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Demonstrators United on Kurdish Freedom,
Divided over PKK
6.11.2007
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November
6, 2007
Berlin, -- Over 30,000 people demonstrated in
cities across Germany and Europe over the weekend in
support of Kurdish rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
region 'northern Iraq'. But the question of whether
to support the Turkey's rebel PKK group caused
tension among protestors.
The green flag of Kurdistan flew over Berlin's
Hermannplatz Sunday afternoon as the square, located
in the city's ethnically diverse Neukölln
neighborhood, filled to bursting with Kurds chanting
political rousers and demanding freedoms for their
countrymen in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan.
But the crowd seemed divided over what position to
take on the Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),
the violent Kurdish rebel group that is classed as a
terrorist organization by the US and European Union.
While some protestors waved banners bearing the
likeness of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned PKK
founder, others sought to distance themselves from
the rebels.
"This is not a PKK rally," said one man carrying a
sign that read "Hands Off Kurdistan," who preferred
not to give his name.
"It's simply a demonstration for Kurdish freedom,
for release from Turkish fascism, and against
Turkish interference in northern Iraq."
The demonstration in Berlin was one of several
across Europe this weekend which drew a total of
over 30,000 people. Five people were injured -- two
of them seriously -- at a rally in the Austrian
capital Vienna but demonstrations in Brussels and
some 15 German cities remained peaceful.
There were fears that the rallies might turn violent
after violence broke out between Turks and Kurds
(more...) in Berlin last weekend, and police were
deployed en masse to regulate each demonstration. In
Berlin's Hermannplatz, around 600 protesting Kurds
were flanked by more than 1,000 police officers on
all sides. "I am completely against violence today,"
commented one protestor. "We want democracy
peacefully, quietly."
A local Kurdish leader told the crowd in Neukölln
that he hoped tension at the Turkish-Iraqi Kurdistan
border would not lead to persecution of Kurds in
Turkey and Germany. "In Berlin, and in Turkey, the
Turks and the Kurds are members of the same
society," said Yuksel Koc from Yek-Kom, the
Federation of Kurdish Associations in Germany. "We
are brothers and sisters. We want dialogue between
the Turks and the Kurds. We want dialogue without
violence, without war." According to the German
government, 500,000 of the 2.4 million Turks in
Germany are of Kurdish descent, with an estimated
60,000 Kurds living in Berlin alone. |
One man, who declined to give his name, carried a
sign that read- "Hands Off Kurdistan"- He said "We
want political freedom, civil rights, like in other
countries."
Many waved Kurdish flags as a local Kurdish leader
gave a speech in which he said he hoped Kurds and
Turks in Germany could live side by side. Berlin is
home to an estimated 60,000 Kurds
The Berlin demonstration (shown here) passed off
peacefully. However five people were injured in a
pro-Kurdish rally in Vienna |
The rallies took place as Turkish leaders voiced
dissatisfaction with efforts by the Iraqi government
to contain the PKK, who have been attacking Turkey
from strongholds in northern Iraq. Two weeks ago,
Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq began conducting
violent raids across the Turkish border, reigniting
tensions between Turkey and Kurds in the region
(more...) -- as well as between Turks and ethnic
Kurds in Germany. www.ekurd.net
As Koc spoke, he received word that Kurdish PKK
rebels in northern Iraq had released eight Turkish
soldiers held captive since an Oct. 21 raid into
Turkey. "That is a step towards the proper
solution," he said.
The underlying problem, said Koc, is a lack of
rights for Kurds within Turkey. "We want a
democratic society in Turkey, a democratic
solution," said Koc. "The Turkish government tries
to destroy our autonomy. Of course, we also want a
democratic society in Iraq , for the Kurdish people
there."
Not everyone at the rally was so diplomatic. At one
point, a group of young men in the crowd chanted
"Turkey, terrorists." And, while speaking with
SPIEGEL ONLINE, Koc was interrupted by a middle-aged
man. "That's just his opinion," said the man, before
he was pulled away by other protestors. "We do not
want to bargain any more with the Turks. They have
our blood on their hands."
Since 1984 when the PKK took up arms for self-rule
in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an
excuse to invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent
the establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq', Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey. www.ekurd.net
Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule in
part of the country. Today's teenagers are the first
generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. In the new
Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as Kurdistan
region.
Kurdistan region has all the trappings of an
independent state -- its own constitution, its own
parliament, its own flag, its own army, its own
border, its own border patrol, its own national
anthem, its own education system, its own
International airports, even its own stamp inked
into the passports of visitors.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
With material from AFP and DPA.
Source: spiegel de
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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