MIM Notes 95 January, 1996

MIM defames Turkish state?

In November, a college newspaper printed MIM's story "Turkish
army burns Kurdish villages" and long excerpts from the Communist
Party of Turkey (Marxist-Leninist) statement against the Turkish
genocide in occupied Kurdistan. The full versions of both articles
appeared in MIM Notes 95, 12/94, p. 7.

Dear Editor

The above mentioned article in your Newspaper is unjustly accusing
Turkey by attacking Kurdish villages. Since it is only fair to
hear both sides of a story, please print our response to MIM in
the [college newspaper].

Kurds live in five countries in the Middle East, namely Syria,
Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Armenia. The Kurds in Turkey speak many
different languages such as Kirmanchi, Zazaki, Sorani, Gorani and
Luri. It is not clear if they all belong to the same ethnic group.
According to historians there never ever was an independent
Kurdish state. Until the Selchuk Turks arrived, many ethnic groups
lived in Anatolia, such as Urartus, Assyrians, Phynicians,
Hitites, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, Laz, Kurds, etc. Since the
year 1071, Turks established themselves in South East Anatolia and
to this day these lands are Turkish Lands without any interruption
or interval. During the second millennium, many people moved from
one land to the other. These migrations took place much later than
Turks arriving Anatolia. These lands have been Turkish lands since
9 centuries.

Kurds like all other ethnic groups are citizens of Turkey and all
citizens of Turkey have equal rights. Many Kurds have occupied
very important positions in the government. Our late president Mr.
Ozal openly announced that he was a Kurd. Our Ex-Secretary of
State Mr. Hikmet Cetin is also of Kurdish descent.

A group of leftist Kurds are fighting for independence and burning
down the houses of those Kurds who do not join them. They are
shooting teachers, doctors, nurses and are raiding the highways.
They are bombing official buildings. Turkish army is fighting
those guerrillas to save the lives of its citizens may they be
Turkish or Kurdish. Does it ever occur to you why those guerrillas
are only fighting Turkey and not in the other four countries where
there is a Kurdish population?
Turkish Anti-Defamation League
PO Box 4 Bebek 80810
Istanbul, Turkey

MIM Responds:

MIM did not *unjustly* accuse the Turkish state of burning
villages in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. Members of the Turkish
government--including Turkey's Minister for Human Rights, Azimet
Koyluoglu, and MP Cindoruk--have openly admitted that the army is
destroying villages and called for investigations.(1)

Kurds do not enjoy the same legal rights as other citizens of
Turkey. There is a ban on the Kurdish language; Kurds are
regularly imprisoned for owning cassettes of Kurdish pop music.(2)
The Turkish police have seized copies of the nationalist newspaper
Ozgur Ulke (Free Country) and banned the paper Ozgur Gundem (Free
Agenda) (neither is affiliated with the PKK).(3)

The LA Times reported on December 4 that "three coordinated
explosions ripped through separate offices of Turkey's leading
pro-Kurdish daily early Saturday, killing one person and injuring
22. The biggest blast occurred at Ozgur Ulke's main offices in
Istanbul.... Scores of Ozgur Ulke employees have been jailed for
supporting the Kurdish rebels, and 10 reporters have been killed.
Human rights groups accuse the security forces of involvement in
their murders; the government denies their accusations."(7)

The policies of the Turkish state are even too harsh for their
imperialist friends: the United States has encouraged Turkey to
ease its ban on the Kurdish language.(4)

The revolutionaries fighting in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan do not
need to impress the people's support. A Kurdish man interviewed in
1993 said of the Kurdistan Workers' Party: "Everyone supports the
PKK. This is a people's movement, and no-one would turn against
it."(5)

Throughout this century the Kurds have struggled against those
states which militarily occupy Kurdish territory and suppress
Kurdish culture. During the Gulf War the Iraqi Kurdistan Front
went on a military offensive which liberated up to 95% of Iraqi-
occupied Kurdistan. The United States half-heartedly supported the
struggle of the Kurds in Iraq while ignoring the increased
repression of Kurds in Turkey.(6)

And for the record, there was a Kurdish state in the early 1900's.
It was located in present-day Iraq and Iran.(2)

Notes:
1. Infoladen Omega 10/14.94.
2. Aliza Marcus, Turkey's Kurds after the Gulf war, in: Gerard
Chaliand, ed., A People Without a Country: The Kurds & Kurdistan,
London: Zed Books, 1993.
3. Inter Press Service 10/20/94.
4. AP 10/22/94.
5. The Ottawa Citizen 7/9/93, MIM Notes 79, 8/93.
6. MIM Notes 51 5/91.
7. LA Times 12/4/94.