God. While God chose the people of Israel, Malak Taus chose the people of Kurdistan, apparently on God’s behalf.

It seems that God chose the three nations, America, Israel and Kurdistan to show the world the virtue of freedom. These three nations are hated by many, yet they persist in being examples for all others. Without these three nations there would not be much hope for freedom anywhere in the world.

Kurdistan is the epicenter of the global democratic revolution and safeguarding the security and integrity of the young Kurdish state is crucial if liberal democracy is to win across the globe.