Kurds Advancing to Reclaim Land in Northern Iraq.

"Kurdish ancestral lands" were not all as ethnically
homogenous prior to the ethnic cleansing of Kurds began by
the Baath regime in 1974 as the examples cited in the
article. Example is the town of Kirkuk, where Kurds
probably were the largest ethnic group only from the
1950s onwards to the mid 1970s. But dreams of the future
are projected backwards in time to justify the fullfillment
of these dreams. One has to remember that like so many
other peoples, the Kurds - who have been a distinct
group of people for at least 2000 years - emerged as
a "nation" in the 19th century. The word "Kurd" is used
first time by a Kurdish writer in the 17th century - if
I remember correctly.

Displaced people have of course right to return to their
homelands, but it has to be remembered that new ethnic
cleansing can´t be justified on the basis of a previous
one. Especially in the current volatile situation in Iraq
any return of refugees should be tightly organized and
agreed upon by all major sides. Otherwise things can turn
far uglier than they are now.

And at least in my mind came one question in that the
article didn´t touch: Are all the Kurds returning refugees
from the areas they are coming? How do you prove that you
really are a refugee and not just a settler looking for land?