"Italy made a favour to Turkey by arresting me", says Toguc
"Italy made a favour to Turkey by arresting me", says Toguc
Nizamettin Toguc is finally out of prison. The former Kurdish MP and president of KonKurd (the Confederation of Kurdish associations) has been released as ordered by the Court of Appeal in Venice. He has to remain in Italy. "We came for a short holiday to Italy - he jokes with his daughter - it ended up like this. Not exactly what we had planned".
Toguc underlines that his arrest clearly was politically motivated. "It is no mystery - he says - that Turkey and Italy are good friends. And it looks to me that Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi wanted to do a favour to his friend, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Clearly - he added - I was in the Interpol international list and I was wanted by Turkey. They have been wanting me since I came out from Turkey in the '90s. Obviously they say I am a terrorist. And clearly there are governments and countries ready to assist and help Turkey."
Perhaps, and understandably so, Toguc is not too optimistic about Turkey being ready to sit and seriously talk peace. The former MP though is absolutely convinced of the will of the Kurdish people. "The Kurdish people - he says - want peace. And the Kurdish people will do all in its power to reach a lasting and just peace. But unfortunately - he adds - I am not too convinced that Turkey is ready to talk about peace. Every time we talk of peace their answer seems to be even more violent. Until now they have responded to peace offers and ceasefires with war. They keep arresting people and politicians. Turkey is not listening to us."
Europe of course does not shine for its active engagement in promoting peace. Yet Toguc thinks that because Turkey wants to enter in the European Union, it should be made aware that as it stands, it does not fit the criteria in terms of human rights to begin with. "The Kurdish people - he says - want Turkey to join the EU because at least the plight of the Kurds will be discussed in Europe. Turkey has still a long way to go. But Europe should push Turkey to move on the Kurdish issue."
When Toguc and the other Kurdish MPs were elected to the Turkish parliament in the '90s the situation was terrible. How is it now, is it any different? Toguc answers with a short sentence which summarize perfectly twenty years of Turkish politic. "Before, in the '90s - he says - the Kurds very existence was not recognized, Turkey said there were no Kurds, Kurds did not exist. Now Turkey recognizes that indeed the Kurds exist. Turkey says there are Kurds but they cannot have any rights." Toguc makes one example of this new policy. "Turkey opened TRT6 a Kurdish language state Tv channel and think that this is it, that is enough. You give candies to kids to stop them moaning and crying. So Turkey believed - he adds – that it was enough to open a Kurdish Tv channel to get years of resistance and struggle for freedom and rights buried and forgotten. But clearly, this is not possible."
As for the political discourse, Toguc says that "there is no big difference between then and now. They keep doing what they have always done, they don't want to listen. The big problem with Turkey is that it does not listen. They keep closing our parties, organizations, arresting people, activists."
Finally on the referendum on the Constitution amendments, which will be held on September 12 Toguc has this to say. "These amendments do not offer the Kurds anything. This referendum is only for the benefit of Erdogan, who hopes that with this maquillage operation he could gain votes and popularity. But for the Kurds there is nothing to gain. The Kurds and their rights are not even mentioned." Indeed the big obstacle remains the high election threshold which in Turkey is 10 percent. "It is a threshold - says Toguc - that clearly prevent parties to get into parliament. In other words it prevent people to elect their representative to the Turkish parliament. The Kurds have suffered from this a lot, as we know, and as we have seen in the past because at a national level it is almost impossible to get more than 10 percent of the votes."
Toguc underlines that his arrest clearly was politically motivated. "It is no mystery - he says - that Turkey and Italy are good friends. And it looks to me that Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi wanted to do a favour to his friend, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Clearly - he added - I was in the Interpol international list and I was wanted by Turkey. They have been wanting me since I came out from Turkey in the '90s. Obviously they say I am a terrorist. And clearly there are governments and countries ready to assist and help Turkey."
Perhaps, and understandably so, Toguc is not too optimistic about Turkey being ready to sit and seriously talk peace. The former MP though is absolutely convinced of the will of the Kurdish people. "The Kurdish people - he says - want peace. And the Kurdish people will do all in its power to reach a lasting and just peace. But unfortunately - he adds - I am not too convinced that Turkey is ready to talk about peace. Every time we talk of peace their answer seems to be even more violent. Until now they have responded to peace offers and ceasefires with war. They keep arresting people and politicians. Turkey is not listening to us."
Europe of course does not shine for its active engagement in promoting peace. Yet Toguc thinks that because Turkey wants to enter in the European Union, it should be made aware that as it stands, it does not fit the criteria in terms of human rights to begin with. "The Kurdish people - he says - want Turkey to join the EU because at least the plight of the Kurds will be discussed in Europe. Turkey has still a long way to go. But Europe should push Turkey to move on the Kurdish issue."
When Toguc and the other Kurdish MPs were elected to the Turkish parliament in the '90s the situation was terrible. How is it now, is it any different? Toguc answers with a short sentence which summarize perfectly twenty years of Turkish politic. "Before, in the '90s - he says - the Kurds very existence was not recognized, Turkey said there were no Kurds, Kurds did not exist. Now Turkey recognizes that indeed the Kurds exist. Turkey says there are Kurds but they cannot have any rights." Toguc makes one example of this new policy. "Turkey opened TRT6 a Kurdish language state Tv channel and think that this is it, that is enough. You give candies to kids to stop them moaning and crying. So Turkey believed - he adds – that it was enough to open a Kurdish Tv channel to get years of resistance and struggle for freedom and rights buried and forgotten. But clearly, this is not possible."
As for the political discourse, Toguc says that "there is no big difference between then and now. They keep doing what they have always done, they don't want to listen. The big problem with Turkey is that it does not listen. They keep closing our parties, organizations, arresting people, activists."
Finally on the referendum on the Constitution amendments, which will be held on September 12 Toguc has this to say. "These amendments do not offer the Kurds anything. This referendum is only for the benefit of Erdogan, who hopes that with this maquillage operation he could gain votes and popularity. But for the Kurds there is nothing to gain. The Kurds and their rights are not even mentioned." Indeed the big obstacle remains the high election threshold which in Turkey is 10 percent. "It is a threshold - says Toguc - that clearly prevent parties to get into parliament. In other words it prevent people to elect their representative to the Turkish parliament. The Kurds have suffered from this a lot, as we know, and as we have seen in the past because at a national level it is almost impossible to get more than 10 percent of the votes."
