November 13, 2008: Two years ago,
Turkey and Iran established a bilateral commission to combat Kurdish
separatists rebels. In effect, the two countries cooperated to fight the
Turkish PKK rebels and the Iranian PEJAK. In addition to sharing intelligence,
there were some joint operations, with Turkish and Iranian forces operating
together against Kurdish separatist gunmen and bases. Apparently this hurt
PEJAK enough so that the organization has renounced armed violence, and turned
more to political activism to improve conditions for Iranian Kurds. This can be
interpreted as an effort to build a stronger base of support, before returning
to armed resistance. But it still counts as a win for Iran. However, there's a
catch. PEJAK also wants to develop closer relationships with the PKK, which is
still battling the Turks. Apparently PEJAK has not renounced violence forever.
There are seven million Kurds Iran, six
million Kurds live in Iraq, two million in Syria, two million in Pakistan about
14 million in Turkey and another two million scattered around the world.
Despite thousands of years of efforts, the Kurds have never been able to
establish their own Kurdish state.
