Jaani Dushman Kurdish May 2026

However, this promise was shattered by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which divided Kurdish-majority lands among the newly formed Republic of Turkey, British-mandate Iraq, French-mandate Syria, and Persia (Iran). This event—known in Kurdish historiography as the Great Betrayal —planted the seeds. The signatories of Lausanne, particularly the emerging nation-states of Turkey and the Arab-mandates, became the primary candidates for the role of Jaani Dushman .

This article dissects the complex layers of the dynamic, exploring the historical betrayals, the modern geopolitical landscape, and how the concept of the "sworn enemy" shapes Kurdish resistance, political strategy, and identity today. Chapter 1: Historical Roots – The Betrayals That Created a Jaani Dushman To understand why the Kurds have a concept of a "sworn enemy," one must travel back to the post-World War I era. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres famously promised the Kurds an independent homeland (Kurdistan). For a brief moment, the global community recognized their right to self-determination. Jaani Dushman Kurdish

When the KDP invited the Turkish army into Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1990s to fight the PKK, or when the PUK aligned with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), many ordinary Kurds felt the Jaani Dushman was not an external state, but the failure of their own leadership. The corruption, the smuggling of oil, and the inability to unite for independence referendums (e.g., the 2017 Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum, which failed due to lack of international support and internal incoherence) have led some intellectuals to argue that is the true sworn enemy. Chapter 4: The Modern Geopolitical Chessboard – Friends That Become Enemies The Kurds have historically been used as proxies. The United States, Israel, and European powers have armed Kurdish forces (the Peshmerga and YPG/SDF) to fight common foes: Saddam Hussein, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS. Yet, time and again, these powers have abandoned the Kurds when it suits their national interest. However, this promise was shattered by the 1923