DIYARBAKIR, Turkey—On Dec. 6, one man was shot dead in clashes between Turkish police and protesters in the largely Kurdish city of Diyarbakir among new tension ahead of a trial that may close the largest pro-Kurdish party, reported Reuters.
Thousands of Kurds marched in the streets of southeastern Turkey’s largest city, throwing stones at security forces and pelting the ruling AK Party’s headquarters with rocks.
Hospital and security sources said a university student was shot dead at the Dicle University campus. It was not clear who shot the student.
Demonstrations also took place in the neighboring cities of Siirt, Mardin, Batman, and Hakkari.
Tensions have risen in the past few days in southeastern Turkey as the Democratic Society Party (DTP) prepares for a hearing on Dec. 8 in a court case that aims to shut it down for alleged links with a banned Kurdish separatist group.
The case could reignite ethnic tensions in the region where 40,000 people have died in violence since 1984, when the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms to carve out an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.
Violence had eased in recent months as the government said it aims to boost rights for the Kurdish minority, Turkey’s largest at 12 million.
All but one of the DTP’s pro-Kurdish predecessors have been banned after similar court cases. The Peace and Democracy Party operates but has little power and no members of parliament.
The 21 DTP party deputies will resign from parliament if the party is closed, DTP’s Party chairman Ahmet Turk said on Dec. 4.
The EU has criticized the lawsuit against the DTP, warning Turkey that banning the party would violate Kurdish rights.
The government’s planned pro-Kurdish reforms included the creation of an independent body to investigate cases of torture by security forces in the southeast, as well as the loosening of restrictions on the Kurdish language.
Some see the reforms as an attempt to gain votes following losses for the AK Party in local elections.
Erdogan to meet Obama
The demonstrations in southeastern Turkey may cast a shadow on the Dec. 7 meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama. According to AFP, the talks are expected to focus on NATO reinforcements in Afghanistan and Ankara’s efforts to curb Kurdish rebels based in Iraq.
Obama and Erdogan are also expected to discuss Turkey’s fence-mending efforts with Armenia and the long-standing Cyprus conflict, a major obstacle for Turkey’s EU bid.
Long term Turkey is in a no win situation with the its Kurdish citizens. The heart of the problem for Turkey is that it has been unable to treat this minority group as citizens. Sound familiar. The Republic of Turkey’s predecessor government ordered the extermination of its own citizens in1915( and also the Assyrian and Pontus Greeks communites). For years the Turkish government has tried to behave as if the Kurds did notexist as a people(language,cultur,history). Denial forone that they murdered and a refusal for another that they continue to oppress.
Token cycles of “enlightenment” do little to convince the Kurds,let alone the world , of the sincerity of the Turkish government. But they are caught in their own trap. Encourage “freedoms” for the Kurdish community and momentum will be built for de facto autonomy. After all they do have a distinct culture and geographic presence in southeastern Anatolia. Continue to oppress their rights and the struggle will continue. In the mean time, the Kurds continue to observe the windfall the Kurds of Iraq have received in the emergence of democracy in Iraq.
The Kurds of today in Turkey are the Armenians of the past(minus the genocide). An oppressed minority within Turkey; whose rights will continue to be voiced bysucceeding generations. The emergence of a civil society,righteous Turkish movementand the Kurdish cause are opportunites for common cause with the Armenian nation. Our cause is motivated by 1915, but it is a struggle for 2010. We need to live in today’s world ; as we honor our past.
Kurds are not terrorists but Turkish Governments is. What the bad news is that Obama still tries to use Turkish Government against Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
jeshmarid@yahoo.com