Turkey back to the dark years?
Turkey back to the dark years?
After the so called 'Democratic Opening' turned into a fiasco, the AKP government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to turn the page on the Kurdish issue, going back to the practices of the '90s. The Turkish government has decided to strengthen the special units of police.
Erdogan, who today ignores and represses the demands of the Kurdish people, proposes himself as a mediator for the Palestinians. While denying the right to education in Kurdish in his country, he denounced assimilation in Germany and France, arguing that assimilation is a crime against humanity. Kurdish mother tongue is registered as an unknown language in trials.
The AKP government, in power since 2002, launched its 'Democratic Opening', a package of measures aimed to solved the Kurdish question, in 2009. But this proposals soon turned into a serious violation of human rights, including the closure of the main Kurdish party DTP, now BDP, and the imprisonment of about 4,000 active members of these parties, as well as the arrests of supporters and protesters. The people detained include mayors, MPs, trade unionists and journalists.
WHAT LIES BEHIND THE DEMOCRATIC OPENING
The international community avoids talking about these paradoxes. Instead, the media and Western leaders have long applauded and welcomed the Democratic Opening, ignoring the violations committed in the name of this policy. Since the launching of the Democratic Opening, not a single day passes without Kurds being arrested.
According to a report by the Association of Human Rights (IHD), 4015 people were detained during the first half of 2011, in the Kurdish region only, against 2,430 in the same period of 2010, 1145 people were sent to prison. The report found 16,482 violations of human rights in the first six months of this year, against 13,219 cases in 2010.
Torture no longer exists in this country, according to Prime Minister Erdogan who is speaking of an "advanced democracy," ignoring the 1,010 cases of torture and ill-treatment in six months in the Kurdish region in 2011, against 433 in 2010, established by the association. "The main reason for the increasing of torture is the protection enjoyed by torturers by political and judicial bodies," says the association.
Turkey is the world's biggest prison for journalists, with more than 60 journalists imprisoned, according to organizations providing support to imprisoned journalists. Most of these journalists are Kurds.
After the historical success of Kurds in the parliamentary elections of June 12, a Kurdish deputy, Hatip Dicle, was stripped of his legal mandate and the authorities have refused to release five other deputies. This led the main Kurdish party, BDP, to boycott parliament.
RACIST LYNCHING
On July 14, 13 Turkish soldiers were killed during a military operation against the PKK. The operation was launched despite the unilateral ceasefire called by the PKK in August 2010. The Prime Minister reacted immediately and announced that there is no Kurdish question. There is indeed, said the Prime Minister, a PKK, Kurdistan Workers' Party, question. The authorities have pointed to the BDP as responsible for the deaths of soldiers, thus encouraging racist lynchings against the Kurds in the country. Many Kurds were victims of lynchings by racist Turks in many provinces including Istanbul, under the eyes of the police. According to the government, these racist attacks are "reactions of citizens."
The authorities have also decided to strengthen security forces in combat zones by special units of police, in other words "Özel Harekat", known for its practice.
This announcement reminds Kurds of the '90s when these special units have ravaged the region, committing executions and torture, leading the country into a dark period. Turkey had become a bandit country.
JITEM is one of the devices in the special war against the Kurds. According to Kurdish sources, they are still active in the region, are dressed in guerrilla uniforms. This structure of the state is also accused of the murder of Hrant Dink, Armenian journalist killed Jan. 9, 2007 in Istanbul by an ultra-nationalist.
JITEM was created in 1987 within the gendarmerie. Its existence was revealed in 1993 by major Ahmet Cem Ersever who was killed mysteriously in the same year.
During those dark years, more than 17 unsolved political murders were committed, 4,000 villages were burned or destroyed, hundreds of children and dozens of Kurdish journalists were killed. Thousands of bodies are still in mass graves waiting to be exhumed.
This war was unsuccessful and the PKK has now won the sympathy of millions of people in the four parts of Kurdistan, divided between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Going back to the dark years instead of responding to legitimate demands of the Kurdish people, will be a disaster for everyone and for the future of the country.
Erdogan, who today ignores and represses the demands of the Kurdish people, proposes himself as a mediator for the Palestinians. While denying the right to education in Kurdish in his country, he denounced assimilation in Germany and France, arguing that assimilation is a crime against humanity. Kurdish mother tongue is registered as an unknown language in trials.
The AKP government, in power since 2002, launched its 'Democratic Opening', a package of measures aimed to solved the Kurdish question, in 2009. But this proposals soon turned into a serious violation of human rights, including the closure of the main Kurdish party DTP, now BDP, and the imprisonment of about 4,000 active members of these parties, as well as the arrests of supporters and protesters. The people detained include mayors, MPs, trade unionists and journalists.
WHAT LIES BEHIND THE DEMOCRATIC OPENING
The international community avoids talking about these paradoxes. Instead, the media and Western leaders have long applauded and welcomed the Democratic Opening, ignoring the violations committed in the name of this policy. Since the launching of the Democratic Opening, not a single day passes without Kurds being arrested.
According to a report by the Association of Human Rights (IHD), 4015 people were detained during the first half of 2011, in the Kurdish region only, against 2,430 in the same period of 2010, 1145 people were sent to prison. The report found 16,482 violations of human rights in the first six months of this year, against 13,219 cases in 2010.
Torture no longer exists in this country, according to Prime Minister Erdogan who is speaking of an "advanced democracy," ignoring the 1,010 cases of torture and ill-treatment in six months in the Kurdish region in 2011, against 433 in 2010, established by the association. "The main reason for the increasing of torture is the protection enjoyed by torturers by political and judicial bodies," says the association.
Turkey is the world's biggest prison for journalists, with more than 60 journalists imprisoned, according to organizations providing support to imprisoned journalists. Most of these journalists are Kurds.
After the historical success of Kurds in the parliamentary elections of June 12, a Kurdish deputy, Hatip Dicle, was stripped of his legal mandate and the authorities have refused to release five other deputies. This led the main Kurdish party, BDP, to boycott parliament.
RACIST LYNCHING
On July 14, 13 Turkish soldiers were killed during a military operation against the PKK. The operation was launched despite the unilateral ceasefire called by the PKK in August 2010. The Prime Minister reacted immediately and announced that there is no Kurdish question. There is indeed, said the Prime Minister, a PKK, Kurdistan Workers' Party, question. The authorities have pointed to the BDP as responsible for the deaths of soldiers, thus encouraging racist lynchings against the Kurds in the country. Many Kurds were victims of lynchings by racist Turks in many provinces including Istanbul, under the eyes of the police. According to the government, these racist attacks are "reactions of citizens."
The authorities have also decided to strengthen security forces in combat zones by special units of police, in other words "Özel Harekat", known for its practice.
This announcement reminds Kurds of the '90s when these special units have ravaged the region, committing executions and torture, leading the country into a dark period. Turkey had become a bandit country.
JITEM is one of the devices in the special war against the Kurds. According to Kurdish sources, they are still active in the region, are dressed in guerrilla uniforms. This structure of the state is also accused of the murder of Hrant Dink, Armenian journalist killed Jan. 9, 2007 in Istanbul by an ultra-nationalist.
JITEM was created in 1987 within the gendarmerie. Its existence was revealed in 1993 by major Ahmet Cem Ersever who was killed mysteriously in the same year.
During those dark years, more than 17 unsolved political murders were committed, 4,000 villages were burned or destroyed, hundreds of children and dozens of Kurdish journalists were killed. Thousands of bodies are still in mass graves waiting to be exhumed.
This war was unsuccessful and the PKK has now won the sympathy of millions of people in the four parts of Kurdistan, divided between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Going back to the dark years instead of responding to legitimate demands of the Kurdish people, will be a disaster for everyone and for the future of the country.
