The Kurdish Case in Iraq 1958-1963

Abstract

The Kurdish case considered one of the most important issues in the modern history of Iraq, and the problem of the Kurds is represented by their demand for rights that guarantee their national and linguistic distinction, and the inclusion of these rights in laws and constitutions, and most Iraqi governments have responded, these demands were rejected, and some of them were rejected, including the annexation of Kirkuk, the oil-rich region, to the Kurdish areas, which sparked a dispute between the two sides and led to bloody clashes. The research deals with the Kurdish case in Iraq from 1958-1963, which is the period of rule of Abd al-Karim Qasim, the leader of the July 14 revolution in Iraq, which ended the monarchy. The research was divided into three axes. The first axis is the position of the Kurds in support of the revolution and the privileges granted by Abdul Karim Qassem to the Kurds, including the approval of the new Iraqi constitution, some articles that include the national rights of the Kurds. For the Kurds and allowed the return of the exiles to Iraq, including Mustafa Barzani, and the release of Kurdish detainees in Iraqi prisons since the royal era. The second axis included bad relations between Abdul Karim Qasim and the Kurds. The last axis dealt with the armed clash between the two, which lasted from 1960 to 1963, the year in which the rule of Abd al-Karim Qasim ended after his overthrow, and the Kurds allied with the revolutionaries to achieve their demands for autonomy. The study relied on a set of sources, including published American documents, as well as books, including the book Northern Iraq 1985-1975 by the author Ammar Ali Al-Samar. And the book Political Currents in Iraqi Kurdistan, a reading in the files of the Kurdish movements and parties in Iraq 1946-2001, by the author, Salah Al-Khursan, in addition to theses, university theses, and a group of research and studies.