An Open Letter to Our Esteemed Governor of Iğdır, Mr. Hüseyin Engin Sarıibrahim

Dear Governor,

Problems have always existed and will continue to exist everywhere in the world, in every country, and consequently, in every city. What is important is for the public to be aware of the problems in their city, to work hand-in-hand with state institutions, to determine their own priorities, and to demonstrate the will to resolve these issues within that framework. Unfortunately, our Iğdır has not only been inadequate in determining its own priorities regarding problems, but it also continues to maintain a habit of postponing its problems.

Drawing from my humble experiences, I would like to respectfully present to your high office and for your information a problem that has been deeply rooted in Iğdır for years, becoming more complex each year due to the lack of established rules, and leading to deaths, murders, and family tragedies.

THE REALITY OF KURDISH-AZERI SETTLEMENT IN IĞDIR: PROBLEMS OF PLOTS, LAND, FIELDS, PASTURES, HIGHLANDS, MEADOWS..

The Azeri community has traditionally been engaged in agriculture. Therefore, apart from inheritance disputes, very few enmities arise among the Azeri community due to issues such as fields, plots, etc., and problems are quickly resolved as it has become a tradition for parties to respect and implement court decisions. Furthermore, our Azeri village headmen meticulously fulfill their duties in terms of "legal personality," successfully maintaining order in the village by establishing authority.

Unfortunately, the same does not apply to the Kurdish community. Kurds have traditionally been involved in animal husbandry, thus adopting a semi-nomadic lifestyle.

Within the Kurdish community, the tribal structure continues to exist as a social reality. Only a very small number of tribes engage in agriculture and have now accepted a settled life as their way of life. These tribes, just like the Azeri community, have internalized a way of life where field boundaries are clear and they live without problems with their neighbors.

SEMI-NOMADIC KURDS

A large part of the Kurdish population in Iğdır is engaged in animal husbandry. This increases the importance of grazing areas such as pastures, meadows, highlands, and treasury lands; since boundaries are not precisely defined, seizures of pastures, meadows, treasury lands, and occupied lands, and an understanding where "the strong one" determines the boundaries, come to the forefront every year, resulting in an increase in deaths and enmities, and long-standing intra-tribal or inter-tribal problems.

In villages inhabited by semi-nomadic Kurds, because the element of "violence and threat" comes to the fore, the authority or legal personality of the village headmen loses its importance; they cannot prevent the emerging enmities, and often they are forced to take sides, remain neutral and silent, or are compelled to take sides.

MY SUGGESTIONS

1. To establish a Provincial Agricultural Commission or a mixed commission as you deem appropriate, to examine on-site in villages engaged in animal husbandry and in highlands where pastures are, where treasury lands are, and where titled lands are, to delineate the boundaries for the sharing of meadows, fields, pastures, and treasury lands, to identify the users, and to have a sketch and report signed by the Village Headman and the Village Council, ensuring that state intervention is immediately activated when an irregular situation occurs. Our village headmen are inadequate in exercising their authority alone due to "violence and threat," which gives opportunity to the unjust practices of "the strong."
2. The unlawful seizure of treasury lands or the benefiting of some individuals from treasury lands through legal maneuvers leaves a negative impact on the rest of the village, increasing enmities.
3. As you know, pastures are under the dominion and disposition of the state. They cannot be privatized or used for purposes other than their intended use. However, in many places, pastures are seized, and an understanding emerges such as "This is my place, only my animals will graze here, and I will mow its grass," which leads to a "land grabbing" competition among villagers, and soon enmities and conflicts inevitably arise. The commission to be established should put an end to the sharing of pastures, prepare a report to be open to the service of the entire village, have it signed by the village headman and the village council, and sanctions should be applied to village headmen who cannot exercise their powers.
4. The boundaries between villages and the boundaries between tribes in the highlands should be clearly defined and recorded.
5. It does not seem possible for us to suggest a solution like, "Let them apply to the court and solve their problems," because experience has shown thousands of times that more deaths occur during the court process, and moreover, the implementation of court decisions is not easy and further deepens the enmity. The best solution is to record an agreement reached on-site in the village, with the participation of the parties, accompanied by a competent commission, and to have it signed by the parties as a document with the force of a judgment.

Dear Governor; I thank you in advance for your interest and attention, and I respectfully submit to your high knowledge the need for action on this matter, which I consider important.

Sincerely,