Sheik Ahmed Par Excellence 1896 - 1969

In age of 18 in November 1914 he took over the leadership of Barzani Movement after his older brother Sheik Abdulselam Barzani was martyred by “Young Turk or Jon Turk” government. It was beginning of the World War I (WWI) Beside war tragedies he will experience the worst tragedy in Kurdistan history. Kurds and Kurdistan not just become divided, but their very existence will be denied. They will be subjugated to newly created regimes without any rights. Mass murders, mass deportation, jailing, torturing of the Kurds will become common place. Post World War I (WWI) The Treaty of Lausanne signed on the 24th July 1923¹. It incorporated the newly created states in the international system. This had multiple impact on Kurds and Kurdistan: Kurdish families, villages, tribes and cities and whole Kurdistan were divided. Visiting family member, cousins on the other side of border was criminalized or doing business was considered smuggling. Regional economy crushed no longer people could freely trade between and among villages and cities that have been economical interdependent or integrated for thousands of years. 1-The very existence of Kurdistan destroyed 2-The Kurds were denied any stakes or share in newly created states and their basic human rights were denied 3-Any demands for even basic natural rights become criminalized and Kurds become outlaws almost overnight. Sheik Ahmed had to deal with this.

Bilateral and multi-lateral treaties of post WWI

The victors of World War I. (WWI) after dividing Kurdistan starting from 1921, they signed many bilateral and multi-lateral treaties with new regimes not just denied the very existence of Kurds and Kurdistan but actively cooperating against any legitimate Kurdish rights to protect their new political order they created². Sheik Ahmed Par Excellence a spiritual leader with depth since of patriotism had to deal with new reality. His thinking and values based on protection of humanity, diversity, equal rights, women rights, social justice and protection of nature; therefore, he could not accept what has been imposed on Kurdistan. As stated by St. Thomas Aquinas, “Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”(As quoted by Martin Luther King)³, clearly new laws and order were unjust and against any humanitarian law.

He build and expend on relationship establish during Sheik Abdulselam. Now that Kurdistan was divided to many pieces’ communication was more difficult. The cities are shown in the maps were major Kurdish leaders and activists were located and they were constantly in touch with Par Excellence and debating different alternatives to save Kurdistan or at least obtain an autonomy. In 1926 there were an attempt to establish an independent Kurdistan from Urmiye, Hakari, Barzan, Rewanduz to Slemani but international power will not allow anything on the name of Kurdistan happened⁴. However, Par Excellence never stop the struggle. Sometimes he will use diplomacy, negotiation, and sometimes lead armed resistance. In addition, he was constantly negotiating with the International powers for protection of Kurdistan.

From 1920s on Kurdistan become British Airforce (RAF) testing ground for its effectiveness. It is reported RAF “… bombed the villages of Kurdish rebels under Sheik Ahmed of Barzan in 1931 – 32⁵”. For instance, “…Between December 29th and January 3rd Iraqi Air Force [RAF] had carried “116 hours and 20 minutes” in daily demonstration of force against Sheik Ahmed Barzani in Barzan area⁶. Successive British Official have been recording that Iraqi Army was not able to hold against Barzani Freedom Forces. The British official reporting to the “British Air Marshal” on 6th April 1932 on Iraqi Army that was fighting against Barzani forces as follows: “… the state of moral collapse into which the troops had deteriorated. It appears that the behavior of the senior Iraqi officers has been disgraceful, and that the men no longer confidence in them. The result was that discipline had largely disappeared, sanitary arrangements were non-existent, and the men would not obey their officers.⁷” Again 12 years later British official evaluation is “Iraqi Army” is not able to stand against freedom forces. The report titled: “Iraqi Army A. The Army and the Kurdish Problem 15th October 1944.” “… Iraqi Army alone cannot as yet be regarded as a good match for MULLA MUSTAFA and his guerillas. They feel that it would require two armies of the present caliber of the Iraq Army to give a good account of themselves or alternatively British armed intervention would have to be employed⁸.”

Political exile and jail

Sheik Ahmed Par Excellence from 22 June 1932 -to 12 December 1944 has experienced refuge in Turkey and forced residency in Ankara and Eskişehir after extradition by Turkey to Iraq despite Turkish states promises to him, house arrest, exile forced residencies in different Iraqi cities become part of his daily life. From 1947 to 1958 was jailed with death sentence in Basra⁹ many family members were jailed or exiled as well. The marked destinations on the map shows the cities that Par Excellence forced to live, house arrest or jailed.

1 Allied and Associated Powers (1914-1920), Martin, L., & Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (1924). the treaties of peace, 1919-1923. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Vol. II.
2 TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP: PERSIA AND RUSSIA 26 February-12 December 1921 (Pp417 – 421 Hurewitz), TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP: TURKEY AND RUSSIA 16 March 1921 (Pp. 422 – 424), AGREEMENT (ANKARA) FOR THE PROMOTION OF PEACE: FRANCE AND THE PROVISIONAL (NATIONALIST) GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY 20 October 1921 (P. 424 – 427 Hurewitz), “TREATY OF ALLIANCE: GREAT BRITAIN AND IRAQ 10 October 1922 (P. 438 Hurewitz), THE (LAUSANNE) TREATY OF PEACE WITH TURKEY AND THE ACCOMPANYING STRAITS CONVENTION 24 July 1923 (Pp. 446 – 454 Hurewitz), FRONTIER TREATY: THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRAQ AND TURKEY 5 June 1926 (Pp 470 – 473), TREATY OF PREFERENTIAL ALLIANCE: THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRAQ 30 June 1930 (Ratifications exchanged, Baghdad, 26 January 1931; superseded, 5 April 1955, by United Kingdom’s accession to Turco-Iraqi Pact)” (Pp 505 – 508 Hurewitz ), and TREATY OF NONAGGRESSION (SA’DABAD PACT): AFGHANISTAN, IRAN, IRAQ AND TURKEY 8 July 1937 (Ratifications deposited, Tehran, 25 June 1938) (Pp. 541 – 543 Hurewitz )
3 AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER – UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Retrieved February 20, 2021 from https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.
4 Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 7 P.162
5 Omissi, David E. (1990). Air power and colonial control: the Royal Air Force, 1919-1939. Manchester [England] ; New York : New York, NY P. 37)
6 Burdett, A. L. P. (2005). Iraq: defense intelligence 1920-1973. Slough: Archive Ed. Vol.3 P. 3
7 Burdett, A. L. P. (2005). Iraq: defense intelligence 1920-1973. Slough: Archive Ed. Vol. 2 P. 709
8 Burdett, A. L. P. (2005). Iraq: defense intelligence 1920-1973. Slough: Archive Ed. Vol. 3 Pp. 165 – 167
⁹ Barzani, Mesud (2017) Barzani Ve Kürt Ulusal Özgürlük Hareketi Vol I. [Barzani and Kurdistan National Liberation Movement Vol I.] Doz Basim Yayin. Istanbul, Turkey Pp. 45 and 329