04/10/10
Kurdishaspect.com - By Peter Stitt
In response to "Joe" Konukaldi" and others in the same camp I have the question: Who lived in the area of Van before the Turks came there? The Kurds and the Armenians and, it would appear, they largely lived together in peace together before the influence of the Ottoman's swayed some of the Kurds to indulge in helping the Turks eradicate/exterminate/obliterate/ethnically cleanse the area in 1915. This is an incident that the majority of Kurds are utterly ashamed of and wish that that their ancestors had not been involved in.
So Kurds and Armenians existed there before the Turks even arrived upon the scene from their ancestral homeland in the steps. We are now talking what amounts to ancient history so let me give you some perspective you Turkish nationalists.
I am a Celt and my country was invaded in the 5th Century AD by Anglo Saxons (the English). They won. Now, due to the recent civilised nature of the English people and their insistence upon democracy and free speech, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are on the verge of liberation and independence. Do we want to take back all of that great agricultural land the English took when they invaded? 1,500 years is a long time and, for us, it now belongs to them. We have accepted our alleged "enemy" as our friend and neighbour. Why does Turkey have such a problem with the issue of North Kurdistan and the Armenians? National and cultural insecurity.
My view is that Van and surrounding area is North Kurdistan with a strong Armenian presence (which should be adequately represented in any local government by a voluntary programme of repatriation) and Armenians should be welcomed back into the area in which their families and culture grew. I know that I could make a very strong case for the Armenian cause should such a Parliament come into being and I also know that Kurdish ears are open to such a plea. Why is Turkey so frightened of ceding such land? Has it anything to do with the oil supplies that come from Van?
