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July
4, 2009
“Anyone killed during the struggle to liberate the
Kurdish people is a martyr because this struggle is
the struggle for the mother tongue and for the
liberation of a people which God mentions [in the
Quran].”
These were the words spoken by Democratic Society
Party (DTP) Deputy Hamit Geylani and directed to
members of the press after a funeral ceremony held
for the outlawed Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK*)
member Kamuran Efrin who was killed in a clash in
Dağlıca village in Hakkari's Yüksekova district. (Taraf
Daily July 1).
These statements could very well be considered a
crime for “praising a crime and the criminal” or for
“promoting a terrorist organization” and lead to
criminal proceedings. Even if that is the case,www.ekurd.net
such words are being
openly spoken and some people who read it in the
newspaper consider it “normal” while others are
getting upset. These words and this situation are
striking in terms of the point we have reached in
the struggle against the PKK which has been
continuing for 25 years. While these statements are
considered “very normal” for one segment of society
they are absolutely unacceptable and can lead to
indignation for another.
Is it possible to minimize the difference between
these reactions? Who can do this? These words are
actually traumatic words that remind Turkey that it
needs to face its realities. Turkey needs to face
the realities in the country because anyone who
closely follows the issue knows that Turks, not
Kurds will be able to solve the Kurdish problem in
the next test. But Turks need to solve this problem
not by themselves but with the support of Kurds.
This will call for leaders to direct and monitor
Turks and Kurds during this process of finding an
appropriate solution. An “Obama” is required in
Turkey to resolve not only the Kurdish issue but
other political problems that have intense
psychological dimensions. Located thousands of
kilometers away from America,www.ekurd.net
Anatolia is a place
where people of different ethnicities, colors and
beliefs coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years.
Racism and slavery are foreign to these lands.
Although the events in late 19th century and early
20th century have damaged that heritage, there is a
truth about Anatolia that cannot be changed. The
Kurdish problem in Turkey has never compared to
similar examples in the US and it never will.
But an American-type quest for “tolerance” and
“compromise” is inevitable for Turkey. There is a
need for trusted “reputable people” that can assume
this historic role and minimize the difference in
reactions. Unfortunately, however, there is no such
person or people on the horizon.
Certainly creating a “Kurdish Obama” would be a sign
of the success of Turkey's modernization. In an
article last November,www.ekurd.net
referring to the
election of a black man to the presidential seat in
the US, Hürriyet Daily journalist Ertuğrul Özkök
posed the question if Turks would vote for a man who
openly said “I am a Kurd.”
The answer to this question is, “Absolutely, on the
day we have a Kurdish Obama.”
By a “Kurdish Obama” we mean a political figure
whose loyalty to Turkey's history, land, flag and
values is unquestioned and who can instill trust in
Turkish citizens.
US President Barack Obama's real success was that he
was able to instill this belief in all American
citizens, black and white. As for the American
system, its real success isn't that it elected a
black man as president but that it created a black
man that could be elected as president. This is what
Turkey has yet to accomplish.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
todayszaman com
* Since 1984 the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms
for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of
Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan). A large Turkey's Kurdish
community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK
rebels. Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish
population as a distinct minority.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,
the party also demanded an end to ethnic
discrimination in Turkish laws and constitution
against Kurds, ranting them full political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union,www.ekurd.net
but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
**
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 25 million live in
Turkey. A large
Turkey's Kurdish community 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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