Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Kurds and Kurdistan

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Case opened on 15:35, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Main case page (talk) — Evidence (talk) — Workshop (talk) — Proposed decision (talk)

Case clerk: Dreamy Jazz (talk) • Drafting arbitrators: BDD (talk) & Primefac (talk) & Maxim (talk)

Case closed on 14:22, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

Case amended by motion on 02:30, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

Case amended by motion on 16:11, 20 March 2022 (UTC)

Case amended by motion on 21:36, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

Case amended by motion on 13:48, 27 March 2026 (UTC)

Watchlist all case (and talk) pages: Front, Ev., Wshp., PD.

Case information

Involved parties

Prior dispute resolution

Preliminary statements

Statement by GPinkerton

User:Paradise Chronicle, User:Levivich, and I have run into difficulty in a content dispute with editors with whom it has become clear there are conduct and POV-pushing issues; namely the other parties identified in this case. It has become clear that though Syrian Kurdistan is covered by the General Sanctions applied to the Syrian Civil War articles, the issues with it and numerous Kurdish-related pages across the Near/Middle East fall outside the direct remit of WP:SCW sanctions, which have proven unable to resolve the project-wide dispute. Numerous editors have received blocks for their contributions to this topic (including myself, including for having raised multiple ANI reports on the subject). Meanwhile the disruption has continued, as evidenced by the numerous diffs collected by interested parties at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Kurds, with accompanying disruption: this edit for example.

The geopolitical "Kurdish Question" has long been salient in international politics. Kurdistan, the cultural homeland of the Kurds, spans four modern states (Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq) and the Kurds are a repressed minority long subjected to state suppression, including 20th-century military offensives, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Problem behaviours have included:

  1. denying the existence of a (Syrian) Kurdistan.
  2. erasure or "whitewashing" historical events, including denial of ethnic cleansing in the Arab Belt.
  3. removing well-sourced mentions of matters relating to Kurds.
  4. removing mentions of Kurdish populations and names, including moving articles to non-Kurdish place names (such as those changed under the Arab Belt).
  5. using unreliable sources to contradict academic sources.
  6. quoting selectively, misquoting, and misrepresenting sources.

On the Syrian Kurdistan page (and elsewhere), editors have been seeking to deny that the Arab Nationalist Ba'ath Party perpetrated a campaign of ethnic cleansing known as the "Arab Belt" in Syrian Kurdistan, and moreover, have questioned that the existence of the place, in the face of numerous reliable sources. (In Iraq, the same party later organized the Anfal genocide.) Editors (particularly User:عمرو بن كلثوم, User:Supreme Deliciousness, and User:Thepharoah17) argue that the historically Kurdish-majority borderlands of Syria and bordering Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkish Kurdistan were not historically populated by Kurds until the post-WWI French Mandate of Syria.

This conduct is beyond the pale in light of the well-attested fact that the national socialist Ba'ath Party's Arab Belt ethnic cleansing plan in the newly renamed Syrian Arab Republic, denied Kurds' civil rights on the fictitious grounds that they were illegal 20th-century immigrants escaping persecution in the Turkish Republic; this exclusion endured until the Civil War. From the 1960s on, it has been a central myth of Syrian Arab nationalism that Kurds do not belong within Syria's modern borders and that Syrian Kurdistan is a figment of Kurdish nationalists' imagination: there is evidence of propagation of this idea on Talk:Syrian Kurdistan and on many other articles. This is akin to Holocaust denial. GPinkerton (talk) 07:34, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

First, in light of the contributions of others, the statements of Cullen328 and The Bushranger look faintly ridiculous demonstrably untrue. (edit: modified statement for neutrality) My block and topic ban should be overturned.
Second, to clarify to Semsûrî, MJL, Valereee, El_C, Robert McClenon, Sixula, Barkeep49, Primefac, BDD, and the Worm That Turned: it it was never my intention to limit the scope of the request to Syrian Kurdistan; the request covers the Kurds, Kurdistan, the Kurdish Question, Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish terrorism, persecutions of Kurds, and all Kurdish history. It should include Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, as well as Syria, and should also cover Kurdish minorities elsewhere, Kurdish political parties, Kurdish organizations, and the non-Kurdish minorities of the wider Kurdistan region. I linked the subpage (Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Kurds) in the request above; it details many pages, beyond Syrian Kurdistan, that have been subject to problematic editing. Levivich and Paradise Chronicle have already contributed to it, and that page has itself been subject to disruption.
Issues as diverse as the Armenian genocide (there was significant Kurdish involvement), the Gulf Wars (persecutions of the Kurds by the Ba'ath Party was a factor), and the recent Nagorno-Karabakh War (pro-Turkish militants from Syrian Kurdistan were, despite Turkish denials, deployed by the Turkish-Azeri side; Armenia was accused of employing Kurdish mercenaries) should unquestionably be under the Committee's eye. The results of long-standing denial of Kurds by Turkey (as "mountain Turks") deserves no different treatment than the Anfal genocide or the Arab Belt ethnic cleansing policy; none of these is covered by the Syrian Civil War sanctions at present. Nusaybin needs to be in scope as much as Qamishli, Kirkuk as much as Afrin.
Third, thanks to L235 for notifying me. I note that some parties have exceeded their word limit. GPinkerton (talk) 15:13, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by Paradise Chronicle

I was going to request a case myself but on the wider Kurdish issue. The Kurdish issue is really in need of an ArbCom Case. That the topic banned but really influential editor (leading editor) in the article Syrian Kurdistan, GPinkerton chose this way to be able to take part in the discussion, is understandable. How to describe or even if the Kurds should be described on Wikipedia is a long lasting conflict (not only content dispute, but behavioral issue and dispute) and there can be provided similar diffs as extensively presented in the Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Kurds for a way longer time span if needed. The issues presented for Syrian Kurdistan are clearly relevant and often also count for the Kurdish issue in general.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 14:43, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

El C, I also support a case on the wider Kurdish issue.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 23:26, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
Hi dear ArbCom committee, as I have written before, I was working on a case on my own (together with Levivich) until GPinkerton made a move before us. Under User:Paradise Chronicle/ArbComCase you can see the preparations for it. I has some more diffs added than the one of GPinkerton and a broader case on the Kurdish issue can be made out of it. You can also merge the two cases. If you want us to further work on a case, we'll prepare a case you can accept. The Kurdish issue is really in need of a case, we (Paradise Chronicle, Levivich and GPinkerton) would be able to participate in a case constructively with sources and diffs and also have quite a good knowledge on where there are issues which need a solution. I know, the fact that GPinkerton filed the request faces some opposition, but he can really provide a lot of diffs and sources to the discussion.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 21:51, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
On the Holocaust or Genocide link of the Kurdish issue: It is something different, but it deserves a similar Admin/Sysop attention. Nor the Jews or the Armenians had to face a denial of their ethnicity by the country they were living in. But generations of Syrians and Turks were raised up to University levels that Kurds don't exist (or are still educated in this way) and there of course exist Wikipedia editors who where raised in such an environment. It is normal that there exist editors who deny there exist Kurds in a certain part of the world or deny the existence of a Kurdistan. One statement in this very discussion, clearly shows that there exist such editors. What we can do on Wikipedia is to educate them that they exist, and this we can do by forcing them to accept reliable often cited academic scholarship and not erase anything for OR or unsourced. But this, Admins/Sysops also must be willing to enforce, which is really seldmomly the case, which can also be observed in this very discussion here. At times Admins enforce it, and those admins get some praise by me, but it would be good that the existence of Kurds, Kurdish language and Kurdistan would become something we don't have to source like we also don't have to source it for other nations or languages. I've been discussing this Kurdish issue with admins and editors for months and sincerely I am getting tired of it. It is not my job to to clean up this mess, it is the Admins job and it is really easy to clean it up. Admins restrict editors rights for bludgeoning or a sometimes not even violated 1RR rule but not for the persistent denial of a cultural region against academic scholarship? It is clear a Kurdish ArbCom Case is due but the will by the ArbCom must be there.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 07:30, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
Seeing the several participants of the discussion mentioning that they prefer a broader Kurdish case (like mine). What do you suggest? Should I file this one? I don't want to cause a confusion by adding a similar second case to the first one, so I'll wait for comments.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 20:25, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by Levivich

Not much to add other than that the stuff at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Kurds and Talk:Syrian Kurdistan isn't a content dispute (and I really don't understand how anyone can think it is). TBANs are long overdue. A dozen ANI threads hasn't fixed this. Half a dozen editors already sanctioned. Admins divided. And it continues every day. Asking whether Syrian Kurds exist is like asking whether German Jews exist. I'm embarrassed by my colleagues who treat this question as if it were a legitimate question. Levivich harass/hound 16:21, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

I would appreciate it if Supreme Deliciousness would stop WP:ADMINSHOPPING for sanctions against myself and others, at least while this case request is open . Concerns about conduct in this area (my own or others) should be centralized here. Levivich harass/hound 18:30, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

This is ridiculous: You and Valereee seem to be friends, so you being an arbitrator in the Syrian Kurdistan case would be a conflict of interest. You should resign from the case and give that role to someone else. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 00:25, 11 January 2021 (UTC) Levivich harass/hound 02:30, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

I agree the proper scope of the dispute is "Kurds and Kurdistan", not just "Syrian Kurdistan". (Kurdistan includes parts of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.) User:Paradise Chronicle/ArbComCase and Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Kurds include examples of Kurd-related disruption outside of Syria, and even outside of Kurdistan. Levivich harass/hound 04:27, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

@BDD and Barkeep49: I noticed you've accepted with a scope of "Kurds" and BDD's comment about "and Kurdistan" being redundant. In my view it's not redundant because there are articles involved in this disruption about topics that relate to "Kurdistan" but not "Kurds". For example, Yazidis (which El_C mentioned in his statement), or conflicts between (any combination of) Turks, Arabs, and ISIS, that happen in Kurdistan but don't directly involve Kurds (e.g., Turkey–ISIL conflict, which include events in Turkish Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan). There are certainly logical reasons behind setting the scope at "Kurds", "Kurdistan", or "Kurds and Kurdistan", whatever you decide, I just wanted to highlight the difference between "Kurds" and "Kurds and Kurdistan". Levivich harass/hound 22:05, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

If this case is accepted, will it be with the named parties? What is the procedure for seeking to add parties? Thanks, Levivich harass/hound 20:54, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, BK. I will post a request to add a party in the next few hours. Levivich harass/hound 22:05, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
Nevermind, after reviewing diffs, I'm not going to request adding any parties. Levivich harass/hound 00:42, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by عمرو بن كلثوم

My first reaction to this case is really shock to see it come from an "editor" with so many problematic behavior issues across a wide topic of areas. There has been a case against them almost every month at the at the ANB, with the last one being this lengthy discussion about their WP:BATTLEGROUND behavior in at least eight different articles covering a wide range of topics (e.g., Holocaust in Bulgaria, Bulgaria during World War II, Hagia Sophia, Murder of Samuel Paty, etc.). This case is just another piece of evidence confirming that. Their edit-warring behavior is complemented with a very aggressive personal attack attitude. See these examples they wrote against me: here here, here. Their Talk page is full with warnings about WP:Edit warring, WP:Civility issues. Warning and cases are just too many to count, but here are some recent examples:

They were indeffed by Guerillero here on 4 Dec. but then the block was converted to a tban of Middle East post 1453, which of course that they never respected. Here are some warnings after the indef was lifted and during the tban:

I think I'll stop here for now out of respect for your time, but the list really goes on and on. As for the content dispute, this lengthy difference gives you an idea (no need to post walls of text here). Cheers, Amr ibn Kulthoumعمرو بن كلثوم (talk) 10:03, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

One does not have look elsewhere to see crystal clear the politically-motivated POV-pushing mentality that is driving this case and the edits by GPinkerton and Levivich. The last paragraph in GPinkerton's statement above shows that they are here to right great wrongs. Likewise, Levivich above says Asking whether Syrian Kurds exist is like asking whether German Jews exist. See the admin comments about Levivich's claims/behavior at this page such as this comment from Joe Roe. On that same page you can also see the comments by El C regarding the Holocaust and Palestine/Israel analogy pushed by GPinkerton and Levivich.

Let me be clear here, nobody here agrees with human rights violations coming from any side (including the Syrian government), and nobody is saying Kurds do not exist in Syria. Actually, I challenge GPinkerton et al. to show evidence of their claims. However, this does not mean we can change or delete historical facts to suit our political beliefs as Levivich and GPinkerton have done at the Syrian Kurdistan page. Based on their political convictions, GPinkerton and Levivich have changed text to present "Syrian Kurdistan" and "rojava" as non-disputed terms. Of course some people call the area Syrian Kurdistan, but many more refer to it as "Kurdish-inhabited area" or Kurdish-populated area, Kurdish enclaves in Syria (ready to present quotes and references upon request). Here is an excerpt from Michael Gunter (2018), one of the Kurdish studies experts, regarding the use of these terms: The most obvious political consequence of these dynamics was the adoption by some Kurdish parties of the expression "Syrian Kurdistan" or "Rojava", referring to Northern Syria, as opposed to the moderate, "Kurdish regions of Syria".. You may want to see how Levivich removed massive amounts of text showing French mandate ethnic census numbers as well as British and French scholarship on Kurdish immigration and ethnographic maps showing the demographics of that area. To further debunk this conspiracy theory pushed by GPinkerton et al., none of the references used in that article about Kurdish population history in Syria is even Arab or Syrian, let alone Baathist. See my edit at ANB showing several quotes from western sources on the Kurdish immigration issue that Levivich et al. love to call conspiracy theory or Baathism inventions, etc., and have been removing or trying to hide any reference to that in the Syrian Kurdistan page. You may also want to see the grey literature and whitewashing and the type of sources used in the articles about Kurds in Syria (e.g. Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, Human rights in the AANES, Rojava conflict, etc.). Cheers, Amr ibn Kulthoumعمرو بن كلثوم (talk) 04:06, 9 January 2021 (UTC)

El C: thanks for the catch and sorry for the miswording (too many ideas jumping around in my head :)). Corrected that now. Cheers, Amr ibn Kulthoumعمرو بن كلثوم (talk) 04:33, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
The comments we are seeing here and on other boards from the filers show exactly their POV-pushing agenda and the roots of some of the problems WP is dealing with in this topic. Paradise Chronicle says Kurdistan includes parts of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, what's next? A German Kurdistan? There are/might be Kurds living in these areas, and into Russia too, but does that warrant claiming an "Armenian Kurdistan", meaning/implying an exclusive land of the Kurds? These three editors mix between Kurdish-inhabited areas, where Kurds and significant numbers of other people live together, and Kurdistan proper. Based on that, they have decided to adopt the most extreme nationalistic narrative of Kurdistan borders and maps. This academic book shows how what's called "Turkish Kurdistan" today, in a big part was Armenian homeland or mixed Armenian, Kurdish and Arab lands. Here is another Armenian study. This academic quote from Zeynep Kaya (2012) exposes the POV-pushing narrative of the filers of this case (and the content dispute we are dealing with): Although it is well established that these maps overlook the heterogeneous character of the population inhabiting the area as well as the political boundaries of the existing states, they appear in almost all types of sources, from Kurdish websites to non-Kurdish academic works, journals and newspapers. They typically refer to the region as ‘Kurdish populated areas’ or the ‘Kurdish region’. Bold font is mine to show the difference between a generally-accepted term (still, not very neutral) Kurdish populated areas vs the wild, POV-pushing name imposed by GPinkerton, Levivich and Paradise "Syrian Kurdistan", that means/implies "exclusive land of the Kurds" AGAINST editors' consensus at that specific Talk page. Also, this comment from Levivich about calling editors racist POV-pushers was tolerated by admins. Here is a concise, all-telling quote from the "Companion to the History of the Middle East" about the Kurdish immigration from Turkey to Syria that debunks GPinkerton and Levivich claims: The majority of the Kurds in Syria are originally Turkish Kurds, who left Turkey in the 1920s in order to escape the harsh repression of the Kurds in that country. If you are looking for more details on this, I have listed several other sources (all western) giving specifics on this immigration here that Levivich had removed from the Syrian Kurdistan page. Cheers, Amr ibn Kulthoumعمرو بن كلثوم (talk) 02:20, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by Attar-Aram syria

This is a content dispute. Its baffling that the editor who started this is comparing the content dispute to Holocaust denial!!!.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 13:01, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by Thepharoah17

As I have already stated, I am done and have no further interest in the Kurds issue. I still don't know a lot of features on Wikipedia such as an ArbCom or how to nominate an article for deletion. I just learned about the three revert rule a few days ago (not that I ever needed to know because I never edit warred). My main goal was to get rid of the Irish sockpuppet who repeatedly caused trouble in Northern Ireland issues and so decided to come here and cause this mess and I have achieved this goal. I will just say this for the record, though. This is maybe an idea you guys are missing. Kurdistan is a secular idea. It doesn't exist because it has no reason to exist. Most Kurds are Muslims. Why would Muslims want to separate from a Muslim nation? The ones who want an independent Kurdish state are the non-religious Kurds. The Ottoman Empire even gave Kurds their own province called the Kurdistan Eyalet. Even when Erdogan said Turks and Kurds are brothers, he meant Turks and Kurds are both Muslims. See for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Movement_of_Salah_al-Din_the_Kurd. That's why there isn't really such thing as a Kurdish name. They're just either different pronunciations of the Arabic name or a translation. See for example: Erbil and Ras al-Ayn. Thepharoah17 (talk) 08:33, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Statement by Supreme Deliciousness

GPinkerton is topic banned from making Middle East edits, so she is not allowed to file this, so it should be speedily closed and GPinkerton blocked. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 07:51, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

GPinkerton, You forgot to mention User:Konli17, that was edit warring, and was the main disruption at the article, why didn't you mention him?--Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 09:20, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
Cullen328, There was large amount of edit warring before by a sockpuppet Konli17 adding fake maps into the article, but as soon as he and GPinkertion got banned the article got calm. There is still content disputes at the talkpage, but I don't believe an arb case is necessary. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 08:06, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
Levivich, no one ever said Syrian Kurds doesn't exist.--Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 18:04, 6 January 2021 (UTC)


The main problem at the Syrian Kurdistan article was a now blocked sock User:Konli17 who kept on adding fake maps and edit warring/disrupting the article. Hes the one that started everything. The other main problem was GPinkerton who arrived at the article and also disrupted and edit warred and made it impossible to edit or have a normal discussion at the talkpage because of her behavior.

Take a look at this AN discussion to see the history of GPinkerton and all the disputes she has been involved in:. Any topic she touches she wreaks havoc at. Syrian Kurdistan is just another one in her long list. She will continue on to other articles after and do the same thing there. Why anyone lifted her indef block is beyond me. Unfortunately GPinkertons current topic ban is only temporary and she will come back and continue her disruption at Syrian Kurdistan. As soon as GPinkerton and Konli17 was removed from the article it became calm.

The third and last problem is Levivich who with a newly implanted source restriction rule has veto power and has removed large amounts of undisputed historical information and maps. Anyone who disagrees to this will be blocked. The solution to fixing the problem at Syrian Kurdistan is easy: Permanent block GPinkerton from the topic area (and frankly from Wikipedia altogether as she will just continue disrupting another topic area) and remove the newly implanted source restriction rule at the Syrian Kurdistan article. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 18:04, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Thinking about it a bit more. The problems will not go away. The incivility will return. The ability to file enforcement requests is needed.--Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 22:32, 7 January 2021 (UTC)


valereee is not telling the truth here: when she says: "I declared only recent scholarship was acceptable for disputed content", because user Levivich removed undisputed sourced content based on that the source was old, not because the content was disputed:. And valereee accepted this:. So it now "became disputed" because an editor used her new rule to "dispute" something, not because the content was disputed by another source. Basically giving unprecedented veto power to Levivich and other users to remove sourced and undisputed content out of the article. This has now led to large amounts of undisputed and well sourced historical information and historical maps being removed from the article, and no one dares to say anything against this in fear of getting blocked. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 14:34, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

More information Preliminary statements by uninvolved editors. ...
Close

Preliminary decision

Clerk notes

This area is used for notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

Arbitrators' opinions on hearing this matter (12/0/0)

Vote key: (Accept/decline/recuse)

  • Awaiting more statements. In response to one of the comments so far, GPinkerton's filing of the request for arbitration is permissible. Newyorkbrad (talk) 11:29, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
    • Accept per the consensus that we may be able to be helpful. Newyorkbrad (talk) 20:07, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
  • No opinion yet on whether this is a case which needs an ArbCom case. However, I am prepared to say that I am not currently in favor of Ymblanter's suggestion that we put this topic under DS. Some arbs will only do DS after a full case, which has some logic but isn't my stance. If the community is going to do GS - and I think it should which is why I've closed a couple of discussions that established consensus for GS - then I think it should also build its own capacity and come to its own understanding on how to clean stuff like this up. ArbCom should be solving problems the community can't. Just because it might be more expedient for us to do something within our authority is not a reason for me to believe the community can't cleanup the inconsistencies identified in that AN thread. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 15:44, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
    • There doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in this from the community at large. However, I'm pretty sympathetic to taking a case where multiple administrators are saying "I need help in administrating this topic area". El C do you have a diff or two that might illustrate the point you're making that there's an issue here beyond Syrian Kurdistan? Valereee what help would you see the committee providing that the existing GS does not? Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 04:11, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
      • Thanks to Valereee and El C for lending their perspective. The only case I can see myself voting to accept is one with a broader scope along the lines of what El C suggests. For ArbCom to work effectively we need editors with the time, skill, and inclination to participate in the process. Limited participation can work when the scope is limited. If we're going to go wide, and truthfully Syrian Kurdistan isn't exactly a narrow topic, then we're going to need more than limited participation. The AN thread about Valereee's GS sanction got lots of participation, granted, but that wouldn't be the focus of this case. Is there enough community desire to see us handle this to suggest a case is warranted? I think right now I'm leaning no. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 15:55, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
        • Accept with a scope of Kurds and Kurdistan. The combination of the work that was being done by Paradise Chronicle to file a case before this request (giving me some reassurance about the community involvement worry I had above) and a third DS active administrator (Ivanvector) asking us to accept is enough for me to do so. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 23:08, 10 January 2021 (UTC) Edited to reflect scope per analysis offered by Levivich Barkeep49 (talk) 22:54, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
          • @Paradise Chronicle: a separate case request is not necessary. If that page is not finished it would be helpful, per Levivich's question, to do so. Fixing broken ping Barkeep49 (talk) 22:01, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
          • @Levivich: the committee decides when opening a case who is a party. Other editors may be added as the case proceeds if evidence accumulates that suggests they should be a party. If you have evidence/suggestion of other people who should (or shouldn't) be a party to this case it would be worthwhile to present that now, in my opinion. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 21:13, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
          • @GPinkerton: Thanks for clarifying your intent and lending your informed perspective about the proper scope. Many of the topics you note there are going to be best covered under "broadly construed" (so the whole Gulf War wouldn't be a part of this case just the parts involving Kurds). However, I'll also note that calling out editors who, in good faith, didn't think there should not be an arbcom case is not any form of ridiculous. You can see here that I originally started off skeptical, and it was only through further discussion and new perspectives, that I changed my mind. Other Arbitrators appear to remain unconvinced themselves and I also don't think they're ridiculous. Such rhetoric is not helpful to your cause and should be omitted during the remainder of this case. Barkeep49 (talk) 15:58, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Leaning accept. However, the fact that the community is going for GS here gives me some pause. CaptainEek Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 05:48, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
    • Accept With the scope of "Kurds and Kurdistan". It is apparent that the situation is intractable, and the community has exhausted all attempts to solve it. CaptainEek Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 20:44, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
  • This is certainly an area that I would expect Arbcom to have to step in, we've had long running disruption and multiple attempts from the community to handle it - especially when looking at the wider area. However, I'm not certain about taking this case in particular. From what I can see, the area is under Community General Sanctions and the specific page that this arbcom request is about - Syrian Kurdistan has just had a page level sanction put upon it. So I'm torn - I am leaning decline at this point since there has just been a reasonable attempt to improve situations, however I could accept a case on the wider area, understanding that these issue have been going for so long. WormTT(talk) 11:34, 8 January 2021 (UTC)
    Accept on the wider scope WormTT(talk) 09:55, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
  • I'm on the fence, with a slight lean towards accepting (though not entirely convinced either way). The locus of this dispute is Syrian Kurdistan, which falls under GS/SCW, if barely. Paradise Chronicle's subpage definitely has more of a better "scope" feel than this request as it encapsulates more than just one page. However, like WTT I'm mostly torn between the evidence showing "this article is a problem" vs "this subject area is a problem". Primefac (talk) 03:03, 11 January 2021 (UTC)
    Accept. Primefac (talk) 15:07, 17 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept with the scope of Kurds ("and Kurdistan" feels redundant to me, but that's just semantics). --BDD (talk) 21:54, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
    @Levivich: Fair enough. I'm assuming a decision would probably have "broadly construed" language, but perhaps not. Bottom line, I want a wider scope than the one article. --BDD (talk) 18:28, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
  • I'll get to the merits soon. GPinkerton, at their request, is granted a word limit extension to a total of 1000 words. KevinL (aka L235 · t · c) 00:08, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
    • Like my colleagues, I vote to accept. KevinL (aka L235 · t · c) 22:42, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept. There seems like some aspects of this case we can't really address, but plenty of issues with editor behavior to examine. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs talk 19:02, 14 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept, it looks an intractable dispute in a ethnic/national topic involving established editors. One of my thoughts at first was to suggest DS-by-motion like we did for Horn of Africa but this situation doesn't seem to be quite similar. Maxim(talk) 19:45, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept. Regards SoWhy 14:01, 17 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:03, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
  • Accept This is the sort of topic that has tradicaionally required ArbCom intervention to stabilize. Frankly, it's surprising it took this long to get here. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:30, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

Temporary injunction (none)

Final decision

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