Latif Tas

One state, plural options: Kurds in the UK

After three decades of living in their new home, Kurds in the UK have progressed from being a ‘victim diaspora’ into becoming more organised, and capable of meeting the diverse needs of their community. Most UK-based Kurds refuse to use the official legal system to settle their disputes, at least initially. Instead, they prefer to resolve their disputes within the community, and for this purpose, they have recreated their own hybridised customary justice system, consisting of the Kurdish Peace Committee (KPC). This more organised system is a first for Kurds, and is involved in the settlement of cases as diverse as family disputes and minor criminal cases. This article examines how and why this community prefers to solve their disputes themselves instead of approaching the police or courts. This work also includes a discussion of Kurdish society, including its historical pluralistic experience, reasons for its members’ emigration from Turkey and their ethnic reconstruction in the UK. A selection of case studies are used to illustrate how this body has helped to resolve some disputes, to develop Kurdish customs and traditions under different circumstances, and to act as a bridge between the official legal system of the British society and Kurdish values and norms.

How international law impacts on statelessness and citizenship: the case of Kurdish nationalism, conflict and peace

This paper argues for a new approach to understanding statelessness. It explores the limits of international laws on statelessness and the relationships between statelessness, diaspora and nationalism. It discusses how the condition of statelessness has affected Kurds, and how statelessness has been constructed and experienced at an individual and collective level in the diaspora. It argues for an expanded definition of the international laws of ‘stateless’ person: adding to the accepted de jure and highly contested de facto definitions, by also suggesting a third, new, category of ‘socially stateless’ people. The paper examines the concept of diaspora itself from the perspective of Kurdish interviewees and explores how, for stateless groups like Kurds, ‘living in diaspora’ can mean more than one place, including their land of origin. It will suggest the concept of ‘double’ or ‘multiple’ diasporas, where stateless people do not feel that they belong either to their country of origin or to the country in which they now live. The paper discusses the idea that when an ethnic community is stateless, then even those individuals who have an official nationality, citizenship or passport may often describe themselves as stateless. The relationship between statelessness, diaspora and nationalism is highlighted; and the impact of this on diaspora involvement in homeland politics, conflict and peace is explored. The paper also argues that the lack of protection which international law(s) offer around statelessness paradoxically create new forms of nationalism.

War Is like a Blanket: Feminist Convergences in Kurdish and Turkish Women's Rights Activism for Peace

Despite the recent outbreak of violence and conflict, peace continues to be high on the agenda of the Kurdish political movement and many progressive Turkish intellectuals and activists. Based on qualitative research we conducted in Diyarbakır, Istanbul, London, and Berlin in 2015–16, we show that Kurdish activists have struggled to make the eradication of gender-based inequalities and violence central to the wider Kurdish peace movement, while Turkish women’s rights activists have increasingly recognized that the war against the Kurds, “like a blanket,” often papers over gender injustices. Both Kurdish and Turkish activists stress the necessity of understanding that a just and sustainable peace must include gender equality and that gender justice cannot be achieved in times of war. Thus feminist convergences in Kurdish and Turkish activism present peace and women’s rights as inseparable and generate the potential to challenge nationalist state power and the militarization of society.

The Myth of the Ottoman Millet System: Its Treatment of Kurds and a Discussion of Territorial and Non-Territorial Autonomy

This article re-opens the discussion about the Ottoman millet practice. The best known stereotypes claim that the so-called ‘millet system’ only offered rights to non-Muslim religious minorities. This article fundamentally challenges this approach. It focuses on how the millet practice was applied to the treatment of Kurds under the early and late Ottoman Empire, and discusses how millet practices were destroyed by the disease of nationalism. The article then considers how practices like those applied by the Ottomans might act as a useful example for modern nation states facing conflicts with national, religious, ethnic or migrant minorities. It suggests that practices like the millet might be beneficial both if minorities gain territorial recognition and also for those minorities who live in non-territorial communities.

The Influence of Diaspora Politics on Conflict and Peace: Transnational Activism of Stateless Kurds

Kurds are the largest stateless ethnic group in the world, and Kurdish diasporas have for many years tried to raise awareness of the Kurds’ situation, both at home and abroad, as well as lobbying for improvements to Kurdish cultural and political rights. Many researchers believe that the diaspora is a safe environment within which “long-distance nationalists” are created and organised. This chapter explores the potential role of Kurdish diaspora groups in ‘peace-making’ and ‘peace-building’ processes within Turkey. The underlying concern is how successful negotiations for peace and post-conflict can be reached with the help of different stakeholders, such as the diaspora. Diaspora communities are not only idealistic protesters but can also act as positive agents for the homeland and create practical solutions for stateless communities. Data for this chapter comes from ethnographic qualitative research, which was carried out in multiple sites between December 2012 and February 2016.

Legal pluralism in action: dispute resolution and the Kurdish Peace Committee

Contents: Introduction Legal pluralism Kurds in Turkey: the historical background Kurds in the UK: settlements and processing of their needs Marriage, rituals and conflicts in Kurdish society Business and criminal disputes and their customary solutions Concluding thoughts Glossary Bibliography Index.