Kurdish Roots in the Shadows of Swedish Politics

In the Crossfire: Kurdish Identity and Justice in Sweden’s NATO Era

I have been listening to this quite a lot for the last 3-4 weeks. I enjoy it more and more every time. I hope you will too.

Introduction

As a Swedish citizen of Kurdish descent, I believe it is of the utmost importance to address the implications Sweden’s NATO membership holds for Kurds. This is not a debate on whether Sweden should or should not be in NATO, but rather a discussion of how NATO membership affects minorities, particularly those of us with Kurdish roots. I assert that while Sweden gains membership after years of neutrality, Turkey ultimately benefits from this decision, at the expense of Kurdish people.

Sweden’s NATO membership raises unsettling questions about the cost to Kurdish communities both here and abroad. Historically, Sweden has been a sanctuary for Kurds fleeing oppression, providing a safe haven for Kurdish culture and identity. Now, as Sweden seeks alignment with Turkey, a NATO member known for its military aggressions against Kurdish areas in Syria, Turkey and Iraq, Swedish Kurds face the erasure of their cultural and personal histories, even within the borders of Sweden. This is not only an attack on Kurdish identity but also a betrayal of the fundamental human rights Sweden once championed.

This article is longer than what is usually posted on here. Therefore, you can choose what part you’d like to read if you feel like focusing on just on part of the article.

In the first part of this article, I will discuss the various violations committed by Turkey and its militias in Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The idea is to show just how rooted and systematic the oppression of the Kurds are. In the second part titled ‘'A Call for International Action and Swedish Responsibility’, I offer some personal reflections on what this military alliance means for Swedes with Kurdish descent and what Sweden can do moving forward to preserve its self-image.

Part I

Sweden’s Historical Support for Kurdish Rights

Since the 1980s, Sweden has been an advocate for Kurdish rights and a reliable ally for Kurds seeking refuge from state persecution. My father, a Peshmerga who fought for Kurdish rights, was one of many who found safety in Sweden in the 1980s, escaping a dictatorship intent on eradicating his people.. Sweden's open-door policy for Kurdish refugees not only saved lives but allowed Kurdish culture to flourish. In fact, Stockholm was once affectionately dubbed the “Kurdish cultural capital” by Rohat Alakom, reflecting the strong Kurdish presence and resilience that Sweden made possible.

However, as Sweden aligns with Turkey, these longstanding principles are at risk. Turkey’s actions in northern Syria, particularly its military operations into Kurdish-majority regions, starkly contradict these values. Turkey’s hostility toward Kurdish identity has not abated; if anything, it has escalated. Turkey has continued to target Kurdish areas, viewing them as threats to national security, as evidenced by three military operations since 2016. These operations have turned many Kurdish regions into so-called “safe zones,” resulting in severe consequences for Kurdish communities and a violation of their human rights to life, safety, and dignity​.

Turkey’s “Safe Zones,” Military Operations, and Ethnic Cleansing of Kurdish Regions

Turkey’s historical hostility to Kurdish identity, now coupled with military action, has escalated in devastating ways. Turkey’s incursions into Syria since 2016 reveal a systematic effort to displace Kurds and destabilize Kurdish-majority areas under the guise of establishing “safe zones.”

This is because Turkey considers the Kurdish experiment at self-rule inside Syria as a direct threat to its national security. In other words, an independent and free Kurdistan cannot exist from the Turkish perspective.

According to Human Rights Watch, Turkey’s “security buffer” strategy is an attempt to weaken Kurdish presence along the border through what many describe as ethnic cleansing. By displacing Kurdish communities and resettling the region with Sunni Arab families from other parts of Syria, Turkey has actively restructured the demographic makeup of these areas, especially in Afrin and Tel Abyad​. These actions are not just territorial disputes—they are a systematic violation of international human rights laws, including the right to return, the right to property, and the right to live without fear of displacement and violence.

Additionally, Human Rights Watch reports that Turkey orchestrated the forced resettlement of Sunni Arab families into Afrin, taking over homes abandoned by Kurdish families who had been displaced. Cultural and historical landmarks with Kurdish names have been systematically renamed, erasing Kurdish heritage and replacing it with Turkish-linked names. The Newroz roundabout in Afrin, for example, was renamed the Olive Branch roundabout, symbolizing Turkey’s broader effort to assert its control over Kurdish territories. These changes not only erase Kurdish identity but are direct violations of the rights of people to preserve their heritage, something Turkey, as an occupying power, is legally obliged to protect under international law.

Furthermore, Turkey’s recent actions in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey highlight its ongoing suppression of Kurdish political representation. In November 2024, Turkey dismissed three elected Kurdish mayors from cities including Mardin and Batman, replacing them with state-appointed trustees on allegations of “terrorism.” This move reflects Turkey’s broader crackdown on Kurdish political voices, undermining the democratic rights of Kurdish people to freely elect their leaders. It’s a denial of the most basic principles of justice and political representation​.

Human Rights Violations Against Kurdish Civilians

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Turkish-backed forces, including factions like the Syrian National Army (SNA), have committed widespread human rights abuses in Kurdish regions of Syria. Based on interviews with 58 victims and survivors, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations, the report documents arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, and even the detention of children by the Turkish Armed Forces, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and various military intelligence directorates.

Violations extend to housing and property rights, with widespread looting and property seizures targeting Kurdish residents, contributing to a climate of fear and displacement​. This ongoing impunity for grave human rights violations undermines the pursuit of justice for victims, and the international community’s failure to hold perpetrators accountable further perpetuates the cycle of abuse.

Witnesses to these atrocities paint a grim picture. One Kurdish man detained in Afrin reported, “They waterboarded me, electrocuted me, beat me with cables, and removed all my fingernails, then injected them with needles.” In another case, detainees were forced to witness horrific abuses, including the gang rape of Kurdish women, with Turkish-backed interrogators using sexual violence as a weapon of war.

One man detained for four months in 2018 said that Turkish interrogators brought two young Kurdish women and told him that if he did not confess to working with the PKK they would rape them in front of him. “And they did, I didn’t know the women, but I knew they were Kurdish because they started screaming out for help in Kurdish. I was handcuffed and one of the officials held my head up to force me to watch.”

Children as young as six months have been detained with their mothers, and some detainees report witnessing sexual violence used against women and men alike. Human Rights Watch asserts that this widespread abuse underlines Turkey’s deliberate attempt to terrorize Kurdish civilians and further deny them justice​.

As a Kurdish resident of Afrin stated,

‘Anything Kurdish, these armed groups will target. Even if a rock had the word Kurd written on it, they'd target it”

Witnesses recount the brutality of Turkish intelligence personnel. One Kurdish woman, detained in Afrin, recalls,

“They slapped me across my face often… They pulled me from my hair and dragged me across the floor. I lost consciousness several times. One time they electrocuted me. Another time they hung me from poles.”

Such testimonies underscore the climate of fear and systematic torture perpetuated under Turkish oversight. The impunity for these crimes not only prolongs the suffering of Kurdish civilians but also signals that justice is unattainable in the face of unchecked power. Human Rights Watch reports that the lack of accountability for Turkish forces and affiliated militias in occupied areas has perpetuated a cycle of violence, making it nearly impossible for displaced Kurds to return home safely and reclaim their properties or rebuild their lives. The absence of justice reverberates deeply, highlighting a grim reality in which Kurdish voices and rights are systematically ignored in the pursuit of Turkey's strategic goals.

As illustrated, these human rights violations reflect a broader disregard for the rights of the Kurdish people. International law stipulates that occupying powers have an obligation to protect civilians under their control. Turkey, as an occupying power, has failed in its duty to protect the rights of the Kurdish population in Syria, from the right to life and safety to the right to their property and cultural heritage​. Swedish support indirectly enable Turkey to continue this violent suppression of Kurds in Syria. This was evident when Turkey held Sweden’s NATO bid hostage demanding both F-16 from the US and that Sweden deport Kurds back to Turkey.

Cultural and Economic Exploitation of Kurdish Lands

Turkey’s military occupation of Kurdish lands in Syria extends beyond control of territory to cultural erasure and economic exploitation. Afrin, an area famous for its olive groves and deeply tied to Kurdish heritage, has been stripped of its cultural significance.

According to Human Rights Watch, Turkish forces have exploited and expropriated Afrin’s famed olive production, often selling the products internationally.

This theft of resources and cultural heritage, is defended by Turkish officials as necessary to prevent revenues from benefiting Kurdish groups, represents a systematic economic stripping of Kurdish assets and an abuse of economic rights​.

Additionally, the environmental toll of Turkish operations on Kurdish lands is devastating.

In Duhok province, over 4,000 dunams of farmland and green spaces—an area equivalent to 560 football fields—were burned in Turkish bombardments in 2021, further impoverishing the region and threatening Kurdish agricultural stability.

These actions disregard the Kurdish people’s right to live in a healthy environment and to sustain their livelihoods. The destruction of vital agricultural land and natural resources is a direct attack on Kurdish economic self-sufficiency​.

Turkey’s Structural and Legal Changes in Occupied Regions

Under Turkey’s control, northern Syrian regions are gradually being transformed into administrative extensions of Turkey itself. Turkish currency is now the official currency, Turkish banks provide all financial services, and Syrian IDs are invalid. Residents are now required to obtain Turkish-issued ID cards, effectively erasing their original national affiliations and Kurdish identities.

According to Human Rights Watch, as an occupying power, Turkey is obligated under international law to ensure public order and protect the rights of property owners and civilians. As such Turkey is bound by both international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as provided for primarily the four Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I, and its international human rights law obligations which include the treaties it has ratified such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). The European Court of Human Rights has made clear that a country party to the ECHR must apply the Convention outside its national territory to protect foreign individuals under its control or authority, and when it exercises effective control over a territory other than its own.

However, Turkey has failed to meet these obligations, instead subjecting Kurdish civilians to continued harassment and forced displacement. This legal overhaul seeks not only to erase Kurdish self-governance but to extinguish the cultural and political autonomy that has long been the right of the Kurdish people.

In addition to this administrative overhaul, the recent Turkish bombardments on essential infrastructure in northeast Syria have had a crippling effect.

According to Human Rights Watch, these attacks have destroyed health and education centers, bakeries, grain warehouses, and water and fuel stations, leaving 120,000 civilians without access to water and electricity in cities like Kobani and Amuda.

These attacks represent clear violations of international human rights law, as civilian infrastructure must be protected during armed conflicts. Turkey’s indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas denies people their basic human rights to health, education, and access to basic services.

A Call for International Action and Swedish Responsibility

The international community, including Sweden, must stand against human rights violations in Kurdish regions and hold Turkey accountable. While Sweden’s NATO membership serves its national security interests, aligning with Turkey without challenging its actions in occupied Kurdish areas risks compromising Sweden’s values and its credibility as a human rights champion. Now, as a NATO member, Sweden has a responsibility to push for transparency, justice, and accountability within the alliance.

For decades, Sweden has stood as a global advocate for human rights, often supporting oppressed groups and championing international justice. Now, Swedish Kurds question how their country can closely align with a state that systematically violates these principles. Human Rights Watch highlights Turkey's responsibility for the oppression faced by Kurdish civilians in northern Syria, including arbitrary detentions, forced displacement, and the erasure of Kurdish identity. Turkey’s disregard for international human rights standards in these regions contravenes core treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and the European Convention on Human Rights. Yet, Sweden’s new alliance with Turkey risks signaling tolerance for such breaches, casting doubt on Sweden’s longstanding commitment to these standards.

Sweden should leverage its new position to advocate for independent investigations into documented abuses by Turkish forces and demand reparations for affected Kurdish communities.

True security for Sweden must not mean sacrificing justice; it must include an unwavering commitment to human rights, both at home and abroad.

Swedish Kurds call on their government to uphold the principles of justice and human rights that have defined Sweden’s global stance, rather than abandoning these values for geopolitical gains.

Impact on Sweden’s Kurdish Community and the Importance of Solidarity

This geopolitical shift is not just political—it has deeply personal implications for many Swedish Kurds. Many have grown up hearing stories of oppression and of families who fled to Sweden for safety, equality, and the freedom to express their Kurdish identity. As I mentioned earlier, my father sought asylum here in 1985.

If Saddam’s Iraq had been part of NATO, would thousands of Kurdish individuals have been deported to facilitate membership in a military alliance?

This question haunts us. Sweden’s alignment with Turkey raises painful questions: Is Sweden prepared to ignore Kurdish suffering for the sake of security alliances? What message does this send to the Kurdish diaspora in Sweden, who have looked to their adopted country as a beacon of hope?

Losing Sweden’s solidarity with the Kurdish cause represents more than just an immediate impact on Kurdish communities. It also signifies a shift in Sweden’s global identity. Sweden has long been a voice for justice in international forums, yet, as it strengthens ties with Turkey, Swedish Kurds fear that these values are being compromised. This sense of alienation affects many Kurdish Swedes, who feel as though their connection to both their Kurdish heritage and Swedish identity is being undermined.

The struggle for Kurdish rights is a global issue, touching on the fundamental needs for identity, survival, and human rights. For Kurds worldwide, including those who have made Sweden their home, Turkey’s actions signify more than political maneuvering—they are a direct threat to Kurdish heritage and existence.

Acts of cultural erasure, economic exploitation, and the renaming of historical sites all serve as painful reminders that, even in exile, Kurds remain targets of oppression.

Sweden’s Kurdish community feels the weight of these realities, aware that their heritage and rights are under threat, even from afar. The erosion of Kurdish identity in Syria and Turkey resonates in Sweden, where the Kurdish diaspora contends with the implications of their adopted country’s alliances. Kurdish Swedes urge their fellow citizens to recognize the injustices facing their community and to support the pursuit of justice and human rights for Kurds globally.

Sweden’s Path Forward: Balancing Security and Justice

Sweden now faces a unique challenge: balancing national security with a duty to uphold justice and human rights. The answer lies in actively advocating for the Kurdish people, both within and beyond its borders. Sweden’s Kurdish population, proud of their adopted home, is rightfully concerned that their safety and identity may become compromised by Sweden’s political shift. True security and stability can only be achieved if they are rooted in justice and respect for human rights—a principle that should guide Sweden’s new role within NATO.

If Sweden is to uphold its ideals, it must demand that Turkey meet its obligations as an occupying power by ending unlawful detentions, restoring property rights, and preserving Kurdish cultural heritage. Sweden’s influence and reputation hinge on its ability to champion these values, showing the world that, even in a complex geopolitical landscape, it will not abandon the call for justice. Only by standing firm on these principles can Sweden reassure its Kurdish community—and the world—that its values remain steadfast, no matter the alliances it forms.

Conclusion: Reaffirming Sweden’s Values

Sweden’s decision to join NATO need not undermine its commitment to justice, human rights, and support for oppressed minorities. I hope Sweden will use this new position to uphold accountability and human rights, even amid the challenges posed by its alliance with TurkeyThe Kurdish community calls on Sweden to remember its values, recognize the injustices that Kurds face, and take meaningful action in support of those who have viewed Sweden as a beacon of hope.

As Sweden steps into this new phase of its international role, I hope that the Swedish government ensures that Sweden’s identity as a defender of human rights remains unshaken, so that the voices of those seeking justice and freedom are never silenced.

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