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The Kurdish Question in Turkey: Action,
Not Words Needed 17.9.2007 |
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After
President
Gül's visit to Diyarbakir,
Kurdish representatives call for fewer words and
more action.
September 17, 2007
Newly-elected President Abdullah Gül had chosen to
visit five provinces in the mainly Kurdish East and
South-East of Anatolia for his first domestic tour.
The last stop was Diyarbakir, a Kurdish-majority
city.
Tanrikulu: Gül is aware of problem
Sezgin Tanrikulu, president of the Diyarbakir Bar
Association, who spoke with Gül during his visit to
the city, told bianet that Gül was aware of the
Kurdish question. Tanrikulu had told Gül that people
were expecting him to put forward a project to solve
the problem.
Kaplan: Action needed
Hasip Kaplan, MP for the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP), met with Gül in his home
constituency on Thursday (13 September). He agreed
with Tanrikulu that "more action than words" was
expected from Gül.
Tanrikulu said that he told Gül that since 1991,
Presidents and Prime Ministers had put a name and
definitions to the Kurdish question, but that steps
needed to be taken towards a solution.
"Whatever school, whatever class you go to in
Turkey, maths classes always start with set theory,
you always return to the beginning. I gave the
honourable President this example and said, 'Let us
not return to the beginning, now we need a
programme of solutions.'"
Gül: "Spilt blood and tears sadden us"
According to Tanrikulu, the fact that Gül said,
"Whoever it belongs to, the spilt blood and tears
sadden and hurt us", was an indication that Gül was
aware of the problem.
New constitution can contribute to solution
Tanrikulu reported that in a meeting with NGO
representatives, Gül spoke of the possibility of a
new era, of a country which could solve its problems
in the next three to four years. He also spoke of
the constitution.
"We told the President that making peace between
this society and the state and rebuilding democracy
could be promising. We also spoke of discussions
around the new constitution. We said that a
constitution which valued participation, equality
and freedom whould contribute to a solution."
Freedom of expression needs to be guaranteed
However, Tanrikulu also told the President that
before the constitution was passed, there was need
for a legal package which guaranteed the freedom of
expression:
"In order for discussions about the constitution to
be more fruitful, first articles in the Penal Code
and the Anti-Terrorism Law which prevent the freedom
of expression need to be abolished."
Kaplan: Domestic tour was "meaningful"
MP Kaplan, who met with Gül in Sirnak, found it
meaningful that Gül visited the five provinces of
Van, Hakkari, Siirt, Sirnak and Diyarbakir,
provinces, which he said had been "neglected for
years".
Kaplan told bianet, "This is the first presidential
visit since Özal. Such a visit, at a time when
250,00 soldiers are at the Iraq border, when the
armed conflict continues (in Turkey), when the
constitution is being discussed, is very important."
Kaplan drew attention to words from Gül's first
speech after his election. Gül had said, "our
differences are our wealth".
He said that he and Gül had discussed development,
education and culture, but that he had emphasised to
Gül that the most vital issue was to stop the
conflict and that the people expected this.
Kaplan: "An optimistic atmosphere"
Kaplan added, "It would be unrealistic to expect
immediate results from one visit. But an optimistic
atmosphere was created."
bianet org
**
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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