Kurdish PEN Warns of ‘Systematic Eradication’ of Kurdish Identity, Urges Global Action
The Kurdish PEN Centre accused several states and armed factions of denying Kurdish children the right to education in their mother tongue, calling the practice a form of “linguistic genocide.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdish PEN Centre has issued a strongly worded manifesto calling on PEN International and the global community of writers, intellectuals, and human rights defenders to break what it described as a “dangerous silence” over the treatment of Kurds across the Middle East, particularly in western Kurdistan (northern Syria).
In the statement, released on Monday, the Kurdish PEN Centre warned that Kurdish identity, language, and culture are facing what it termed a “systematic eradication,” driven by state policies, armed groups, and extremist ideologies. The document frames the issue not only as a political crisis but as an existential and cultural threat to the Kurdish people.
Central to the manifesto is the role of language, which the group described as essential to human existence and dignity. The Kurdish PEN Centre accused several states and armed factions of denying Kurdish children the right to education in their mother tongue, calling the practice a form of “linguistic genocide.” It argued that suppressing language amounts to erasing a people’s identity and history.
The statement devoted particular attention to the situation in Western Kurdistan, where Kurds are caught between the legacy of repression under the Syrian government and what the manifesto described as an even harsher reality under armed factions controlling areas such as Afrin, Serekaniye, and Gire Spi. According to the document, these groups have imposed religiously justified violence, confiscated property, and targeted Kurdish civilians, especially women.
The manifesto referenced recent footage from Aleppo showing the killing of a young Kurdish girl by radical militants, describing the incident as emblematic of the moral collapse facing the region and a continuation of practices associated with the ISIS era. The Kurdish PEN Centre said the incident symbolized the broader suffering of Kurdish women in their struggle for freedom and equality.
In its appeal to PEN International, the Kurdish PEN Centre outlined several demands, including a clear public stance against hate speech and incitement to violence, international pressure to protect the Kurdish language, solidarity with Kurdish women, and the formation of an international commission to investigate alleged crimes against Kurdish civilians in areas such as Afrin and Aleppo.
Concluding the manifesto, the Kurdish PEN Centre emphasized that Kurds seek equality and coexistence rather than dominance, urging neighboring nations to embrace pluralism and modern humanitarian values. “The Kurdish people were not created for martyrdom alone,” the statement said, calling on writers and intellectuals worldwide to use their voices to defend human dignity and cultural survival.
The appeal positions the Kurdish struggle as a broader test for freedom of expression and minority rights, warning that silence, in the face of such abuses, risks becoming complicit.