Echoes of the Kurdish issue in the Iraqi and Turkish newspapers 1921-1939:a Historical study

Abstract

The press is one of the important sources in writing history, as it provides the researcher with information and details that are impossible to obtain in other sources. It is a necessary need of society, a historical document, and a source of history. In the subject of our research, there is an important issue that imposes itself strongly in both the Iraqi and Turkish newspapers. It is the Kurdish issue, especially at the beginning of the years 1921 and 1923, as it was the beginning of an important stage in the history of the two newspapers. The year 1921 was marked by the coronation of Faisal I, king of Iraq. Thus, the Iraqi press witnessed an important turning point in Iraq’s political history, as Iraqi newspapers were interested in following up on news of the Kurdish movements in Turkey, to influence Iraqi public opinion, which had little knowledge about these people. As for the year 1923, it witnessed the Kemalists taking control of Istanbul and establishing the republic. The Turkish government controlled the press in a way that served the Turkish state and its national security. The aim of this study is to delve into the depths of these newspapers and find out the extent of their importance and the importance of the information contained in them, which reveals to us something new about the Kurdish issue, especially in this period.