What is the conflict between Turkey and Kurds?

The Kurdish–Turkish conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups who have either demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or attempted to secure autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey.

Are Kurdish and Turkish related?

The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey. The Turkish government categorized Kurds as “Mountain Turks” until 1991, and denied the existence of Kurds. The words “Kurds” or “Kurdistan” were banned in any language by the Turkish government, though “Kurdish” was allowed in census reports.

Is Kurdistan close to Turkey?

Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan (Kurdish: Bakurê Kurdistanê‎) refers to the southeastern part of Turkey, where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the southeast.

Do Kurds live Turkey?

Kurds mostly live in Northern Kurdistan, in Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia. But large Kurdish populations can be found in western Turkey due to internal migration. According to Rüstem Erkan, Istanbul is the province with the largest Kurdish population in Turkey.

What conflicts does Turkey have?

Wars

Which religion is in Turkey?

Islam is the largest religion in Turkey according to the state, with 99.9% of the population being initially registered by the state as Muslim, for anyone whose parents are not of any other officially recognised religion and the remaining 0.1% are Christians or adherents of other officially recognised religions like …

Why is Kurdish banned in Turkey?

Kurds have had a long history of discrimination perpetrated against them by the Turkish government. Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life. Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.

What religion are the Kurds?

Nearly all Iraqi Kurds consider themselves Sunni Muslims. In our survey, 98% of Kurds in Iraq identified themselves as Sunnis and only 2% identified as Shias. (A small minority of Iraqi Kurds, including Yazidis, are not Muslims.) But being a Kurd does not necessarily mean alignment with a particular religious sect.

What language do the Kurds speak?

Kurmanji
Kurmanji is the language of the vast majority of Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and of a few in Iraq and Iran, with an estimated 15-17 million speakers in total. Sorani is the language of most Kurds in Iraq (4-6 million speakers) and Iran (5-6 million speakers).

Where did the Kurds come from originally?

Where do they come from? The Kurds are one of the indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.

Is Turkey a US ally?

Turkey is a key NATO Ally and critical regional partner, and the United States is committed to improving the relationship between our two countries. It is in our interest to keep Turkey anchored to the Euro-Atlantic community. Turkey is an important U.S. security partner.

Does Turkey back Armenia?

Armenia–Turkey relations are officially non-existent and have historically been hostile. Whilst Turkey recognised Armenia (in the borders of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic) shortly after the latter proclaimed independence in September 1991, the two countries have failed to establish diplomatic relations.

What do the Kurds want in Turkey?

On a general level, Kurds do not want to be the woman in such a patriarchal, abusive marriage. They demand to be a partner in Turkey with control over their own public lives, much as Kemal Ataturk promised them in 1919-1923 when he was rallying Kurdish forces during Turkey’s War of Independence.

Is Kurdistan a country or a region?

Kurdistan is not a country but a region that spans across several countries in the Middle East. These regions are connected by the Kurdish people who are found spread out in these nations. A rough estimate places the Kurdistan region to be between north-western Zagros and eastern Taurus mountain ranges.

What is the number of Kurds in Turkey?

As the population of Turkey is a little above 82 million by the end of 2018 according to TUIK, it can be estimated that more than 13 million people in Turkey identify themselves as Kurds. 76 per cent of women and 77 per cent of men responded to the same question by saying they identified as “Turk”.

What is the origin of the Kurds in Turkey?

The Kurds are one of the indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia. Today, they form a distinctive community, united through race, culture and language, even though they have no standard dialect.