|
Turkey's ex-president Kenan Evren probed
for Kurd remarks
2.3.2007 |
|
|
|
March 2, 2007
ANKARA, March 2 ,-- State prosecutors have
launched a criminal investigation into ex-president
Kenan Evren, leader of a 1980 military coup, over
his call for decentralising power in Turkey, the
state Anatolian news agency said on Friday. Evren,
88, told the Sabah newspaper this week he favoured
giving more powers to the provinces, and he
dismissed fears this would embolden
Turkey's Kurds --
"our brothers" -- to push for independence.
Ironically, Evren once denied the very existence of
Kurds in Turkey, describing them as "mountain Turks"
whose name came from the squelching noise their
boots made when walking in the snow. After the coup,
he restricted the use of the Kurdish language.
Anatolian quoted prosecutor Mehmet Yurtseven in
Evren's home province of Mugla as saying: "I have
given the necessary order to the relevant
departments. We have begun an investigation. If
there is a crime, we will do what is needed." |
Former President of the Turkish Republic, Kenan
Evren |
The agency quoted Ayla Kara, head of Mugla's bar
association, as saying she thought Evren should be
tried for his remarks because they would give a
boost to separatist groups.
Under the post-coup constitution drawn up under
Evren and still in force, Turkey has a very
centralised political system. Calls for
redistributing power away from Ankara are rare
because of fears this could reignite Kurdish
separatism.
Security forces have been battling rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in mainly Kurdish
southeast Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has
claimed more than 30,000 lives.
In his interview with Sabah, Evren said Turkey had
nothing to fear from devolving power to the regions.
TABOOS
"They keep saying Turkey's Kurds would declare
independence. They would not. Why would they want to
secede if they are given the same rights? We must
treat the Kurds as brothers," he said.
Evren broke another Turkish taboo in his interview
by saying Ankara should accept the reality of an
independent Kurdish state in nearby northern Iraq.
Turkey fears such a state would fan separatism among
its own Kurds and destabilise the wider region.
Turkish media later quoted Evren saying he had never
spoken of setting up a "federation" in Turkey.
As leader of the September 12, 1980, military coup,
General Evren presided over the jailing of hundreds
of thousands of people, the banning of trade unions
and a purge of universities. Torture and other human
rights violations were widespread.
He has defended those actions, saying Turkey was
heading towards anarchy in the late 1970s as
leftists and rightists clashed violently in the
streets and on university campuses.
From 1982 Evren served a seven-year stint as
president. He then retired to Marmaris in the Aegean
province of Mugla and took up painting, mostly
shunning the political limelight.
Last year, during the funeral of ex-premier Bulent
Ecevit, Evren expressed regret about arresting
Turkey's political leaders during the military coup.
Reuters
** 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 as many as 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 some 20 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
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 