Silence is not golden for Turkey’s Kurds

Silence is not golden for Turkey’s Kurds

From Oneworld Multimedia:

Illegal Newroz, Elazig, Republic of Turkey� Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1997

Reuters carries an interesting story on the Kurds in Turkey and what appears to be a gradual relaxation of draconian laws and decrees that forbid Kurdish language, music, broadcasting and festivals. Interestingly, after Erdogans recent visit to Diyarbakir, I spoke to a girl visiting Armenia from the Kurdish Institute in Brussels and she said that even though these developments are crucial for Turkeys democratization and EU accession the military are becoming more and more agitated.

The Kurds have acquired a powerful advocate in the countrys Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who last month became the first Turkish leader to refer to a Kurdish problem, which he said should be resolved by democratic reforms.

In a visit to Diyarbakir, Erdogan vowed solidarity with the southeast and expressed disquiet at the failure of authorities to allow private channels to broadcast in Kurdish.

[]

At the same time, the government is under pressure to revive restrictions under anti-terror legislation because of growing separatist violence, with militants attacking military targets in the southeast and even tourists in western Turkey.

Before moving to Armenia in 1998 I spent five years on the Kurds in Turkey and Europe, attending Newroz celebrations in the south east of the country in 1997. The celebrations were illegal and after myself and a British journalist left the region, many Kurds were arrested and allegedly tortured in custody. We were even held in a deserted factory by village guards half an hour outside of Diyarbakir while our captors radioed the military for instructions.

Thankfully, we had interviewed the Governor of the State of Emergency region, Necati Bilican, that morning in a Turkish military base and name-dropping helped us a lot. Two of some of the articles Nick Ryan wrote, accompanied by my photographs, can be found online here and here.

From Oneworld Multimedia (feed)
See also links to this feed and more from this feed