AMED – Dr. Jiyar Aghapouri stated that peace can only be achieved through a transformation in mentality, saying, “As long as the Kurdish issue remains unresolved in the Middle East, the region will never experience peace and freedom either politically or socially.”

 

Workshops are also being held as part of the Societal Peace and Freedom Forum organized in Amed (Diyarbakır). One of the sessions focused on “Living Together Without Displacement: Justice, Transformation and Social Cohesion in the Kurdistan Region.” Speakers from the Federated Kurdistan Region discussed the social consequences of displacement, the right to return, justice mechanisms and policies for social cohesion.

 

Dr. Jiyar Aghapouri from the American University of Kurdistan spoke about the Kurdish issue and the importance of national unity. Aghapouri said the Kurdish issue has an international dimension, noting that Kurds have historically been victims of international conflicts and divisions. Referring to the partition of Kurdistan and the Sykes-Picot Agreement, he argued that these developments did not benefit Turks, Arabs or Kurds, but instead harmed all peoples in the region.

 

‘IT IS A PROBLEM OF THE MIDDLE EAST’

 

Aghapouri stated that the failure to resolve the Kurdish issue is also linked to internal Kurdish dynamics, including partisanship and tribalism, which he said have prevented progress. Recalling that the Palestinian issue and Arab-Israeli conflict dominated discussions in previous years, Aghapouri said the Kurdish issue has now become one of the central problems of the Middle East.

 

“As long as the Kurdish issue is not resolved in the Middle East, the region will never see peace or freedom in political or social terms,” he said, adding that the matter concerns not just one state but four major countries in the region and nearly 40 to 50 million Kurds.

 

‘BOTH SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PEACE ARE NECESSARY’

 

Speaking about the ongoing process in Turkey, Aghapouri said two main approaches dominate academic discussions on peacebuilding. “One argues that governments and political authorities must build peace from the top down, while the other says peace must begin within society from the bottom up,” said Aghapouri and added: “In my opinion, these two approaches are interconnected. Both social peace and political-administrative peace are necessary.”

 

‘PEACE IS POSSIBLE THROUGH A CHANGE IN MENTALITY’

 

Aghapouri stressed that peace requires a transformation in mentality and argued that governments ruling over Kurdistan must stop treating the Kurdish issue solely as a “security problem.”

 

He said: “This issue should instead be seen as a matter of peace, freedom and coexistence. The Kurdish issue could become the starting point for the development of these countries.”

 

Aghapouri added that without a change in mentality, political initiatives alone would not be sufficient. According to Aghapouri, such a transformation would allow the peoples of the Middle East to defend their dignity more strongly and move beyond conflicts centered on identity, language and cultural rights.

 

“The issues Europe resolved a century ago must also be resolved here. The path to peace can bring a new dignity to the entire Middle East,” he said. 

 

‘KURDS HAVE NO OPTION OTHER THAN UNITY’

 

Aghapouri also emphasized the importance of unity among Kurds, saying that intellectual and political solidarity is essential. “The Kurdish national consciousness is now at a high level,” he said, pointing to changes in attitudes toward the Kurdish language and identity over the last decade.

 

“We could not succeed through war, but we may succeed through peace,” he added.

 

ABOUT JIYAR AGHAPOURI

 

Dr. Jiyar Aghapouri is a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford’s Global Security Programme and Director of the Center for Peace and Human Security, as well as an Assistant Professor at the American University of Kurdistan. He completed postdoctoral research on migration and displacement at the UK Gender, Justice and Security Hub led by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His academic work focuses on migration, human security, ethnicity and nationalism, gender, non-state actors and Middle Eastern international relations, with a particular focus on Kurdistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

 

MA / Mujdat Can - Berivan Altan