Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide

Kurdish Cavalry in World War One. These Kurdish tribal forces attack the Armenian People

Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide is recognition of the Kurdish participation in the ethnic cleansing of Armenians during World War One. The Ottoman Empire recruited Kurdish tribal forces to attack and kill Armenian civilians and refugees. In several of the Kurdish regions, the Kurds participated in the genocide of the Armenians while others opposed the genocide, in many cases even hiding or adopting Armenian refugees. Kurds in prison were given amnesty and released from prison if they would massacre the Armenians.

Armenian Genocide

See also: Kurdish-Armenian relations

The genocide of Armenians by some Kurds was meticulously carried out with help from some tribal Kurds who were organized into an auxiliary force called the 'Hamidiye Alaylari' or Hamidiye Brigades of the government in Istanbul.

During the Van resistance, Armenians who left via Persia took defense positions in the Bargiri, Saray and Hosap districts of Van Province. The refugee group following the Russian forces were intercepted by Kurdish forces when they crossed the mountain passes near Bargiri Pass. At the Bargiri Pass, the Armenian refugees had many casualties.

The security of the refugees was the responsibility of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman authorities state that some groups of refugees were attacked by local tribes, both Kurdish and Arab, before they reached their destinations. These attacks maily took place on the roads between Aleppo and Meskene, but it was also dangerous from Diyarbekir to Der Zor and from Saruc to Halep via the Menbic Road. This region is heavily populated by Kurds. Grand Vizier Mehmed Talat in his Posthumous Memoirs of Talaat Pasha claimed that:

"Although we punished many of the guilty, most of them were untouched. These people, whom we might call outlaws, because of their unlawful attitude in disregarding the order of the Central Government, were divided into two classes. Some of them were acting under personal hatred, or for individual profit. Those who looted the goods of the deported Armenians were easily punishable, and we punished them. But there was another group, who sincerely believed that the general interest of the community necessitated the punishment alike of those Armenians who massacred the guiltless Mohammedans and those who helped the Armenian bandits to endanger our national life."

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  January -1915 Armenians and Cossack (Russian) soldiers waiting for Kurdish Cavalry; see image detail for explanation
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  Refugess at the Mountain Passes attacked by Kurds. Such as famous Bargiri Pass Massacre

List of recognizance

Kurdish Council of Armenia The president of the Kurdish Council Armenia, Knyaz Hasanov has repeatedly spoken about the Armenian genocide. On March 10, 2009 said Hasanov to the Kurds who participated in massacres against the Armenians were separate Kurds and not the Kurdish nation.

Type	Recognize	Date	Declaration
NGO	Kurdish Institute of Paris		The Kurdish Institute of Paris has recognized the 1915 massacres as genocide. The Armenian genocide is often mentioned in monthly magazine published by the Kurdish Institute.
NGO	Center of Halabja against Anfalization and Genocide of the Kurds (CHAK)		Welcomed the recognition of genocide against the Armenian people. The motivation from CHAK was: "This recognition will help us all to have a broader understanding of past crimes and present us with the possibility of a peaceful and brighter future." In 2006, CHAK published an article about the Armenian genocide called "Armenian Genocide: Turkey To Target". and over 10 articles regarding the genocide have earlier been published.
Political	Democratic Society Party	2008 30 dec,	Apologized to Armenians and Assyrians for the 1915 genocide. The party leader Ahmet Türk said: "Sensing the pain of the events in our hearts, we feel that we need to apologize. In Turkey, apology is becoming quite a fashion recently. However, ours is something very different" and that "Maybe Kurds have contributed to the loss of this (cultural) richness. We are ashamed when we look at our Armenian or Assyrian brothers".
Political	Kurdistan Democratic Party		In the website for KDP supporters published an article ( author: Nezîr Semmikanli ) where he writes about the Armenian genocide where he describes the genocide as a crime against the christian people
PKK	Abdullah Öcalan		Wrote a personal letter to the president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian where he congratulated him to his post as president and at the same time hoped for the genocide to be recognized. I also welcome and endorse the passage of a resolution in the Belgian Senate calling on the Turkish government in Ankara to recognise the reality of the Armenian holocaust perpetrated by the last Ottoman regime in 1915-19.. Further on in the letter: The massacres during the First World War which shocked the civilised world then became a precedent for an even more appalling and destructive demonstration of genocide of the Jewish people by the German Nazis in the Second World War. Let us recall Hitler’s response to a critic of the "final solution" of the Jewish problem: "Who complained about the Armenians?"
	Kongra-Gel		of Caucasus was made by the Caucasus represetant Heydar Ali. In a interview with Onnik Krikorian, 13 September, 2004. In this interview, Heydar said: Armenia's position is more favorable towards the Kurds because 1.5 million Armenians were killed during the Genocide. However, to deny the Kurdish identity in Armenia is a violation of international human rights obligations but yes, you are right. It is well known that throughout history, Kurdistan and the Kurds have been divided and that this is a special policy conducted by very powerful countries in the world to weaken us. The division between Kurds and Yezidi is another manifestation of this.
	Kurdish Parliament in Exile	April 1997,	Passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. In the resolution, this was said: The blueprints of and the logistics for this genocide being prepared ahead of time, they employed Hamidiye Alaylari from Kurdish tribes (Similar to the present day Village Guards system who kill our people) to commit history’s, until then unknown, Genocide. In this Genocide, millions of Armenians and Assyrian-Syrians were killed, and millions others were deported from their homes and land and scattered to the four corners of the world. Further on in the resolution: Today is the 82nd anniversary of the genocide committed against the Assyrian-Syrian and Armenian peoples. Sharing the agony caused by this process, I find the Ottoman State and their collaborators the Hamidiye Alaylari, formed by some Kurdish tribes, responsible for this crime before history and I condemn them with abhorrence. Zubeyir Aydar Chairman of the Executive Committee
Newspaper	Ozgur Gundem		Kurdish apologized to the Armenian people for silence and complicity in the Armenian Genocide. The Ozgur Gundem website at the same time also had a detailed publications on the genocide, hardships and sufferings of the Armenian people.
Newspaper	Kurdish newspage	February, 2008	the published an article about Turkey committing another genocide and this time against the Kurds. In this article, they referred to the Armenian genocide.
NGO	Kurdish Youth Club in Atlanta (USA)		Ara Alan, Secretary General of held a speech in remembrance of the 92nd anniversary of Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks. The speech was given in Georgia State Capitol building addressing Armenian Americans, Senators, Congressmen, sheriffs, Judges and representatives of Mayor of Atlanta, and Georgia State Governor.
Publisher	Sara Distribution		It is selling the book Bati Ermenistan (Kürt Ilishkileri) ve Jenosîd (Western Armenia (Kurdish Relations) and genocide)
Publisher	Beyan.net		Several times published articles about the Armenian and Assyrian genocides.
Intelligentsia	Berivan Öngörur,		Candidate to the EU Parliament, the Left Party, wrote an article in the Swedish-Kurdish newspaper Beyan.net February 5, 2008 on the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan protest against the Israeli President Shimon Peres. In this article, Berivan also mentions the genocide in Turkey: The genocide of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 is a tragedy which Turkey still refuses to recognize. In this genocide was carried out even murders of Greeks, Assyrians, Syrians and Chaldeans. But Turkey's human rights abuses is not only to the past. Even today conducted a political, cultural and economic oppression of the Kurdish people in Turkey.
Intelligentsia	Gulan Avci		The Chairman for the Liberal Immigrant Federation in Stockholm is famous for her involvement in the Kurdish and Armenian questions. Gulan supported the US congress resolution for Armenian genocide resolution with motivation "It is important because it will give peace among the souls of the Armenian people...". She has also criticised that Kurds that speak Kurdish in Turkey are prosecuted and that those who speak about the genocide are thrown into jail.
Intelligentsia	Rebwar Hassan	5 March 2009	"When talking about the Armenian genocide, Turkey have always denied this, despite all evidence, that the scientific community has recognized it, most countries around the world talking about the murder of over one million Armenians, but Turkey still insists on a policy to not talk about it but it is happening now is positive and on track towards that Turkey recognize the genocide against Armenians and other crimes as well, but it is not enough right now. There needs to be more pressure on Turkey from the EU".
Intelligentsia	Sivan Perwer		Expressed himself several times about the Armenian genocide as a mistake, in a interview Sivan did with Freemuse.org about artist censorship he spoke about the genocide as something the Turks want to do against the Kurds as well.
	facebook:Kurdish group		Facebook group is created called "Kurds Recognize the Armenian Genocide"
Intelligentsia	Özz Nujjen		He has several times mentioned the denial of the Armenian genocide in Turkey.
Intelligentsia	Haydar Işik		Author and former chairman of PEN-Kurd wrote a long letter on his homepage where he wrote that the Armenian genocide was one the two largest genocides of the twentieth century.
Intelligentsia	Sakine Madon		The Turkish community of Sweden reported her to the police for insulting Kemal Atatürk and for speaking about the Armenian genocide. Turkish media was reporting false articles about her after this and even that the King of Sweden apologized for her behaviour.
Intelligentsia	Dilsa Demirbag Sten	2006	Dilsa wrote an article in Dagens Nyheter about the Kurdish involvement in the genocide against the christians, her grandmothers stories and how she still had nigthmares from the Armenian women's getting raped and murdered. She also wrote that Turkey should recognize the killings as a genocide and that the genocide is also a part of Swedish history because of the 5.000 Armenians settled in Sweden.

External links

• Kurdish legend Sivan Perwer on the Armenian Genocide