Ethnic Problems in Kurdish Region of Iran - Research Paper Example

The origin of the ethnic problems in Kurdish region of Iran The origin of the ethnic problems in this region is deeply rooted in the transnational identity of the minorities in the north-western provinces of Iran. To be specific, the origin of the problem is interconnected with the formation of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq and the unending aspiration of the minorities to form the ‘Greater Kurdistan’. Later, this movement spread to the neighboring nations, especially the north-western provinces of Iran.

During WW II, Soviet Union supported the Kurds in this area and helped them to from a republic within the Iranian soil, namely Kurdish Republic of Mahabad. This ignited nationalistic feeling among the Kurdish minorities in the Middle Eastern nations. But Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran suppressed the nationalistic movement of the Kurdish minorities in Iran. Vali (2011), makes clear that “It argues that Kurdish nationalism in Iran is a modern phenomenon, an outcome of the socio-economic and cultural dislocations caused by the blighted and perverse modernity that followed the advent of Pahlavi absolutism after the First World War” (p.1). .

But this nationalistic feeling eventually led to terrorism and related issues. To be specific, the Iranian government tried to suppress the rebellion of the Kurdish minorities. So, the Kurdish minorities turned towards terrorism and guerilla warfare. Now, their aim is to form autonomous rule in the north-western region of Iran. In short, the transnational identity of the Kurds is the reason behind the ethnic problems in Kurdish region of Iran. Solutions tried to solve the problem First of all, the Iranian president Muhammad Khatami tried to negotiate with the leaders of the Kurdish minorities.

But this negotiation did not become successful because some of the leaders of the Kurdish political parties demanded public announcement, not secret meeting. The ethnic problem in the Kurdish region of Iran is an issue based upon the transnational identity of the ethnic minorities of Iran. To solve this problem, the problems faced by the Kurdish minorities in the neighboring nations must be solved because all these problems are interconnected. In 1992, the Iranian government decided to co-operate with Turkey to take measures to strengthen border security to reduce the scope further problems.

The regular search and arrest of Kurdish political leaders in neighboring nations create disturbances among the Kurdish minorities in Iran. For instance, in the year 1999, the Turkish authorities arrested a Kurdish political leader namely Abdullah Ocalan. This incident created ignited hatred among the Iranian Kurdish minorities towards the authorities. From a different angle of view, the transnational identity of the Kurds forces them to react to the problems in a different way. The Iranian government makes use of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps