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Democracy in the Middle East Especially in the
Kurdish Regions!
8.8.2008
By Dana Berzinjy - eKurd.net contributing writer |
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August 8, 2008
Sydney, Dana Berzinjy, (eKurd.net),
Democracy in the Middle East Especially in the
Kurdish Regions of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, and
the way that Governments Run, with Comparison to
Australian Democratic System.
Democracy means the rule of the people in Greek
language. Whatever the most people vote for wins.
There are no oppressors or dictators. The first
democracy in the world started in Greece in Athens,
510 BC. When democracy succeeded in Athens, other
areas chose it for their government too. But most of
them allowed even fewer people to vote than Athens
did: most of the other cities only permitted adult
male citizens to vote in a condition if they had
owned land or owned their own houses. I believe that
democracy like a system of government with four key
fundamentals. I want to talk about each of these
four elements of what democracy is. Then I will talk
about the obligations and requirements of citizens
in a democracy.
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Dana
Berzinjy |
Then I will conclude by
talking about the obligations that the international
community have to the people of Iraq in order to
build the first true democracy in the Middle East.
Then briefly I will talk about the Kurdish regions
of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey (C. Karen, p.1,
998-2006).
Democracy is consists of
four basic important elements:
1. Democracy as a Political
System of Competition for Power
Democracy is a means for the people to choose their
leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for
their policies and their conduct in office. The
people decide who will represent them in parliament,
and who will head the government at the national and
local levels. They do so by choosing between
competing parties in regular, free and fair
elections. Power flows from the people to the
leaders of government,www.ekurd.net
who hold power. Laws and
policies require majority support in parliament, but
the rights of minorities are protected in various
ways. I believe that the rights of all the citizens
for example are protected in Australia under the
democratic system but for example in Turkey, Syria,
Algeria and Iran the rights of the minorities are
not protected, because these countries don’t believe
in democratic political system. For instance in Iran
the rights of the Kurds, Armenians Azeri’s are not
protected and their rights are jeopardized by the
Islamic Terror State of Iran ( Hilla University for
Humanistic Studies, p. 1, January 2004).
The people are free to criticize their elected
leaders and representatives, and to observe how they
conduct the business of government. Elected
representatives at the national and local levels
need to listen to the people and respond to their
needs and suggestions. For elections to be free and
fair, they have to be administered by a neutral,
fair, and professional body that treats all
political parties and candidates equally. Yes I
believe in this equality for all the parties and
citizens and this is the best measurement to treat
people. For example all the political parties are
free in elections in Australian and Western
countries But, in Turkey is totally is different
issue and the Kurds were not treated equally like
Turkish citizens when the election begun in 22nd
July 2007 in Turkey. The Kurdish people were not
given sufficient Kurdish candidates to choose from
and the distribution was not given equally to all
the areas that Kurds live in. After the election and
before The DT P party, which represents the Kurdish
people in Turkey was held responsible so many times
as terrorist because just protecting the interests’
of the party and the people. Their members are not
allowed to speak Kurdish language in Turkish
Parliament. The only language is allowed to be used
is just Turkish. So, that means the Turkish
government does not treat all the political parties
equally in Turkey ( Hilla University for Humanistic
Studies, p. 1, January 2004).
2. Participation of the
Citizens in a Democracy
The key role of citizens in a democracy is to
participate in public life. Citizens have an
obligation to become informed about public issues,
to watch carefully how their political leaders and
representatives use their powers, and to express
their own opinions and interests. Voting in
elections is another important civic duty of all
citizens.
But to vote wisely, each citizen should listen to
the views of the different parties and candidates,
and then make his or her own decision on whom to
support. Participation can also involve campaigning
for a political party or candidate, standing as a
candidate for political office, debating public
issues, attending community meetings, petitioning
the government, and even protesting. A vital form of
participation comes through active membership in
independent, non-governmental organizations, what we
call “civil society.” These organizations represent
a variety of interests and beliefs: farmers,
workers, doctors, teachers, business owners,
religious believers, women, students, human rights
activists. The Western countries apply this
principle very well but in Iran for example, some
political parties are banned to participate in
election, such as Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
and their leader Dr. Qasimlo was assassinated in
Europe in 1989 by the Iranian State of Terror,
Komala, Iranian Communist Party and (PJAK) Free Life
for Kurdistan. So, Iranian government does not
accept any opposition parties ( Hilla University for
Humanistic Studies, p. 1, January 2004).
It is important that women participate fully both in
politics and in civil society. This requires efforts
by civil society organizations to educate women
about their democratic rights and responsibilities,
improve their political skills, represent their
common interests, and involve them in political
life. But in Iran this is not the case women are not
free under the Islamic Regime’s of Imams. Women are
not free and can not have different political
beliefs other than Islam. Women can be raped or be
executed for different political opinion. In a
democracy, participation in civic groups should be
voluntary. No one should be forced to join an
organization against their will as it happens in the
Middle East countries.
3. Protect the Rights of
all Citizens in a Democratic way
In democracy, every citizen has certain basic rights
that the state cannot take them away from people.
These rights are guaranteed under international law.
You have the right to have your own beliefs, and to
say and write what you think. No one can tell you
what you must think, believe, and say or not say.
There is freedom of religion. In a true democratic
system everyone is free to choose their own religion
and to worship and practice their religion as they
see fit. Every individual has the right to enjoy
their own culture, along with other members of their
group, even if their group is a minority. In Western
countries every body has rights and privileges but
in Iran citizens have too many responsibilities but
not many privileges. People are not free to have
different political opinion or have freedom in
religion. For example Assyrians, Armenians, and
Kurds are discriminated against and they are not
allowed to practice Christianity, Jew or Yizidi.
even some Iranian people are not allowed to practice
Behay or Sunni religion. These people are not just
discriminated on the bases of religion but in
addition, they have been discriminated against on
the bases of their nationalities. Their languages
can not be used in education system, and it is
compulsory to use Persian language. It is also the
Islam religion imposed on everyone and every woman
must wear headscarf and a long black dress is called
(Chador), which is abusing the rights of women and
discriminating directly among the Iranian
Citizens... ( Hilla University for Humanistic
Studies, p. 2, January 2004).
You can choose between different sources of news and
opinion to read in the newspapers, to hear on the
radio, and to watch on television. You have the
right to associate with other people, and to form
and join organizations of your own choice, including
trade unions. You are free to move about the
country, and if you wish, to leave the country. In
Iran, Syria, Turkey certain parties are not allowed
for people to participate and to join them. Their
citizens are not allowed to watch western channels
are broadcasted from Europe, sometime ago the
Iranian authorities raided Western of Iran which is
populated in Kurds confiscated their satellite
dishes and many people got captured. You have the
right to assemble freely, and to protest government
actions. But in the Muslim World this protest is not
allowed against their oppressors, because the Muslim
leaders don’t believe in democracy.
4. The Rule of Law
Democracy is a system of rule by laws, not by
individuals. In democracy, the rule of law protects
the rights of citizens, maintains order, and limits
the power of government. All citizens are equal
under the law. No one may be discriminated against
on the basis of their race, religion, ethnic group,
or gender. For example in Australia according to
(Act 1975), Australian Commonwealth government
prohibited discrimination on the bases of religion,
race gender against Australian citizens. But I can
see in the Islamic and the Arab World this is
totally vice versa, the governments in the Middle
East themselves have created discrimination to be
carried out against their citizens. For example
Kurds have been living in Syria thousands of years
before the arrival of Arab Muslims but still the
Syrian Government treats them like 2nd Syrian
citizen, even less, they call them (Agnebi in
Arabic), it means (foreigners) in English. They are
excluded to be given Syrian citizenship. Thousands
of hundred innocent people put in prison because
they talked against the government or talked about
the freedom of speech or democracy. No one is above
the law,www.ekurd.net
not even a king or an
elected president. The law is fairly, impartially,
and consistently enforced, by courts that are
independent of the other branches of government.
Torture and cruel and inhumane treatment are
absolutely forbidden. The rule of law places limits
on the power of government. No government official
may violate these limits ( Hilla University for
Humanistic Studies, p. 2-3, January 2004).
Independent courts and commissions punish
corruption, no matter who is guilty. From my own
experience this rule does not apply in Arabic
countries, for example when I was in Iraqi Kurdistan
during 1980 someone was taken to the Republic
Hospital in the province of Sulaimaniyah to have an
operation but he was not allowed to be operated on
and was kidnapped and got killed by the former Iraqi
executed Saddam Hussein’s secret Army.
Kurdish people in Iran have accused the Iranian
government of conducting a new wave of repression
against journalists and other activists seeking
greater human rights.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian
government are bombing villages and arresting
journalists, union officials and other activists
condemned to death two journalists. The new
repressive wave of arrests against the Kurds that
had imprisoned 15 journalists and several human
rights activists and the death sentence of two,
Boutimar and Hassanpour, demonstrated the
government's fear of a popular resistance. There
were only Kurds opposing the Islamic Republic and
claiming our rights, now other ethnic minorities are
fighting for their rights from the Azerbaijanis to
the Beluchis, and the Arabs and the Turks DPA
www.ekurd.net ,
2.08.2007.
The aim of people is to bring down the Islamic
Republic of Iran. The government continues to accuse
opponents, from journalists to women who demand
equal rights, of being foreign spies.
Iranian Regime abuses human rights and does not
respect the freedom of speech and democracy; the
Iranian tyrants publicly hanged seven people in
Khorassan province in north eastern Iran, state news
agency IRNA reported. In addition to that, the
Tehran’s chief prosecutor Saaid Mortazavi said that
16 criminals were executed in July 2007. Under
Iranian Islamic Law, murder, rape, armed robbery;
drug trafficking of quantities in excess of 5 KGs
and apostasy are punishable by death DPA
www.ekurd.net, 2.08.2007.
The Iranian government does not change the foreign
domestic policy in a country governed by religious
ideology, and the Iranian foreign policy has always
been geared towards increasing tensions with the
international community.
During the eight years that Rafsanjani was president
of Iran (1989-1997), several attacks were made
against opposition figures living abroad. Two PDKI
leaders and members of their staff were killed in
attacks in Vienna and Berlin.
When the Iranian people claim for their rights to be
recognized the Irans' ethnic minorities are always
blamed by the regime that the people backed and
orchestrated by foreign powers, notably Britain and
the United States.
Avoiding federalism and decentralization of power in
Iran with breakup of a country is used as an excuse
by those who want to wield centralized power based
on the repression and negation of the rights of
ethnic minorities; because in reality laws are don’t
exist to protect the rights of people.
The Limits and Requirements
for Democracy
In democratic system citizens must not only
participate and exercise their rights. People must
respect the law and reject violence. Every citizen
must respect the rights of his or her fellow
citizens, and their dignity as human beings. People
should question the decisions of the government, but
not reject the government’s authority. Every group
has the right to practice its culture and to have
some control over its own affairs, but each group
should accept that it is a part of a democratic
state ( Hilla University for Humanistic Studies, p.
3-4, January 2004).
Democracy in Iraq:
The United States and other democracies around the
world help the Iraqi people, to build the first true
democracy in the Middle East, when Iraqis take back
their sovereignty in 2003. The World has sacrificed
in order to give the people of Iraq this opportunity
to live in freedom and democracy. This important
mission could not have been achieved alone by Iraqi
people without support of all the nations such as
USA, UK, and Australia etc. The majority of
Americans support what the USA Government is trying
to do now to support the appearance of a new Iraq,
and in the international community. These countries
are going to spend more money, resources and energy
to help you build a democracy and rebuild Iraq’s
economy. This great mission it takes a long time and
it’s not an easy task for the International
community and the collation allies Army.
The Palestine people had their first free elections
in January 2005. I can say that was a great sign for
the Middle Eastern people to practice freedom and
democracy, which never had one in the past. I
believe this kind of elections were very good for
the entire region in Middle East, but was not that
good for the Jewish people and Israeli government.
Because Hamas was elected and did not recognize the
Israeli Government as a true voice of their people
and increased the hostility and aggressive behavior
towards the Jewish people, even Jewish people in the
past were exist in the area long time before the
arrival of Arab Muslims in the area.
The election of Hamas to a position of power by the
Palestinian people, though, is not the only
evidence. In Egypt in 2005, Hamas' parent
organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, made
significant gains in the elections there. This was
accomplished despite significant oppression and a
general ban on the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact,
parties which see fundamentalist Islam as their
prime motivator have made inroads in just about
every Muslim state in the region. These parties have
majorities in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, and
Pakistan. The reason that they are not in power in
the other Muslim states is primarily due to their
repression by the current governments.
So what does this mean? Should the world expect to
see a new form of extremist Islamic government
arising in the Middle East, and how can the United
States and the West respond properly? These events
were very important to both the United States and
the world at large, and the war in Iraq was the
channel that generated the extensive wave for
democratic governments across central Eurasia. The
President Bush's stand for democracy in the Middle
East was the vital factor in pushing the masses from
edgy inaction to change in their own countries. I
think without U.S. and its allies was impossible
democracy to be spread in the Middle East, and
Lebanon would still have been under the military
rule of Syria and the Syrian would not let Lebanon
to have free elections and would have harassed the
Jewish and the Israeli Government. The democracy
gave the power back to Lebanese Government and the
people and the amount of terrorist activities were
reduced incomparably.
By removing the regime of Saddam Hussein and
attempting to build a Western style of democracy in
Iraq, the United States had put the new aspect in
the Middle East in recent years. There was little
that was different in Lebanon or the Ukraine from
the years before that would make a revolution
likely. The United States committed America and the
World to these great revolutions and brought real
weight and put against authoritarian governments not
to ignore the requests of the people. The United
States and its alley have made a significant
difference in the area and I hope that the United
States and its alley continue until the last castle
of the tyrants and the dictator’s collapse. I
believe this is the duty of the Western countries to
remove these tyrants, because this duty is
humanitarian mission than anything else, and needs
sacrifice in order to deliver it. People in the
Middle East have been struggling against these
tyrants, but could not do much to rescue themselves
because theses dictators always collaborated against
the people were asked for freedom and democracy.
Then, later on turned to genocide such as the
genocide of 1,500,000 Armenians by the Othman Empire
in 1915, and genocide of the Kurds between1987-1988
(Helen Ch, 1995, p.3). In addition the genocide of
the Jewish during the spread of Islam in early days
according to Meriwan Helebjey that he has mentioned
it in his book, but now he lives in exile due to
publication of his book.
Consider that in 1917, Europe just had about seven
countries that practiced a partial form of
democracy. But after the First World War, that
number increased to 16 democracies. For example,
there were free elections for women and men and
expanded freedoms for the compress. The number had
once again shrunken to seven.
Another goal for United States attack is at present
Syria, and looking at Syria's political environment
confirms the above fears, for one of the most
well-known opposition groups to the B'athist regime
in power there is none other than the Muslim
Brotherhood. But in addition to this opposition,
Kurdish people are also in opposition to the Syrian
regime long time before the Arabs opposition, so the
United States need to count Kurdish rival to the
Syrian Government. There are more than 2 million
Kurds live in Syria without having cultural rights
and they are not going to follow the footprints of
Muslim Brotherhood, and there are Assyrians as well
live in Syria. However, invading Syria would most
likely see the creation of yet another Islamist
regime, but if you create a Federalism System of
Government it will be totally different issue, by
creating another state for the Kurds within Syria.
Invasion and military action against the dictatorial
regimes in the Middle East will probably lead to the
creation of more Nationalistic Government than
Islamist states, by overthrowing of those regimes
and imposing democratic system, for example Iran is
an Islamist state and can be split into many states
in a democratic Federalism System. For example a
state for the Kurds, Persians, Azeris and Armenians
and Assyrians, because Iran is a big country and has
a big population by creating more states you can get
rid off from the creation of Islamist states and at
the same time the Islamic Government of Iran it will
be split in to many no Islamist states. In this case
the Western Countries can win the hearts of the
Middle Eastern people and democracy can be spread
and the state of Israel can live in peace, but bear
in mind, it is not an easy process.
Reducing the importance of oil and gas reserves
might prove important in pulling the Middle East
away from religious quarrels and onto economic
grounds where the West can use its greater economic
muscle to force change. In addition, the West should
ensure that any and all extreme Islamic regimes are
seriously undermined and that the ideology of
Islamist government is discredited as quickly as
possible. To aid in this, the West should begin a
program of recruiting and training young Middle
Eastern, in the ways of democratic states and then
send them back to their home countries to bring
about change. If the West can discredit Islamic
fundamentalists as political leaders and demonstrate
the great benefits of free societies, then there
will be a serious redrawing of the political map in
the Middle East. The United States and the
democratic community of nations face a serious
struggle in the near and long term to make the
recent additions to the democratic world stick and
prevent the rise of a competing ideological movement
in the form of extremist Islamic governments.
Turkish Article 301
Article 301 “It makes it a crime to insult "Turkishness".
Since this Article became law, charges have been
brought in more than 60 cases, some of which are
high-profile. Büyük Hukukçular Birliği ("Great
Jurists Union") headed by Kemal Kerinçsiz, a Turkish
lawyer, is "behind nearly all of Article 301
trials". Kerinçsiz himself is responsible for forty
of the trials, including the high-profile ones. What
is covered by Article 301
Article 301 states the following.
1. A person who publicly denigrates Turkishness, the
Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,
shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six
months and three years.
2. A person who publicly denigrates the Government
of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions
of the State, the military or security organizations
shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six
months and two years.
3. In cases where denigration of Turkishness is
committed by a Turkish citizen in another country
the punishment shall be increased by one third.
4. Expressions of thought intended to criticize
shall not constitute a crime.
Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk brought to court in
regard the Armenian Genocide. The above article has
been used against the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk for
stating, in an interview with a Swiss magazine, that
"Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to
talk about it". The charges were dropped afterward
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301.
In February 2006 the trial opened against five
journalists charged with insulting the judicial
institutions of the State, and also of aiming to
prejudice a court case (Article 288 of the Turkish
penal code). The journalists criticized a court
order to shut down a conference in Istanbul about
the(Ottoman Armenian Causualties) during Ottoman
Empire during the First World War. The conference
eventually was held in a private university not in
state university.The charges carried a potential
penalty of a prison term of up to 10 years. Four of
the journalists were acquitted on a technicality,
while the fifth, Murat Belge, was acquitted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
Another case the result was from this legislation
involved the writer and journalist Perihan Magden,
who was prosecuted for a December 2005 newspaper
column in which she strongly defended the principle
of conscientious objection and the refusal to carry
out military service. In response to this column,
the Turkish army complained against her. In the
court, took place in July, 2006, she was released
when the court ruled that her beliefs were protected
by the freedom of expression and it was not a crime
under the Turkish penal code. If find guilty she
could have faced 3 years sentence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
In July 2006 the Istanbul public prosecutor's office
prepared an accusation claiming that the statements
in the book Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky
and Edward S. Herman represent a violate of the
article. The publisher and editors of the Turkish
translation, as well as the translator, all brought
to court as a result, but set free in December 2006.
In 2006 Elif Şafak accused of "insulting Turkishness"
due to her novel, The Bastard of Istanbul. The case
was dropped by demand from the prosecutor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
In 2006, the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
was accused under the Article 301 for insulting
Turkishness, and received 6 month suspended
punishment. He was afterward murdered by radical
nationalists. The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk stated,
"In a sense, we are all responsible for his death.
However, the initial people who responsible of this,
those people that still defend article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code and moved against him. Those
people who made him a target, they are the most
responsible in awful tragedt. The Publisher Ragıp
Zarakolu is also on trial under the same Article,
for “insulting the legacy of Atatürk” under Law
5816. In 2007, Arat Dink (Hrant Dink's son) and
Serkis Seropyan were crooked to 1 year suspended
sentences under Article 301 for printing Dink's
declaration that the killings of Armenians in 1915
were genocide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
The summary of other
related cases
In 2005 Joost Lagendijk, a member of the Dutch Green
Left party and the European Parliament's Committee
on Foreign Affairs, chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint
Parliamentary Committee, and a sponsor of Turkish EU
membership, went to Turkey to listen to the trial
against Orhan Pamuk. In his speech he stated on the
Şemdinli incident and criticized the Turkish
military for seeking to maintain its political
influence through the continuous guerrilla war with
the PKK. Greater Jurists Union (Turkish: Büyük
Hukukçular Birliği), the same group that filed a
complaint against Orhan Pamuk, filed charges against
Joost Lagendijk for violating Article 301 by
insulting the army. The prosecutor, refused to
accuse, and he referred the matter to the Turkish
constitution and the European Convention on Human
Rights, as well as a decision by the European Court
of Human Rights with reference to the interpretation
of that Convention. Members of the Strong Turkey
Party organized a campaign of civil disobedience
against the article called Try me too 301 (Turkish:
Beni de yargıla 301) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
Criticism and impact of the
article
This article has been heavily criticized, by people
and other organizations in Turkey and outside. The
criticism was heard in Turkey, and outside of
Turkey, they indicated that it has gone to far and
will create more nationalist thoughts and beliefs by
racist people. Novelist Elif Şafak stated that the
Article has an affect on free expression. Finally,
Turkey accepted the European Court of Human Rights'
judgments as overruling higher court judgment, and
amending the international treaties as overriding
national law.
According to local and outside observers, Article
301 is a threat to freedom of expression and must be
abolished soon. Human Rights watchdog group Amnesty
International claims that "Article 301 poses a
direct threat to freedom of expression, as enshrined
in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) and in Article 10 of
the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301
After the murder of Hrant Dink, Turkish deputy prime
minister and foreign minister stated, "With its
current state, there are certain problems with
article 301. We see now that there are changes which
must be made to this law." The foreign minister
suggested on February 23, 2007, that he anticipated
changes to Article 301 in the future.
The Turkish government is going to re-write the
Turkish constitution. The summary will include a
requirement that the constitutional court remove
laws which oppose international convention which
Turkey is a part of it. The amendment review of the
constitutional court may eliminate the article on
the grounds that it is in disobedience of the
European Human Rights Agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_301_%28Turkish_penal_code%29#What_is_covered_by_Article_301.
I believe in the light of the article (301), the
Kurdish people were genocide and their houses were
destroyed and knocked down to the ground.
The Turkish and the US
Governments, Share crimes, Atrocities and Genocide
that were Committed Against the Kurdish People in
Turkey in 1990, and at present.
The Turkish regime is well known by the World for
committing crimes against the Kurds, the Armenians,
Greeks and the other minority groups. Millions of
people murdered and genocide by the former Turkish
dictator Kamal Ataturk for instance in 1915. Then,
since all the Turkish states in the past and current
shamelessly tried to commit the same action of crime
against the Kurds and the other nationalities in
Anatolia. After the collapse of the former Soviet
Union in 1991, many nationalities like Kurds hoped
that one day they will be freed from their
oppressors. I personally believe that the USA will
lead the World and everybody will enjoy the freedom
and democracy. Even the current USA President Gorge
W Bush, stated before the collapse of the former
executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, that he will
deliver democracy to the darkest corner in the
World. I truly believe the darkest corner in the
World is Kurdistan. The Kurdish rights have always
been denied by the oppressors of Turkey, Iran,
Syria, and Iraq for centuries. I believe since the
occupation of Muslims 13 centuries ago our rights
were jeopardised, and we are still without a state.
As Gerald and other authors believe in democracy and
the freedom of other nationalities, Gerald mentioned
lately in his article that Kurdistan is like another
Israel in the eyes of the Arab countries, he is
quite right, always has been this way and Kurds have
been blamed that we are the agents of Israel and
America. If this is the case, why did the Israeli
planes lately participate with the Turkish war
planes to bombard the Kurdish villages in 16th
December 2007, in Iraqi Kurdistan? Is not it shame
on the Israeli Government to take an awful action to
help the Barbarian State of Turkey against the
defenseless Kurdish villagers in Kurdistan? Did the
Israeli Government ask itself, that why have they
done that against the Kurds? Have the Kurdish people
or any political parties in the past or now hurt any
Israeli solder? Or have any terrorist activities
been committed by the Kurds against the state of
Israel. If the answer is no, so why the Israeli
Government participated in this crime? They did not
ask the Turkish Government to grant more rights to
the Kurds? Kurdish people believe that they are more
close to the Jewish people than any other
nationality in the Middle East. Kurds and Jewish
people were genocide by the Arab Muslims in the past
during Mohammed up until now. The suicide Muslim
Arab bombers in Israel and in Kurdistan are still
murdering innocent people as they did 13 centuries
ago. This scenario from one hand and there is
another amazing scenario from the other hand.
I believe that the US leads the World in terms of
Human Rights and to help other nationalities to
enjoy freedom and democracy like American citizens,
but unfortunately, I found that this story is
absolutely fake. These days the American Government
and especially George Bush came under a lot of
criticism by some Americans, Israelis, and European
authors for wrong policy by the current Government
against the Kurdish people. I am delighted and I
believe that I am not alone in this mission, and I
still strongly believe in American people, and the
American troops that they are doing the best job in
order the Kurds and the other nationalities to be
granted their own rights, such as freedom of speech,
cultural rights, and language. I think that the US
Government is taking a wrong path in order to
deliver democracy to the Middle East, because its
policy has fallen in the hands of the wrong people
which don’t believe in democracy and don’t want it
to be delivered to the Middle Eastern people. At a
result the wishes of the people that seek democracy
will be jeopardized. The Iraqi liberation scenario
after the fall of the former Iraqi Dictator has
taken another path. This scenario is vice versa now
and all rights are given to the Turkish Government
to genocide a nation that seeks democracy. The US
Government obviously has given license to the
Turkish Army to murder Kurdish innocent villagers,
and granted the Turkish NATO ally an authority to
commit such a crime and ignoring the Human Rights
principles and motivating violence. Everybody says
Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization, because they
are killing innocent people of any nationalities on
a daily bases. If this is true! The Americans should
condemn the Turkish air strike against innocent
Kurdish civilian, because this is a crime of
humiliation against Human Rights and this behavior
by the Turkish State of Terror is an act of
terrorism. Is not the sky of Iraq and Iraqi
Kurdistan; is American responsibility to protect it
from any attacks? I strongly believe that the US
Government should not promote this kind of
activities, because it will hurt the Kurds and will
damage our friendship. If the Turkish Government is
a true friend of the United States, why the Turkish
Government did not fight against terrorism in the
last four years in South of Iraq? Who fought hand in
hand and carried on the heavy load on their
shoulders against terrorism except the Kurds. This
little scenario is about today’s American Policy,
and its Kurdish ally in the Middle East. Let’s look
back and analyse the past policy of the Clinton’s
Administration against the Kurds in Turkey.
The Kurdish Genocide in
Turkey:
During the years of Clintons Government, the same
mistake was repeated and the US Government put guns
and arms in the hands of the Turkish State of
Terror. The USA Government during those years joined
the Turkish Government in order to perpetrate
atrocities against the Kurdish people in Turkey
especially in 1990 (South of Kurdistan) (1990:
Fernandes, D., p.1).
The infamous campaign called “false
flag” operations. This operation was
backed by US and directly against the PKK and its
supporters, thousands of innocent Kurdish civilians
were tortured, and many more were executed by
paramilitary forces. The Turkish Army masked
themselves as PKK guerrillas and went to the Kurdish
villages to torture and kill people, bombing,
burning houses, crops and livestock, and then later
on the PKK guerrillas were blamed. All the training
and advice was given to the state of Turkey by US
for years. In that operation the secret soldiers
committed crimes and acts of violence in piece and
then the Communist members of the PKK were blamed
for ordering to create a chaos and distrust between
the Kurds and the PKK members. In that campaign 3 to
five million Kurds were exiled and moved by Turkish
Forces. The Kurdish forests were set a light, and
3500 to 4000 villages, small towns were displaced
and bombed in the Kurdish areas by the Turkish
Forces (1990: Fernandes, D., p.1).
In 1995, the former US President Clinton had given
permission for a wide Turkish invasion into
Kurdistan of Iraq. The Turkish Army committed a
number of documented cases of crimes and
displacement of defenceless Kurdish people. John
Deere had gone into more details in this genocide
and said: “Were this Kosovo, we would be hearing
words like ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’. You
see, to kill Kurds all you need is the proper
hunting license. In this case that license is a perk
of NATO membership”. In 1991 the American Congress
passed a law and permitted the Joint Combined
Exchange Training programme. This permission had
given the power to the Department of US Defence to
send forces to other countries in order to cooperate
in this regard. Ted Galen Carpenter exposed and said
in the light of this program, in 1997, the US
European Command’s special operations branch carried
out combined training with the Turkish mountain
commandos, their aim was to flash out the PKK
Freedom Fighters. The unit’s primary’s duty was to
murder Kurdish civilians and to knock down and blast
the Kurdish villages (1990: Fernandes, D., p.1-2).
According to Ward Churchill that US and British
pilots helped the Turkish Military Forces in their
broad scale campaign against PKK in North Iraq
(Iraqi Kurdistan).
The Violations of the 1923 Hague Rules of
Aerial Combat, the 1949 Geneva Convention IV and
Additional Protocol 1. According to the
above laws, the participation of the US and British
pilots and military units, both Governments are
guilty in capturing, bombardments, and killing
civilians. They did not protect the Kurdish
civilians and destroyed thousands of Kurdish
villages in North Kurdistan which is Southern
Eastern Turkey, which is populated by Kurds. They
violated the International Laws, according to the
text below, for murdering and capturing hundreds,
thousands of Kurdish defenseless villagers. The CIA
school in the USA trained Huseyin Kocadag, the Chief
of the Special Forces in Hakkari and the Deputy
Chief of Police in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir,
he was identified that one of the most bloody
enemies of the people, who was in charge and
organized many units of the ‘head-hunters’ in
Kurdistan. In addition the US administration and
other agencies involved unlawfully in capturing and
abduction of Abdullah Ocalan the head of the PKK in
1999 (1990: Fernandes, D., p.2).
“Parties are bound by the laws of war to the
extent that such compliance does not interfere with
achieving legitimate military goals. For example,
they are obliged to make every effort to avoid
damaging people and property not involved in combat,
but they are not guilty of a war crime if a bomb
mistakenly hits a residential area.”
In the eyes of the Human Rights Watch, people and
many organizations, indicated that the campaign was
obviously genocidal in nature in 1997. The Human
Rights Campaigning Group, Article 19, mentioned that
it believed there was “ample evidence to
indict the Turkish government of gross violations of
human rights which constitute infringements of … the
UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
Genocide, among other treaties to witch Turkey is a
party”. The UK Parliamentary Human Rights
Group made a visit to the Kurdish region, stated
that the depopulation of the Kurdish region is part
of intentional strategy designed not just to get rid
of a few thousand guerrillas, but to extinguish the
separate identity of the Kurdish people (1990:
Fernandes, D., p.1-2).
The US and British Governments think that the
Turkish Government is a democratic government and
cannot cope with an intractable problem of
terrorism. But in realty as this author believes and
I too, this is vice versa, which the Turkish Army is
one of the military terrorists among the others is
aiming to get rid of the identity of the Kurdish
people. There is an obvious example that supports my
argument which is the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1916
by the founder of the Turkish State Dictator
Ata-Turk. The Armenian people in World War One took
arms because they had no hope that the Turks would
recognize their legitimate political aims in
diplomatic way.
Turkish Government uses a language of peace when
comes to external consumption, but uses army within
a State Terror of Turkey against the defenseless
civilian population, as has been used always in the
past against the Armenians and against the Kurds.
Many times even a century ago Kurds had been gassed
and in 1990 Kurds were genocide and currently still
are. The Turkish government is ignoring the facts
and the history, so that’s why, Turkey never rests.
The US Government should take the responsibility for
its own action in the past and now to promise that
Genocide never happens again, but this is not the
case by the US Government (1990: Fernandes, D., p2).
It appears that the Turkish State of Terror has been
granted license again by the US Government to kill
the Kurdish civilians in South, and North of
Kurdistan. It seems that the US administration uses
Kurdish issues again to get some political benefit
out of the America’s dirty political games. The US
has a selfish administration; again it compares PKK
freedom Fighters, and their leader to Osama Bin
Laden and Al-Qaeda. Nancy McEldowley was
representing the US embassy at an 11th September
commemoration service in Ankara, she said in her
speech that there was no difference between Al-Qaeda
and the PKK or Ocalan and Bin Laden (1990: Fernandes,
D., p3).
I want to say that Ms Nancy was mistaken and should
not have compared the futures of 25 million Kurds to
the terrorist organization like Al-Qaeda, because
the Kurds in Turkey, whose rights are not recognized
for centuries, and your administration knows that
really well, and should not have ignored the Kurdish
question. Of course you prefer Al-Qaeda organization
over anything else, for instance the rights of more
than 25 million Kurds, because Al-Qaeda was created
by the US administration in the past to fight the
former Soviet Union in Afghanistan. So, that’s why
in Iraq 3300 American solders sacrificed their lives
for the mistakes and the wrong policy that were made
by the US administration in the past? The American
troops were killed by the terrorist organization of
Al-Qaeda, not by the Kurds in Turkey. But the US
administration still ignores this reality and keeps
a blind eye on the Kurdish genocide in Turkey. There
is no point, that American follows the policy and
the foot prints of the racist Government of Turkey
which ignored a simple and the basic rights of these
people. Every body knows that the United States of
America is a democratic country but Turkey is not.
The US Government should not let to lose its
reputation for the sake of undemocratic Turkish
Government.
Kurds have every right to fight against their
oppressor which is the Turkish Government and the
first people’s enemy, in order to defense themselves
like other nationalities. Kurds lived in Anatolia
thousands of years before the arrival of the Turkish
invaders. They came to take our freedom and to wipe
off our culture, to murder our kids and to genocide
our nation and religion. Our religions are
Zoroastrian and Christianity not Islam that
destroyed our homeland Kurdistan. We have churches
that their history goes back to thousands of years
before the invasion of Islam. We protected them from
the savage invaders, but despite of our rich
culture, the Turkish Racist Government still denies
our existence and our identity as a nation, and they
still call Kurds in South East of Turkey, Turkish
mountains. This is the Turkish democracy that US
supports in order to be promoted in the Middle East.
IRA and PLO used to be called terrorist
organizations by US and British administration, but
not anymore. The US administration pushed Israeli
Government to recognize PLO, and its leaders to form
a state for Palestine; even the Arabs never had a
state in Israel before. The Kurds had so many
kingdoms and small states in Turkey even before the
Turks existed in the area. These are some evidence
that which confirm my arguments; there is evidence
dating back to 6300 BC shows that the Hurrian people
were among the oldest of Kurdish ancestors to reside
in the mountains of Kurdistan. Now, the Hurrian name
still continues to exist by the present Kurdish
region of Hawraman. In1500 BC, Hurrians stretched
out and created the Kingdom of Mitanni in Kurdistan.
But in 728 BC, revolts by the Median Kurds and
Babylonians lead to the fall of the Assyrian Empire.
The Median Empire is well known as Medya, witch was
formed in 728 BC. Zoroastrianism was the religion of
Medya. The Medes celebrated the New Year (Newroz) at
the beginning of spring after Medya is liberated.
Under the rule of Cyaxares in 626 BC, the Median
Empire enlarged in power and expanded its
territories. www.worldarticle.org
In 1453, The Roman Empire fell, and later on the
Ottoman Empire was established. The Ottoman Empire
started the invasions of tribal Kurdish kingdoms in
Kurdistan. Some tribes were given some self-rule in
their districts.
In 1880, the last Kurdish kingdom collapsed and a
united Kurdish nationalistic revolt against the
Ottoman injustice rule began under the leadership of
Sheikh Said.
In the 7th Century, Islam was created and broadened
in the Middle East. Arabia expands and conquers
parts of Kurdistan. But Kurds not like Persian,
fought for 200 years against the Islam occupation
and its religion was imposed on people forcibly.
Can we call the double standard policy of the US
administration? I wonder how long the Kurds have to
keep up with the Turkish racist policy and its
constitution. I will talk about some cases that the
US’s best friend, ally, and NATO member had done
against humanity. In the city of Adana, Siyar
Perincek, the representative of the Eastern and
Southeastern Anatolia was shot by police, while he
was driving a motorcycle in the city, then the
police stepped on his back, when he fell off the
motorcycle, he was killed by a bullet and his
killers are free now without trials. Another
example, Ugur Kaymaz was Kurdish at the age of 12
with his father Ahmet were murdered in November 2005
in the Southeastern town of Kiziltepe in an
operation against “armed terrorists” both of them
were unarmed according to the Human Rights
Committee. Their family said that the son was
helping his dad, a truck driver to prepare for a
trip to Iraq. The Turkish Human Rights Chairman,
Alatas said that there were many allegation cases
that were related to the murdering of PKK militants,
and were claimed that their bodies were being
damaged and their organs were cut off, even if they
were caught alive (1990: Fernandes, D., p3).
They were tortured and murdered. In addition to
that, there was an allegation that chemical weapons
were used. I want to know, who will investigate this
kind of a tragedy that was committed against
humanity as a whole? The Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan the best friend of the President George Bush
declared that the Turkish “security forces will
intervene against the pawns of terrorism, even if
they are children or women”. This is one of the
Muslim leaders of this century, and he is a Prime
Minister of 70 million people. In my view he is
another Osama Bin Laden, in a different appearance.
That’s how he respects the rights of women and
children, and the human rights in Turkey.
Bibliography
Dr. Karen Carr, 998-2006, Democracy, Portland State
University.
Hilla University for Humanistic Studies, January 21,
2004, What is Democracy?, www.standford.edu USA.
Jacob Portnoff, Feb 21, 2006, How Strong is
Democracy's Hold?
Source DPA, Seven Public Hanging in Iran, Two
Journalists are Scheduled to die 2.08.2007.
www.ekurd.net.
Helen Ch., Sult .Âns And Caliphs, 1290-1924 AD,
1995.
Fernandes, D., 1990, Turkey’s US-Backed War On
Terror: A Cause For Concern? USA.
(1) Izady, Mehrdad R. The Kurds:A Concise Handbook,
1992(2) Kiepert, Heinrich. A Manual of Ancient
Geography. 1881
www.worldarticle.org The History of the Kurd
Dana Berzinjy,
a freelance writer,
Sydney/Australia, August
8, 2008, for eKURD.NET
©
All Rights Reserved. You may reach the author via
email at: danaberzinjy (at) ekurd.net or dara_dar
(at) yahoo.com.au
-
Articles by Dana Berzinjy
-
Democracy in
the Middle East Especially in the Kurdish Regions!
8.8.2008
-
Reply to a
Dishonorable Degree, which was written by Nergiz
Duhoki 2.6.2008
-
The Turkish and
the US Governments, Share crimes, Atrocities and
Genocide that were Committed Against the Kurdish
People in Turkey in 1990, and at present. PART 2,
By Dana Berzinjy 3.5.2008
-
Call For
Economic Boycott of the Turkish Products and Think
Twice Before You Buy it. 27.3.2008
-
The Turkish and
the US Governments, Share crimes, Atrocities and
Genocide that were Committed Against the Kurdish
People in Turkey in 1990, and at present. PART 1,
By Dana Berzinjy 17.2.2008
-
National
Kurdish anthem should have been played first, not
the Quran in the ceremony which mourns victims of
Anfal 15.1.2008
-
What Right Does
the Turkish Parliament have To Send Its Own Army,
to Shell...By Dana Berzinjy 29.10.2007
-
The Conspiracy
Agreement Made Between The Iraqi And Turkish
Internal Ministers... 1.10.2007
-
Why the US does
not support an Independent Kurdish State, but
Supports the establishment of the Palestinian
state 29.8.2007
-
The Turkish
Government Occupies The Kurdish Homeland in
Southeastern Turkey 23.7.2007
About the Author:
Master in TESOL from University of Western Sydney in
1995. Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)
Faculty of Education {University of Western Sydney macarthur} 2001-2002. Postgraduate Diploma in Adult
Education (Teaching English of Speakers Other
Languages) Faculty of Education {University of
Western Sydney macarthur} 1999-2001. Postgraduate
Diploma in Business ( Employment Relations Law)
Faculty of Business ( University of Technology
Sydney) 1997-1999. Bachelor of Business (Commerce
and Human Resource management) ( Southern Cross
University) 1992-1996 Lismore.
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