Over the past year, the Middle East has been marked by significant geopolitical events, including the Israel-Hamas war, capturing substantial international attention. Amidst this focus, Turkey and Iran have been vocal critics of Israel’s war in Gaza and have spoken out on its impacts on Palestinian citizens. Simultaneously, they have intensified the repression of Kurdish populations within and outside their borders. Turkey has continued its security operations against Kurdish targets in Northern Syria and Iraq, citing threats to national security. Similarly, Iran has increased its suppression of Kurdish activists and political dissidents, conducting numerous arrests and crackdowns. Iran has also pressured Iraq to disarm and relocate Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, resulting in cross-border missile and drone attacks targeting Kurdish positions in Iraq.

This workshop will explore how these states leverage the global distraction provided by the Israel-Hamas conflict to intensify their repression of Kurds. Through detailed analyses from our esteemed speakers, we will uncover the various strategies and impacts of these actions. Each speech will last 20 minutes, followed by a 20–30-minute Q&A discussion.

Sessions

Turkish Transnational Operations Against the Kurds: From the Principle of Hot Pursuit to the 2024 Operations in Iraq and Syria

A/Prof Costas Laoutides
Associate Professor in International Relations at Deakin University. The author of Self-Determination and Collective Responsibility in the Secessionist Struggle.

In recent months, Turkey has continued its security operations against Kurdish targets in Northern Syria and Iraq, claiming they are combating terrorist organizations that threaten its national security. Recently, Turkey signed a series of MoUs with Iraq, including a security agreement concerning the PKK’s presence in Iraq. This panel will trace the evolution of Turkish security operations against the Kurds overseas. Starting from the 1984 bilateral agreement with Iraq, which allowed Turkey to enter Iraqi territory in pursuit of Kurdish fighters, to the 2024 strategic framework agreement between the two countries, the discussion will unpack the rationale and character of Turkey’s security operations in neighboring countries and beyond.

Post-Jin, Jiyan, Azadi Uprising’s Violent Collective Punishment in Rojhelat, and Authoritarian Resilience in Iran

Dr Allan Hassaniyan
Lecturer in Middle East Studies at Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. The author of Kurdish Politics in Iran Crossborder Interactions and Mobilisation since 1947.

Following the Iranian regime’s murder of the Kurdish woman Jina Amini in 2022, Rojhelat (East/Iranian Kurdistan) has become a testing ground for the regime’s methods to quell protests and uprisings, both during and after the events. As the number of protests has decreased and the regime has succeeded in regaining control of the streets and other public spaces, brutal collective punishment of the Kurdish people in the form of widespread imprisonment and mass execution has been implemented. This paper contends that the Iranian government employs state violence and collective punishment in Kurdistan for multiple purposes. It serves as a tool for authoritarian resilience, brutally suppresses the Kurdish movement for change, and demonstrates the regime’s ability and willingness to crush any opposition through repressive means.

Prioritizing national security? Turkish and Western responses to Hamas and Kurdish-led northern Syria

Dr William Gourlay
Lecturer in Middle East politics at Monash University. He was previously a researcher at Deakin University’s Middle East Studies Forum. He is the author of The Kurds in Erdogan’s Turkey.

In recent months, Turkey has carried out airstrikes against infrastructure and military positions in northern Syria, claiming that the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES) and the affiliated YPG militia are terrorist organizations. Turkey also threatened to invade northern Syria when AANES proposed holding elections in July, citing these as a threat to Turkish national security. For many observers, there are clear parallels between these two geopolitical situations: in both cases, a strong, Western-backed state is taking military action in the name of national security against a stateless minority population, which is suffering devastation and displacement. This panel will examine the approaches of Turkey and Western states to these conflicts, while considering the wider issues of self-determination, human rights protections, and the struggle for democracy and associated political freedoms for Palestinians and Syrian Kurds.

Registration

Date: Monday, August 5 2024, 17:30 – 19:00 (AEST)
Location: Zoom online event
Pricing: Complimentary

Please register for free using the link below.

For any questions, please contact mesf@deakin.edu.au