Diaspora Politics in the Age of Globalisation The case of the Kurds in Europe Hans van Amersfoort and Eugenia Boutylkova CRONEM Annual Conference 2009 Migration and Identities: Crossing Boundaries, New Directions 11-12 June University of Surrey, Guildford, UK Please Note: This is the summary version for the participants in the conference. The complete paper, with due mention of the sources and references will be available in June. 1
Introduction Diaspora as a concept The term diaspora has become popular in the past decades and is used to describe a wide variety of phenomena. We consider diasporas to be a special kind of ethnic groups, with a background of migration, which have created institutions engaged in political actions with regard to their homeland or home territory. The dynamics of diaspora politics Because diasporas operate in a changing world and a wide range of activities can be described as being political we specify which activities we consider as diaspora politics. The first kind of diaspora politics we can label are internal diaspora politics; the kind of activities directed at institutionalising the diaspora as a unified political agency. Once the diaspora is sufficiently established the political actions can be directed at the host land both at the national and local level to improve on the situation of the diaspora population or to influence the relation of the host land with the homeland. A third kind of political activities is directed to the homeland, be it to the official government or to parties of factions therein. A relatively new form of diaspora politics are the actions directed at the supranational level, as in our case the European Union, to interfere in an indirect way in politics with regard to the immigration or homeland countries. We do not regard in this contribution political actions of the homelands with regard to the diaspora. It should however be noticed that diaspora politics is often not a one-way street. Governments and/or parties in the homelands are often interested in their compatriots abroad and try to use their political potential for their own ends. The Kurds in Kurdistan Kurdistan spans across parts of contemporary Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The designation of the Kurds as a separate ethnic entity goes back to the Ottoman times, as far as the 16 th century. Ever since then, the Kurds have identified themselves as a separate people, speaking an amalgam of different dialects, wearing different clothes, having a specific folklore and particular social customs. The Kurds speak several languages, depending on which part of the homeland they hail from. The Kurds are also divided across religious lines. While most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, there are also Alevi, Yezidi and Shia Moslims among the Kurds. Migration and diaspora formation. Kurdish migration to Europe started around the middle of the twentieth century when large numbers of students came to study in Western Europe. These students came from different parts of Kurdistan, most from Iraq and some from Syria. They were young and single men who came from the urban middle class and had a high degree of political engagement and low religious commitment, making them instrumental in the later politicization of the Kurdish immigrant population. 2
The second group of Kurdish people which started arriving in Europe during the 1960 s was of a very different social composition. These migrants mostly came from rural areas in Turkey, and were drawn to Western Europe because of the European industry s need for workers. These Kurds were part of the larger group of labour migrants from Turkey. It is estimated that between 20 to 25 per cent of the guest workers coming from Turkey to Europe were Kurds. These Kurdish migrants generally identified themselves in the first place as Turks in Europe rather than as Kurds. They were only later to rediscover their Kurdish heritage. The third wave of migrants from Kurdistan consisted of political refugees from Iraq, Iran and Turkey. These political refugees constitute the group that was most involved in later diaspora politics in Europe, as they were already engaged in the politics of their homeland. Most of the Kurdish organizations that were later to play a role in the diaspora politics are headed by people who came to Europe during this period. However, seeing that the circumstances under which these political refugees left their countries of origin are rather diverse, it is important to take into account the situation in each country. 4. The mobilization process among the Kurdish migrants. The heterogeneous population of Kurdish origin in Europe made the institutionalization of the diaspora a complicated process. The establishment of Kurdish diaspora organizations in Europe developed in three phases, first the student and labour organizations set up in the 1970 s and early 1980 s, later the cultural and human rights organizations in the 1980 s and early 1990 s and then the political organizations established in the 1990 s. While these phases overlap to a certain extent, it is important to keep in mind these stages of development of the Kurdish diaspora as a whole. The first Kurdish organization that had an immense impact on the later formation of the Kurdish diaspora, the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, founded in 1978 in the Kurdish part of Turkey, has since become notorious because of its terrorist actions. The PKK managed to build up viable political structures in Europe. However, its terrorist actions do not appeal to all Kurds in Europe and some Kurdish organizations therefore emphasize their independence from the PKK. The first large European-founded Kurdish organization is KOMKAR, the Union of Workers Associations from Kurdistan. KOMKAR was founded in Germany in the second half of the 1970 s and was formed into a federation consisting of associations who supported the leftwing movement in Turkey. The aims of this organization were threefold: firstly, KOMKAR wanted to promote the integration of Kurds into their host society; secondly, it aimed to represent the social, cultural and political interests of Kurds in Germany and other European countries and thirdly, KOMKAR supported the struggle of the Kurdish people in the homeland and wanted raise the public awareness in Europe about this struggle. A different type of Kurdish organizations are the cultural institutes, established in several European capitals in the 1980 s. Another important Kurdish organization is the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP), working to improve the situation of Kurds in the homelands and beyond. A Kurdish organization directly involved in political issues is KONKURD, the Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe. KONKURD was established in 1994, and sees itself as an 3
umbrella organization for many different associations across Europe. In total, KONKURD comprises more that 165 associations throughout 11 European countries. 5. The diaspora in action. After setting up a large number of organizations, mobilizing the Kurdish population in Europe, the Kurdish diaspora started searching for ways to partake in external diaspora politics. Most prominent are the activities aimed at the national and local level, where the diaspora has tried to ensure a better living environment in the host land as well as promote issues pertaining to the homeland. The Kurdish diaspora has also tried to influence the relations of the host land with the homelands which in the Kurdish case is an interesting matter, since the Kurds form a stateless diaspora, which homeland is spread over several countries. Our focus in this article is on a relatively new form of diaspora politics, which is directed not at the national or local level, but at the supranational level. We take the European Union as our case study and examine in which ways the Kurdish diaspora has engaged in diaspora politics at the European level. The Europeanization of the diaspora politics has been a slow and gradual process, starting in the mid-1990 s. European level Kurdish diaspora politics The various Kurdish diaspora organizations used different approaches to the European Union. Kurdish diaspora politics on this level can be divided into lobbying, protest politics and activities relating to a new and essential opportunity for the Kurdish diaspora, to push its concerns to the foreground: the Turkish accession process to the European Union. The Turkish Accession Process The Turkish accession process to the EU can be traced back to the end of the 1950 s, but it was in 2004 that the European Commission issued its final report in which it recommended that negotiations over Turkey s accession should be formally started; thereby creating an unique opportunity for the Kurds from Turkey to address the problems in their homeland. An example of an important activity organized by the Kurdish diaspora aimed at influencing European institutions in Turkey s accession process is the yearly conference on Turkey and the Kurdish situation organized by the EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) and hosted by the European Parliament. Lobbying in the European Union One of the main activities of diasporas practicing politics concerns lobbying activities. Within the European Union institutions, most of the lobbying done by the Kurdish diaspora is aimed at the European Parliament. It is currently the most accessible European institution for the Kurdish diaspora to approach as it consists of individual Members of Parliament, several of whom are receptive to Kurdish lobby groups. One of the signs of success of Kurdish diaspora organizations in their attempts of informing and mobilizing MEPs concerning the situation of the Kurds is that several small groups and committees have formed within the European Parliament itself with the aim of focusing on Kurdish issues. 4
Some activities of the Kurdish diaspora are not aimed at particular European institutions, but are organized as large-scale lobbying. In this way, Kurdish diaspora organizations try to spread their resources and address as many institutions as possible. KOMKAR, for example, has held several appeals in the form of lobbying supranational institutions and N.G.O s to pay attention to the situation in the homeland of the Kurdish diaspora or to improve the conditions in the various host lands of the Kurds. Protest politics After looking into the most common form of diaspora politics, lobby activities and the main political opportunity of this moment, the Turkish accession process, this part will add an additional layer to Kurdish diaspora politics; protest politics. While this form of diaspora politics is often overlooked by scholars it is an integral part of social movement theory. Protest politics shows that the Europeanization of the Kurdish diaspora not only takes place at the level of an engaged elite but that the Kurdish population generally participates in diaspora politics. Protest politics adds another aspect to the structure of diaspora politics. Not only does the Kurdish diaspora try to influence the European institutions to get them to influence either the homeland or the host land on European political matters, but with protest events the Kurdish diaspora first tries to influence the general public so that this in turn will influence the European institutions 6. Conclusions. Discussing the question in how far the Kurdish diaspora has been successful in promoting interests of the Kurds in the homelands and in the host countries. Also focusing on how the manner of engaging in diaspora politics of the Kurds in Europe can be generalized to other diasporas. 5