http://www.gulan-media.com/h624/g43.pdf
The murder of Hrant Dink last January started active public discussion in Turkey about amending or abandoning Article 301 of the Penal Code. This article makes it illegal to insult Turkishness. The article prevents public discussions and the development of civil society.
Amending the Article 301 is the corner stone whether the development in Turkey turns towards democracy or increase of militarism.
I met European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Helsinki at the beginning of February with Jukka Mallinen. He is the chairman of the Finnish PEN and I am the Turkey coordinator of it. PEN is international writers’ association.
In the meeting we explained commissioner Rehn our worry about the lack of freedom of expression in Turkey. I told Mr Rehn about my deportation in Turkey and my ban to enter there.
European Union has followed carefully but quietly recent developments in Turkey, like the making tighter of the Anti-Terror Law 3713 last July.
Now commissioner Rehn makes clear his opinion about the Article 301 in an interview published the 23rd February in Journalisti, the magazine of Union of Journalists in Finland. Rehn says:
“It is clear that in order to ensure freedom of expression Turkey should, without delay amend or rather repeal the notorious article 301.”
I made this interview by e-mail. I asked Mr Rehn:
If Turkey would accept Ankara protocol and solve the problems with Cyprus but article 301 would not be renewed, how Turkey's membership negotiations would continue?
He answered:
”Our shared objective is Turkey’s accession, and this is what we are working for. But there is no automatism: Whether this goal will be attained depends on if Turkey is able to meet all the criteria of accession in the end of the process. Freedom of expression is a necessary condition for that.”
These words sound very nice to everyone who supports the democratization process in Turkey. Thank you commissioner Rehn for meeting representatives of the Finnish PEN and making the e-mail interview.
But I have already the next question: What European Union will do if Turkey does not fulfil these demands and abandon Article 301? The development in Turkey is not going towards the right direction but towards the opposite way. One example is that the trial based on Article 301 against Hrant Dink continues in Istanbul Sisli Primary court No. 2 the 22nd March despite he is dead.
It is clear Turkey can not be member in EU if the level of freedom of expression remains as poor as it is now. But this is not enough. Europe should not just observe quietly the increase of problems in Turkey. Whether Turkey's membership negotiations with EU continue or not Turkey is Europe's neighbour whose growing problems affect it in many ways.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Gulan 19.2.2007: Friendly fire
The shooting was a murder attempt against me. Americans wanted to kill me, not stop the car. 58 bullets were found in the passengers and only one bullet in the engine of the car," says Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena. March 2005American soldiers shot in Bagdad towards the car where she was travelling with two Italian intelligence agents. Sgrena was seriously injured and agent Nicola Calipari died immediately.
Journalist of Il Manifesto, Mrs Giuliana Sgrena, was kidnapped in Falluja February 2005 by a group who called themselves "Mujahedins without boarders". She was released one month later. The shooting occurred in an area controlled by Americans near Bagdad airport. Americans say that it was an accident.
Italian criminal investigations found out that the speech of the car was not too fast as Americans have claimed. Criminal trial against the shooter, American soldier Mario Lozano, will start next spring in Rome. The prosecution was announced the 7th February 2007. Lozano is not expected to arrive to the trial. Pentagon does not send their soldiers abroad for trials, what ever crimes they have done. Sgrena says that Lozano is only the last person in the attack against her and it would be important to find out all the persons involved in it. If the Italian court judges Lozano the penalty will not be valid in United States. The only consequence of killing Calipari will be for the shooter that he can not visit Italy. But for president Bush the consequence is that critics against Iraq war has increased in Italy, as well as the demands to remove Italian soldiers from there.
What did Giuliana Sgrena know about the war which is so dangerous for America? She denies herself having such information. But Sgrena was one of the first persons to tell that Americans use napalm and white phosphore in the war. First America denied the claims but now it says this is true.
After recovering the shooting Giuliana Sgrena wrote a book “Fuoco Amigo” (“Friendly Fire”). The book is translated to Finnish. This is the reason Sgrena came to Finland. I went to Sgrena’s press conference the 9th February in Helsinki. Sgrena's opinions about the future of Iraq are pessimistic: the only change how Iraqi people can solve the crisis is that America removes their troops despite it looks evident that it will first lead to a bigger chaos. Giuliana Sgrena says that the civil war has already started in Iraq. Very many people die every day. European mass media tells about car bombs but not about civilian victims who are shot every day the same way as she: in friendly fire by Americans.
Monday, February 19, 2007
For the memory of Hrant Dink
Some dozens of people gathered today the 19th February in Helsinki in front of the embassy of Turkey. The meeting was arranged by the Finnish PEN and some Finnish peace associations.
The meeting was arranged for the memory of Hrant Dink who was murdered one month ago. Also we wanted to express our solidarity for the Turkish people in their campaign to abandon article 301.
The weather was terrible. Temperature was -9 degrees and there was heavy wind from the sea. Here are some pictures from the meeting. As I was one of the people who arranged the meeting I went there good time in advance. When other people arrived I was freezing so much that it was almost impossible to take any pictures.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Gulan: Kurdish civil society and Turkish civil society
This article was published in Gulan in Hewler the 12th February 2007. Due to technical problems there is this week no link to the text in Kurdish.
KURDISH CIVIL SOCIETY AND TURKISH CIVIL SOCIETY
I have been wondering the state of civil society in Turkey when following the public discussion after the murder of Hrant Dink, the chief editor of Agos. It is positive that so many people in Turkey have condemned the murder of Dink. And there has been much bigger meetings in Istanbul than there was in Moscow after the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaja last October.
Murders of journalists and absence of freedom of expression are two issues where Turkey and Russia are similar. The weakness of civil society is another thing what binds these countries together. Here in Finland we follow closely the political development in Russia. The news from there are alarming especially when it is question of the weakness of civil society.
Is the civil society in Turkey yet strong enough to change the military rule to a democratic system? I doubt this. The news from Turkey are not encouraging.
The rights of a minority are difficult issue in a country where even the rights of the majority are limited. During last eighteen months Prime Minister Erdogan has not got much support from his citizens because the generals have made it clear that the army does not accept Erdogan’s plans.
But the Kurdish civil society in Turkey is developing rapidly. Kurdish cultural and political associations have benefited the changes in Turkey’s law due to EU negotiations. Kurds have opened new associations to demand change. Turkish people are afraid to do so. Kurds believe that change is possible in Turkey but Turks do not. They concentrate on their families and private lives instead of doing something that would benefit everyone.
Can a minority change a country democratic when the majority does not have the same goal? It is easy to answer this question: No. This is what the Kurdish movement has tried to do in Turkey since 1999.
Still I believe that the future of Kurds is good. But I can not say the same about the Turkish civil society. If the crisis in Turkey will develop to a Balkan style ethnic conflict the future of the Kurdish civil sector looks much better than the one of the Turkish side. Kurds in Turkey have been questioning their identity through discussing the roots and targets of their movement. This makes the civil society stronger.
Problems are expected to increase when the political crisis in Turkey deepens. Now the Kurds are the weak partner facing so many problems. But in a long perspective the situation can turn to the opposite: with their weak civil society Turks can not find other ways than Kemalist slogans to political problems. The Turkish identity is based on these slogans which everyone has repeated since the primary school. Turks should have now flexibility to act in changing situations. But they do not have any abilities for this.
KURDISH CIVIL SOCIETY AND TURKISH CIVIL SOCIETY
I have been wondering the state of civil society in Turkey when following the public discussion after the murder of Hrant Dink, the chief editor of Agos. It is positive that so many people in Turkey have condemned the murder of Dink. And there has been much bigger meetings in Istanbul than there was in Moscow after the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaja last October.
Murders of journalists and absence of freedom of expression are two issues where Turkey and Russia are similar. The weakness of civil society is another thing what binds these countries together. Here in Finland we follow closely the political development in Russia. The news from there are alarming especially when it is question of the weakness of civil society.
Is the civil society in Turkey yet strong enough to change the military rule to a democratic system? I doubt this. The news from Turkey are not encouraging.
The rights of a minority are difficult issue in a country where even the rights of the majority are limited. During last eighteen months Prime Minister Erdogan has not got much support from his citizens because the generals have made it clear that the army does not accept Erdogan’s plans.
But the Kurdish civil society in Turkey is developing rapidly. Kurdish cultural and political associations have benefited the changes in Turkey’s law due to EU negotiations. Kurds have opened new associations to demand change. Turkish people are afraid to do so. Kurds believe that change is possible in Turkey but Turks do not. They concentrate on their families and private lives instead of doing something that would benefit everyone.
Can a minority change a country democratic when the majority does not have the same goal? It is easy to answer this question: No. This is what the Kurdish movement has tried to do in Turkey since 1999.
Still I believe that the future of Kurds is good. But I can not say the same about the Turkish civil society. If the crisis in Turkey will develop to a Balkan style ethnic conflict the future of the Kurdish civil sector looks much better than the one of the Turkish side. Kurds in Turkey have been questioning their identity through discussing the roots and targets of their movement. This makes the civil society stronger.
Problems are expected to increase when the political crisis in Turkey deepens. Now the Kurds are the weak partner facing so many problems. But in a long perspective the situation can turn to the opposite: with their weak civil society Turks can not find other ways than Kemalist slogans to political problems. The Turkish identity is based on these slogans which everyone has repeated since the primary school. Turks should have now flexibility to act in changing situations. But they do not have any abilities for this.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
MESA's letter to Prime Minister Erdogan
The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) has sent a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and protested my ban to enter Turkey.
I thank MESA ( www.mesa.arizona.edu ) for helping me. Here is their letter:
February 9, 2007
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Office of the Prime Minister
Başbakanlık
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Via facsimile +90 312 417 0476
Dear Prime Minister Erdoğan:
I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom in order to express our dismay and grave concern over the detention and deportation from Turkey of Finnish independent scholar and freelance journalist Dr. Kristiina Koivunen. Dr. Koivunen was stopped at Van Ferit Melen Airport on December 15, 2007, and was held in an officially unacknowledged detention for 46 hours. On December 17 she was put on a flight from Istanbul Ataturk Airport under police surveillance and expelled from Turkey.
The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has more than 2700 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.
Dr. Kristiina Koivunen is a specialist on the Kurdish question in Turkey. The title of her Ph.D. dissertation is The Invisible War in North Kurdistan (University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, September 2002). She is also the author of two travelogues (Teetä Kurdistanissa, 2001; Sankarimatkailijan Kaakkois-Turkki, 2006) on eastern Turkey. As a journalist she had published more than 200 articles on Turkish affairs and, most recently, she interviewed Turkish Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönül on October 3, 2007. The interview was published by a Finnish newspaper.
Since 1997, she has visited Turkey sixteen times for research purposes. On her last trip, she entered the country on November 29, 2007 and traveled across Turkey without encountering any difficulties. After her detention at the Van airport she was taken first to the anti-terrorism bureau (Terörle Mücadele Şubesi) in Van, and was later moved to the foreigner’s bureau (Yabancılar Şubesi). The following day she was flown to Istanbul and held at police headquarters in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. Despite Dr. Koivunen’s and her lawyer’s repeated requests, she was not issued any official documents articulating reasons for, or recognizing the fact of, her detention and her deportation. Dr. Koivunen was informed only verbally by a police chief that her entrance to the country was barred pursuant to a decision by the Ministry of Interior in August 2006. That decision was allegedly made months before her most recent arrival, and she was not provided with any notice of that decision until the time of her detention and removal from the country. In fact, on November 29, she was granted entry without incident. We have been informed that after repeated official appeals for justification, the Finnish Embassy in Ankara was faxed a copy of the Turkish Passport Law with the eighth article circled. We understand (through the fifth paragraph of the article) that she was expelled from the country because the Ministry had ‘foreseen’ that her presence in the country would pose a threat to public order.
Our committee is deeply concerned about the unacceptable treatment of Dr. Koivunen. (1) We regard the Turkish Ministry of Interior’s alleged decision as a clear violation of the right to research. Dr Koivunen had never violated Turkish laws during her numerous previous visits to the country, yet, your Ministry’s prohibition now makes it impossible for Dr. Koivunen to conduct research in Turkey. (2) Notwithstanding the decision of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, Dr. Koivunen was granted permission to enter the country on November 29, which meant her stay in the country would be under legal protection. Yet, her legal right to stay in the country was revoked arbitrarily; no reasons were officially provided for her detention, for the revocation of her visa, nor for her ultimate deportation. Further she was not granted any opportunity to legally challenge the official determination.
We are deeply saddened to observe a radical deterioration of the conditions for carrying out critical intellectual work in Turkey over the past six months. The right of individuals to freely express nonviolent opinions has been progressively undermined in the country, fomenting a climate of intimidation and fear. Critical intellectuals expressing opinions or doing research in Turkey have recently been intimidated either through the application of restrictive (and vaguely formulated) legal statutes (such as Article 301 of Turkish Penal code), through the violent attacks of ultranationalist militants or, as we see in the case of Dr. Koivunen, through official but arbitrary and illegal undertakings. This situation gravely damages the image of Turkey as a committed member of the democratic international community. We hope that you share our concerns and that you will promptly implement measures to preclude any further violations of basic and universally recognized essential liberties, including freedom of expression.
In the case at hand, we urge you to take relevant steps to restore Dr. Kristiina Koivunen’s right to conduct research in Turkey. We also ask that you initiate an investigation into the arbitrary and unjustifiable treatment to which she was subjected.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your positive response.
Sincerely,
Zachary Lockman
MESA President
I thank MESA ( www.mesa.arizona.edu ) for helping me. Here is their letter:
February 9, 2007
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Office of the Prime Minister
Başbakanlık
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Via facsimile +90 312 417 0476
Dear Prime Minister Erdoğan:
I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom in order to express our dismay and grave concern over the detention and deportation from Turkey of Finnish independent scholar and freelance journalist Dr. Kristiina Koivunen. Dr. Koivunen was stopped at Van Ferit Melen Airport on December 15, 2007, and was held in an officially unacknowledged detention for 46 hours. On December 17 she was put on a flight from Istanbul Ataturk Airport under police surveillance and expelled from Turkey.
The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has more than 2700 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.
Dr. Kristiina Koivunen is a specialist on the Kurdish question in Turkey. The title of her Ph.D. dissertation is The Invisible War in North Kurdistan (University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, September 2002). She is also the author of two travelogues (Teetä Kurdistanissa, 2001; Sankarimatkailijan Kaakkois-Turkki, 2006) on eastern Turkey. As a journalist she had published more than 200 articles on Turkish affairs and, most recently, she interviewed Turkish Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönül on October 3, 2007. The interview was published by a Finnish newspaper.
Since 1997, she has visited Turkey sixteen times for research purposes. On her last trip, she entered the country on November 29, 2007 and traveled across Turkey without encountering any difficulties. After her detention at the Van airport she was taken first to the anti-terrorism bureau (Terörle Mücadele Şubesi) in Van, and was later moved to the foreigner’s bureau (Yabancılar Şubesi). The following day she was flown to Istanbul and held at police headquarters in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. Despite Dr. Koivunen’s and her lawyer’s repeated requests, she was not issued any official documents articulating reasons for, or recognizing the fact of, her detention and her deportation. Dr. Koivunen was informed only verbally by a police chief that her entrance to the country was barred pursuant to a decision by the Ministry of Interior in August 2006. That decision was allegedly made months before her most recent arrival, and she was not provided with any notice of that decision until the time of her detention and removal from the country. In fact, on November 29, she was granted entry without incident. We have been informed that after repeated official appeals for justification, the Finnish Embassy in Ankara was faxed a copy of the Turkish Passport Law with the eighth article circled. We understand (through the fifth paragraph of the article) that she was expelled from the country because the Ministry had ‘foreseen’ that her presence in the country would pose a threat to public order.
Our committee is deeply concerned about the unacceptable treatment of Dr. Koivunen. (1) We regard the Turkish Ministry of Interior’s alleged decision as a clear violation of the right to research. Dr Koivunen had never violated Turkish laws during her numerous previous visits to the country, yet, your Ministry’s prohibition now makes it impossible for Dr. Koivunen to conduct research in Turkey. (2) Notwithstanding the decision of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, Dr. Koivunen was granted permission to enter the country on November 29, which meant her stay in the country would be under legal protection. Yet, her legal right to stay in the country was revoked arbitrarily; no reasons were officially provided for her detention, for the revocation of her visa, nor for her ultimate deportation. Further she was not granted any opportunity to legally challenge the official determination.
We are deeply saddened to observe a radical deterioration of the conditions for carrying out critical intellectual work in Turkey over the past six months. The right of individuals to freely express nonviolent opinions has been progressively undermined in the country, fomenting a climate of intimidation and fear. Critical intellectuals expressing opinions or doing research in Turkey have recently been intimidated either through the application of restrictive (and vaguely formulated) legal statutes (such as Article 301 of Turkish Penal code), through the violent attacks of ultranationalist militants or, as we see in the case of Dr. Koivunen, through official but arbitrary and illegal undertakings. This situation gravely damages the image of Turkey as a committed member of the democratic international community. We hope that you share our concerns and that you will promptly implement measures to preclude any further violations of basic and universally recognized essential liberties, including freedom of expression.
In the case at hand, we urge you to take relevant steps to restore Dr. Kristiina Koivunen’s right to conduct research in Turkey. We also ask that you initiate an investigation into the arbitrary and unjustifiable treatment to which she was subjected.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your positive response.
Sincerely,
Zachary Lockman
MESA President
Monday, February 12, 2007
Who is Sahmaran?
Sahmaran is Kurdish mytology. She is a creature who has body of a woman and a snake. Also she is the Kurdish counterpart for mermaid.
But when mermaids have nasty characters, Sahmaran is the opposite. She wants positive things.
This is all what I know about Sahmaran. The readers who have more information about her please tell me.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Giuliana Sgrena in Finland
Giuliana Sgrena visits now Finland. She is Italian journalist of Il Manifesto. She was kidnapped in Falluja, Irak the 4th February 2005. Her kidnappers called themselves “Mujahedins without boarders”. She was released one month later unharmed - but on the way to Bagdad airport American soldiers opened fire on the car. Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari died and Sgrena and the driver wounded.
Criminal trial against the shooter, American soldier Mario Lozano, will start next spring in Rome. The prosecution was announced on Wednesday the 7th February 2007. America calls the shooting an accident but Sgrena says it was a murder attempt on them because 58 bullets were found in the passengers and only one bullet in the engine of the car. Italian criminal investigations also found out that the speech of the car was not too fast as the Americans have claimed. Lozano is not expected to arrive to the trial. America does not send its soldiers abroad to be judged for their crimes. Sgrena said that Lozano is only the last person in the attack against her and it would be important to find out all persons involved in it.
After recovering the shooting Giuliana Sgrena wrote a book “Fuoco Amigo” (“Friendly Fire”). The book is translated to Finnish by LIKE. This is the reason Sgrena came to Finland. Next week she will travel to America as the book will be published also there.
Criminal trial against the shooter, American soldier Mario Lozano, will start next spring in Rome. The prosecution was announced on Wednesday the 7th February 2007. America calls the shooting an accident but Sgrena says it was a murder attempt on them because 58 bullets were found in the passengers and only one bullet in the engine of the car. Italian criminal investigations also found out that the speech of the car was not too fast as the Americans have claimed. Lozano is not expected to arrive to the trial. America does not send its soldiers abroad to be judged for their crimes. Sgrena said that Lozano is only the last person in the attack against her and it would be important to find out all persons involved in it.
After recovering the shooting Giuliana Sgrena wrote a book “Fuoco Amigo” (“Friendly Fire”). The book is translated to Finnish by LIKE. This is the reason Sgrena came to Finland. Next week she will travel to America as the book will be published also there.
I went to Sgrena’s press conference on Friday the 9th February in Helsinki. She looked tired and did not smile during the meeting. Her opinions about the future of Iraq were pessimistic: the only change how Iraqian people can solve the crisis is that America removes their troops despite it looks evident that it will first lead to a bigger chaos.
Professor Jaakko Hämeenanttila (Arabic language and culture, Helsinki university) shared her views about the future images of Iraq.
I have read Sgrena’s book and I really recommend it.
Professor Jaakko Hämeenanttila (Arabic language and culture, Helsinki university) shared her views about the future images of Iraq.
I have read Sgrena’s book and I really recommend it.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Gulan 5th February 2007: Living in a bilingual country
http://www.gulan-media.com/h621/g31.pdf
Why Turkey is so afraid of having many cultures and languages? It is a fortune not a threat! I invite Turkish politicians to come to Finland to observe our bilingual country.
There are five million people in Finland. Most of them, 4 700 000 people, speak Finnish as mother language. 300 000 are Swedish speakers. Most of them live in the southwest coast.
I tell sometimes to Turks that we have a well functioning bilingual administration in Finland. They reply to me that Finland is a rich country so it can afford such a thing but Turkey can not. Now Finland is rich but it was not so ninety years ago when it became independent. That was during the first world war.
Since that time Finland has had bilingual administration. It was not expensive decision: each town and village has only one language according to what language the people speak. Only capital Helsinki and some other towns have officially two languages.
Swedish minority has their own mass media, theatre and libraries. Their children have all education in Swedish up to university studies. There is compulsory military service in Finland. Swedish speaking young men do their service in units where the only language is Swedish.
It is compulsory to study both languages in the school. Also the children of the majority must learn the language of the minority. Most people in the young generation speak fluently both languages.
There is also third language in Finland: Saami (*). It is spoken in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Saami people make co-operation with each others across the boarders.
In Finland there are seven thousands Saami people. They were earlier nomads who lived by raising reindeers. They did not have private land ownership. Saami people still have their unique culture which reflects their close connection with the arctic nature. The Saami language does not have the word ”war”.
Saami people have similar linguistic rights in northern Finland than the Swedish speakers in southwest Finland. Saami children study in Saami and learn Finnish as a foreign language. But Finnish children do not learn their language.
I interviewed last October Mehmet Vecdi Gönül, the Turkish minister of defence. I told him about language policy in Finland. Our Swedish and Lappish people live in peace with the state instead of rebelling against it. I asked Mr. Gönül why Turkey is not trying the same policy with Kurds. He answered:
”In Finland the situation is easy because you have only three languages. Turkey has 28 languages so it is impossible to arrange education in so many languages.”
I hope also Kurdish people in South Kurdistan remember the rights of the minority when their position has changed from minority in Iraq to majority in the area of Kurdistan Regional Government. The rights of Arabic speakers must be protected there the same way as rights Kurdish people in other countries.
-----
(*) In the Kurdish translation I have used word "Lappish" instead of word Saami (sometimes written Sámi) because "Damascus" is in Kurdish "Sam". When I have tried to tell Kurdish people about the unique culture of Saami people they have always been confused about the word and thought that Saami people have some connections to Damascus. I am aware that Saami people do not accept the term "Lappish" but in a short column for people who know absolutely nothing about Finland it is too difficult to explain that Saami people live in north of the arctic circle, not in some suburb of Damascus. Easiest would have been to write nothing about the Saami people. But for Kurds - "the fighting nation" - it is very important information that there is a language where the word "war" does not exist.
Why Turkey is so afraid of having many cultures and languages? It is a fortune not a threat! I invite Turkish politicians to come to Finland to observe our bilingual country.
There are five million people in Finland. Most of them, 4 700 000 people, speak Finnish as mother language. 300 000 are Swedish speakers. Most of them live in the southwest coast.
I tell sometimes to Turks that we have a well functioning bilingual administration in Finland. They reply to me that Finland is a rich country so it can afford such a thing but Turkey can not. Now Finland is rich but it was not so ninety years ago when it became independent. That was during the first world war.
Since that time Finland has had bilingual administration. It was not expensive decision: each town and village has only one language according to what language the people speak. Only capital Helsinki and some other towns have officially two languages.
Swedish minority has their own mass media, theatre and libraries. Their children have all education in Swedish up to university studies. There is compulsory military service in Finland. Swedish speaking young men do their service in units where the only language is Swedish.
It is compulsory to study both languages in the school. Also the children of the majority must learn the language of the minority. Most people in the young generation speak fluently both languages.
There is also third language in Finland: Saami (*). It is spoken in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Saami people make co-operation with each others across the boarders.
In Finland there are seven thousands Saami people. They were earlier nomads who lived by raising reindeers. They did not have private land ownership. Saami people still have their unique culture which reflects their close connection with the arctic nature. The Saami language does not have the word ”war”.
Saami people have similar linguistic rights in northern Finland than the Swedish speakers in southwest Finland. Saami children study in Saami and learn Finnish as a foreign language. But Finnish children do not learn their language.
I interviewed last October Mehmet Vecdi Gönül, the Turkish minister of defence. I told him about language policy in Finland. Our Swedish and Lappish people live in peace with the state instead of rebelling against it. I asked Mr. Gönül why Turkey is not trying the same policy with Kurds. He answered:
”In Finland the situation is easy because you have only three languages. Turkey has 28 languages so it is impossible to arrange education in so many languages.”
I hope also Kurdish people in South Kurdistan remember the rights of the minority when their position has changed from minority in Iraq to majority in the area of Kurdistan Regional Government. The rights of Arabic speakers must be protected there the same way as rights Kurdish people in other countries.
-----
(*) In the Kurdish translation I have used word "Lappish" instead of word Saami (sometimes written Sámi) because "Damascus" is in Kurdish "Sam". When I have tried to tell Kurdish people about the unique culture of Saami people they have always been confused about the word and thought that Saami people have some connections to Damascus. I am aware that Saami people do not accept the term "Lappish" but in a short column for people who know absolutely nothing about Finland it is too difficult to explain that Saami people live in north of the arctic circle, not in some suburb of Damascus. Easiest would have been to write nothing about the Saami people. But for Kurds - "the fighting nation" - it is very important information that there is a language where the word "war" does not exist.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Commissioner Olli Rehn met PEN representatives
The chairman of the Finnish PEN Jukka Mallinen and I met last Friday EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn. Here is the press release the Finnish PEN gave about the meeting:
OLLI REHN MET PEN REPRESENTATIVES IN HELSINKI
EU Commissioner Olli Rehn met on Friday the second February in Helsinki PEN representatives Jukka Mallinen and Kristiina Koivunen. Mallinen is the chairman of the Finnish PEN and Koivunen is Turkey coordinator.
PEN is writers’ association which promotes literature and defends freedom of expression. In the meeting Rehn, Mallinen and Koivunen discussed the situation in Turkey which has became more difficult. For example the murder of Hrant Dink and the dead threats targeted to Nobel writer Orhan Pamuk show this. Both Dink and Pamuk have been accused in criminal trials due to Article 301. And the trials of many other writers still continue in Turkey due to the same reason. International PEN demands the abolition of Article 301.
Kristiina Koivunen told Olli Rehn about her arrest in Turkey 15th December 2006 and her ban to enter Turkey. The Finnish Embassy in Ankara gave a note to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs the 12th January 2007 demanding literary argumentation for the ban. Turkey has not yet given its reply to the note.
OLLI REHN MET PEN REPRESENTATIVES IN HELSINKI
EU Commissioner Olli Rehn met on Friday the second February in Helsinki PEN representatives Jukka Mallinen and Kristiina Koivunen. Mallinen is the chairman of the Finnish PEN and Koivunen is Turkey coordinator.
PEN is writers’ association which promotes literature and defends freedom of expression. In the meeting Rehn, Mallinen and Koivunen discussed the situation in Turkey which has became more difficult. For example the murder of Hrant Dink and the dead threats targeted to Nobel writer Orhan Pamuk show this. Both Dink and Pamuk have been accused in criminal trials due to Article 301. And the trials of many other writers still continue in Turkey due to the same reason. International PEN demands the abolition of Article 301.
Kristiina Koivunen told Olli Rehn about her arrest in Turkey 15th December 2006 and her ban to enter Turkey. The Finnish Embassy in Ankara gave a note to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs the 12th January 2007 demanding literary argumentation for the ban. Turkey has not yet given its reply to the note.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Gulan 29th January: Is Turkey turning back to the 1990s?
http://www.gulan-media.com/h620/g31.pdf
Last December European Union put on ice the membership negotiations withTurkey. This is an important turning point in the political development in Turkey. Is the country moving towards democracy and co-operation or nationalism and isolation?
The murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was a shock and a worrying sign how the future might be in Turkey. Is Turkey turning back tothe athmosphere of early 1990s when political murders and disappearances of activists were every day life?
Public reaction against the murder of Hrant Dink was strong in Turkey. Everybody condemned it. This is good sign. Despite the majority of Turkish people are not actively working for the abrogation of the militaristic system they neither want to return back to the dark period of last decade. During those days many journalists, especially Kurdish ones, were murdered. Their murderers were never found.
Police caught quikly the shooter of Hrant Dink. This is different than the murders of journalists fifteen years ago. The shooting of Hrant Dink has similar characters than some honour killings where police has caught the murderer in Turkey. Often they have turned out to be boys who are under eighteen and get only a small penalty because of their age.
The big test for Turkey is whether the real forces behind the seventeen years old shooter of Hrant Dink will be found. In Susurluk accident and Semdinli bomb attack there was no in-depth survey about the real forces involved in the scandals. Who had protected Abdullah Catli? Who planned a serie of bomb attacks in Hakkari province in autumn 2005?
We do not know. First Turkish mass media covered eagerly the cases but little by little public discussion about these topics died away. It is easy to predict that the same will happen again. Picture of Dink's murder will remain unclear and the real criminals behind the act will not be in the court.
Still I am hopeful that Turkey will not return back to the dark days of early 1990s. Maybe the Republic of Turkey has not changed from those days but the world around it is different. Also the Kurdish and Armenian communities in Turkey are now much stronger than fifteen years ago. They have lots of contacts abroad. World is following how Turkish police and court solve this murder case. And more than that: how the freedom of expression develops in Turkey. The situation is alarming as long as police stations and courts are places where the limits of journalism are counted. If this is not changing Turkey can say bye-bye to dreams about European Union.
Last December European Union put on ice the membership negotiations withTurkey. This is an important turning point in the political development in Turkey. Is the country moving towards democracy and co-operation or nationalism and isolation?
The murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was a shock and a worrying sign how the future might be in Turkey. Is Turkey turning back tothe athmosphere of early 1990s when political murders and disappearances of activists were every day life?
Public reaction against the murder of Hrant Dink was strong in Turkey. Everybody condemned it. This is good sign. Despite the majority of Turkish people are not actively working for the abrogation of the militaristic system they neither want to return back to the dark period of last decade. During those days many journalists, especially Kurdish ones, were murdered. Their murderers were never found.
Police caught quikly the shooter of Hrant Dink. This is different than the murders of journalists fifteen years ago. The shooting of Hrant Dink has similar characters than some honour killings where police has caught the murderer in Turkey. Often they have turned out to be boys who are under eighteen and get only a small penalty because of their age.
The big test for Turkey is whether the real forces behind the seventeen years old shooter of Hrant Dink will be found. In Susurluk accident and Semdinli bomb attack there was no in-depth survey about the real forces involved in the scandals. Who had protected Abdullah Catli? Who planned a serie of bomb attacks in Hakkari province in autumn 2005?
We do not know. First Turkish mass media covered eagerly the cases but little by little public discussion about these topics died away. It is easy to predict that the same will happen again. Picture of Dink's murder will remain unclear and the real criminals behind the act will not be in the court.
Still I am hopeful that Turkey will not return back to the dark days of early 1990s. Maybe the Republic of Turkey has not changed from those days but the world around it is different. Also the Kurdish and Armenian communities in Turkey are now much stronger than fifteen years ago. They have lots of contacts abroad. World is following how Turkish police and court solve this murder case. And more than that: how the freedom of expression develops in Turkey. The situation is alarming as long as police stations and courts are places where the limits of journalism are counted. If this is not changing Turkey can say bye-bye to dreams about European Union.
Gulan 22nd January 2007: Europe closes eyes from a coming storm
http://www.gulan-media.com/h619/g31.pdf
What was the best selling book in Turkey two years ago? "Metal storm" written by Orkun Ucar and Burak Turna. It tells about war between Turkey and America. It starts May 2007 in North Iraq when American army arrests Turkish soldiers near Kerkuk. In the novel Turkish army enters North Iraq to help Turkmens.
I have not heard that this book would have been translated to English or German. This is a pity, because it would be important book for Europeans to read.
"Metal storm" is fiction but many people in Turkey think it could be true. Development in South Kurdistan during recent days is so frightening that the events of the first chapter are not impossible. Turkish politicians want to arrange a conference in Kerkuk against the will of the Kurdish Regional Government.
Does mass media in Europe write about this conference? No. European people do not even know that 250 000 Turkish soldiers have been waiting almost one year near the Iraqian boarder ready to cross it. There is danger of an armed conflict of the same scale than the one last summer in Lebanon but Europe does not want to see it.
Europeans discuss about the Cyprus issue and wonder whether a Muslim country ever can be member in EU. The discussion nowadays is similar than five and ten years ago. People in Europe do not understand that the situation in Turkey and on its boarders is changing all the time. The question of Turkey's membership in EU is used as a tool in domestic politics in various countries when it is time for elections - with images and information about Turkey which are out of date.
I really do not understand why EU is so helpless. It seems that European countries have learned nothing from the Balkan war last decade. If there will a war between Turks and Kurds it will be a big surprise for most European people.
1991 was a cold winter in the mountains and a horrifying year for the Kurdish refugees. But they did not cause so much trouble for EU as the Balkan refugees some years later. Does EU think that Kurds are far away in their mountains and a possible war there is not harmful for Europe?
EU should understand that the situation is now different than 1991. USA is making co-operation with Kurds, opposite than fifteen years ago.
Maybe the decision makers in EU simply do not know what to do with the coming storm. They just pray for a miracle in Turkey-Iraq boarder or hope that the danger will go over if they refuse to see it.
What was the best selling book in Turkey two years ago? "Metal storm" written by Orkun Ucar and Burak Turna. It tells about war between Turkey and America. It starts May 2007 in North Iraq when American army arrests Turkish soldiers near Kerkuk. In the novel Turkish army enters North Iraq to help Turkmens.
I have not heard that this book would have been translated to English or German. This is a pity, because it would be important book for Europeans to read.
"Metal storm" is fiction but many people in Turkey think it could be true. Development in South Kurdistan during recent days is so frightening that the events of the first chapter are not impossible. Turkish politicians want to arrange a conference in Kerkuk against the will of the Kurdish Regional Government.
Does mass media in Europe write about this conference? No. European people do not even know that 250 000 Turkish soldiers have been waiting almost one year near the Iraqian boarder ready to cross it. There is danger of an armed conflict of the same scale than the one last summer in Lebanon but Europe does not want to see it.
Europeans discuss about the Cyprus issue and wonder whether a Muslim country ever can be member in EU. The discussion nowadays is similar than five and ten years ago. People in Europe do not understand that the situation in Turkey and on its boarders is changing all the time. The question of Turkey's membership in EU is used as a tool in domestic politics in various countries when it is time for elections - with images and information about Turkey which are out of date.
I really do not understand why EU is so helpless. It seems that European countries have learned nothing from the Balkan war last decade. If there will a war between Turks and Kurds it will be a big surprise for most European people.
1991 was a cold winter in the mountains and a horrifying year for the Kurdish refugees. But they did not cause so much trouble for EU as the Balkan refugees some years later. Does EU think that Kurds are far away in their mountains and a possible war there is not harmful for Europe?
EU should understand that the situation is now different than 1991. USA is making co-operation with Kurds, opposite than fifteen years ago.
Maybe the decision makers in EU simply do not know what to do with the coming storm. They just pray for a miracle in Turkey-Iraq boarder or hope that the danger will go over if they refuse to see it.
Gulan 15th January 2007: Human rights of dead people
http://www.gulan-media.com/h618/g49.pdf
Do dead people have human rights?
I made this question summer 2006 to Dr Helena Ranta. She is forensic odontologist and Team Leader of the Finnish Forensic Expert Team.
She answered:
"According the international law they don't have. Human rights end at the moment of death. But I think dead people have three basic rights: a grave, their name in it and funeral ceremonies according their religion or belief. This is also reflected in the Additional Protocoll of Geneva Conventions."
Dr Ranta says that it is the right of the families to know the cause of death of their beloved ones. Without this information it is very difficult for them to continue their own lives.
The families also have the right to bury their deceased.
"There are lots of problems in accomplishing these basic rights in the battle fields all around the world. Despite situations are different the circumstances are always the same: there is a country which is breaking down and it turning against its own citizens," Ranta said.
Finnish Dr. Helena Ranta is forensic odontologist. She is coordinator at the department of Forensic Medicine Helsinki University for Disaster Victim Identification and International Missions.
She has been leading the forensic investigations of deceased found in mass graves since 1996 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Cameroon, Peru and Iraq.
March 2003 Mrs. Ranta was Chamber Witness in Haag International Tribunal at the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) at the court case of Slobodan Milosevic. September 2005 she made an observation mission to Grozny, Chechnya. She was invited there by the Council of Europe and the Russian Federation.
Mrs Ranta was advisor of the Truth and Conciliation Commission in Peru. At the moment she coordinates Master of Science education in forensic sciences and human rights at the Catholic University of Lima in Peru, South-America.
Last summer I asked her what she thinks about the Turkish law proposal that bodies of Kurdish guerrillas would not be given to their families. At that time the Parliament of Turkey was still discussing the changes to Anti-Terror Law 3713. Now these changes of the law are valid.
"International agreements are unambiguous in this issue. Geneva Conventions from 1949 and the Additional Protocoll from 1977 indicate that the manner and course of dead should be clarified. It is the first thing to do. It is the right of the families to get this information," she answered.
Is there some difference whether the deceased is a civil or a soldier?
"We, the Finnish Forensic Team, treat every death as a death. In clarifying the cause of death there is no difference between civilians and soldiers. But WHO (World Health Organisation) categories for death classification and manner of death are different for civilians and soldiers.
The Finnish Forensic Team surveys the causes of death. Then other organisations and courts use this information.
It is not our work to judge. For me the most important thing is to find the truth. In an armed conflict every party lies. The examinations conducted by our team has shown claims made by every party to be false.
An internal conflict is not a war according the international law," she said at the end of the interview.
Do dead people have human rights?
I made this question summer 2006 to Dr Helena Ranta. She is forensic odontologist and Team Leader of the Finnish Forensic Expert Team.
She answered:
"According the international law they don't have. Human rights end at the moment of death. But I think dead people have three basic rights: a grave, their name in it and funeral ceremonies according their religion or belief. This is also reflected in the Additional Protocoll of Geneva Conventions."
Dr Ranta says that it is the right of the families to know the cause of death of their beloved ones. Without this information it is very difficult for them to continue their own lives.
The families also have the right to bury their deceased.
"There are lots of problems in accomplishing these basic rights in the battle fields all around the world. Despite situations are different the circumstances are always the same: there is a country which is breaking down and it turning against its own citizens," Ranta said.
Finnish Dr. Helena Ranta is forensic odontologist. She is coordinator at the department of Forensic Medicine Helsinki University for Disaster Victim Identification and International Missions.
She has been leading the forensic investigations of deceased found in mass graves since 1996 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Cameroon, Peru and Iraq.
March 2003 Mrs. Ranta was Chamber Witness in Haag International Tribunal at the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) at the court case of Slobodan Milosevic. September 2005 she made an observation mission to Grozny, Chechnya. She was invited there by the Council of Europe and the Russian Federation.
Mrs Ranta was advisor of the Truth and Conciliation Commission in Peru. At the moment she coordinates Master of Science education in forensic sciences and human rights at the Catholic University of Lima in Peru, South-America.
Last summer I asked her what she thinks about the Turkish law proposal that bodies of Kurdish guerrillas would not be given to their families. At that time the Parliament of Turkey was still discussing the changes to Anti-Terror Law 3713. Now these changes of the law are valid.
"International agreements are unambiguous in this issue. Geneva Conventions from 1949 and the Additional Protocoll from 1977 indicate that the manner and course of dead should be clarified. It is the first thing to do. It is the right of the families to get this information," she answered.
Is there some difference whether the deceased is a civil or a soldier?
"We, the Finnish Forensic Team, treat every death as a death. In clarifying the cause of death there is no difference between civilians and soldiers. But WHO (World Health Organisation) categories for death classification and manner of death are different for civilians and soldiers.
The Finnish Forensic Team surveys the causes of death. Then other organisations and courts use this information.
It is not our work to judge. For me the most important thing is to find the truth. In an armed conflict every party lies. The examinations conducted by our team has shown claims made by every party to be false.
An internal conflict is not a war according the international law," she said at the end of the interview.
Gulan 8th January 2007: The integrity of elections in Turkey
http://www.gulan-media.com/h617/g41.pdf
Turkey deported me last December. Now I am not permitted to enter the country. The Turkish ministry of internal affairs says that the reason is the security of the state.
I am a writer. I have done my doctoral dissertation in sociology about the effects of war to civil population in North Kurdistan.
I am causing danger to the security of the Republic of Turkey. What should I think about this? I do not feel myself a dangerous person. How strong Turkish state is when it is afraid of writers and intellectuals?
It is not only my rights which are limited by this prohibition. When I am not permitted to travel to Turkey it hinders Kurdish political parties and associations to communicate and distribute information freely. During my sixteen journeys to Turkey I have contacted many organisations which are registered according the Turkish law. Their freedom of expression is now limited.
There will be parliament elections in Turkey next November, maybe earlier. Election campaigns have started. Election observation must start now.
The 29th December Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja had a press conference in Helsinki. At that time Finland was the chairman of European Union. I asked him what he thinks about the integrity of the elections. Minister Tuomioja answered that there will be wide election observation operation in Turkey done by OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). No hindrance in its work will be accepted.
Last year Turkey deported also Human Rights Watch representative Jonathan Sudgen. He, I and other people must be allowed to travel freely in Turkey to observe the situation in the Kurdish area. Otherwise the elections are not fair
Turkey deported me last December. Now I am not permitted to enter the country. The Turkish ministry of internal affairs says that the reason is the security of the state.
I am a writer. I have done my doctoral dissertation in sociology about the effects of war to civil population in North Kurdistan.
I am causing danger to the security of the Republic of Turkey. What should I think about this? I do not feel myself a dangerous person. How strong Turkish state is when it is afraid of writers and intellectuals?
It is not only my rights which are limited by this prohibition. When I am not permitted to travel to Turkey it hinders Kurdish political parties and associations to communicate and distribute information freely. During my sixteen journeys to Turkey I have contacted many organisations which are registered according the Turkish law. Their freedom of expression is now limited.
There will be parliament elections in Turkey next November, maybe earlier. Election campaigns have started. Election observation must start now.
The 29th December Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja had a press conference in Helsinki. At that time Finland was the chairman of European Union. I asked him what he thinks about the integrity of the elections. Minister Tuomioja answered that there will be wide election observation operation in Turkey done by OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). No hindrance in its work will be accepted.
Last year Turkey deported also Human Rights Watch representative Jonathan Sudgen. He, I and other people must be allowed to travel freely in Turkey to observe the situation in the Kurdish area. Otherwise the elections are not fair
Gulan 1st January 2007: My interview
http://www.gulan-media.com/h616/g30-32.pdf
MY ANSWERS TO THE E-MAIL INTERVIEW
1 - You as being a well-know scholar on Kurdish problem, espicially the Northern Kurdistan. For sure we have seen your products about Kurdistan, the most attractive one which I am really interested in was "The Invisible War in North Kurdistan", so here is my question: why Turkey didn't allow you to stay in Turkey?
Kristiina Koivunen: I have not got any written documents about my case. When the police arrested me in Van airport the 15th December 2006, they told that I am not permitted to enter Turkey. The ministry of interior affairs has made this decision in August 2006 and the reason is the security of the state.
I arrived to Turkey the 29th November 2006. I did not have any difficulties to enter the country in Istanbul airport.
2 - As you see Turkey behaves like this with Kurdish people and also Kurdish scholars, at the same time he tries to become a member in EU, so how you read this?
KK: I am worried that there is now going on a regress in Turkey after a period of positive development and democratization. Since 1997 I have been sixteen times in Turkey, and I have never been arrested or questioned by the police. During this journey, or my previous journey (May 2006) I have done same things and behaved the same way as earlier. It is Turkey which has changed, not me.
I hope that democratization process and Turkey's EU negotiation process would continue. I support Turkey's membership in European Union, but Turkey must fullfill the Copenhagen criteria.
3 - How do you mention the Kurdish problem around the world, espicially in Turkey? Do you think that remaining Turkey on this behaviours can prevent Kurdish people from getting on their Rights? And what were you about to do in Turkey for Kurds at this time?
KK: There is now a national awakening process going on among the Kurds. Their clan and feudal mentalily is increasingly replaced by national identity. But Kurds have still long road in front of them before they can fully enjoy Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights every where they live. The biggest obstacle in this is that Kurds are divided and not make cooperation with each others. Turkey and other countries where Kurds live could not opress them if Kurds would resist united against this opression.
Turkey, Iran, Irak and Syria are very different kind of countries and the Kurdish societies are diffent in these countries. The way how Kurds get their linguistic and cultural rights in each of these countries can be different, so that the solutions fits to the administration of each country.
4 - EU is not serious yet on solving kurdish problem in Turkey, and I ask why EU keeps so silently in solving Kurdish problem?
KK: This question you should make to Mr Olli Rehn, the Enlargement Commissioner in European Union. I think that EU has not understood the seriousness of the Kurdish question. If this question is not solved it is a threat to the stability of Turkey, and also to the stability of whole Europe.
5 - Turkey counts Kurds as an enemy of himself, and also tries to involve in Iraqi Kurdistan's regional internal affairs, and this behaviours obviously are against to Principle of NATO & EU & international Relations, so why Turkey does this?
KK: I am worried about the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government, but unfortenately I do not know much about this issue so I can not comment it.
6 - My last question, How do you expect Iraqi Kurdistan's future to be?
KK: I do not know much about the situation in North Irak. But the alarming news which come from Irak almost daily are always from the south of the country. Kurdish area in Irak is not in news due to bomb attacks and problems but due to positive development and stability. I think it will have good future. Compared to other parts of Irak, the autonomous Kurdish zone does not have the same problems, like the division of the people. Administration in the Kurdish area seems to functioning well and the economy is good due to oil production.
I have never been in North Irak but I would like very much to visit it
MY ANSWERS TO THE E-MAIL INTERVIEW
1 - You as being a well-know scholar on Kurdish problem, espicially the Northern Kurdistan. For sure we have seen your products about Kurdistan, the most attractive one which I am really interested in was "The Invisible War in North Kurdistan", so here is my question: why Turkey didn't allow you to stay in Turkey?
Kristiina Koivunen: I have not got any written documents about my case. When the police arrested me in Van airport the 15th December 2006, they told that I am not permitted to enter Turkey. The ministry of interior affairs has made this decision in August 2006 and the reason is the security of the state.
I arrived to Turkey the 29th November 2006. I did not have any difficulties to enter the country in Istanbul airport.
2 - As you see Turkey behaves like this with Kurdish people and also Kurdish scholars, at the same time he tries to become a member in EU, so how you read this?
KK: I am worried that there is now going on a regress in Turkey after a period of positive development and democratization. Since 1997 I have been sixteen times in Turkey, and I have never been arrested or questioned by the police. During this journey, or my previous journey (May 2006) I have done same things and behaved the same way as earlier. It is Turkey which has changed, not me.
I hope that democratization process and Turkey's EU negotiation process would continue. I support Turkey's membership in European Union, but Turkey must fullfill the Copenhagen criteria.
3 - How do you mention the Kurdish problem around the world, espicially in Turkey? Do you think that remaining Turkey on this behaviours can prevent Kurdish people from getting on their Rights? And what were you about to do in Turkey for Kurds at this time?
KK: There is now a national awakening process going on among the Kurds. Their clan and feudal mentalily is increasingly replaced by national identity. But Kurds have still long road in front of them before they can fully enjoy Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights every where they live. The biggest obstacle in this is that Kurds are divided and not make cooperation with each others. Turkey and other countries where Kurds live could not opress them if Kurds would resist united against this opression.
Turkey, Iran, Irak and Syria are very different kind of countries and the Kurdish societies are diffent in these countries. The way how Kurds get their linguistic and cultural rights in each of these countries can be different, so that the solutions fits to the administration of each country.
4 - EU is not serious yet on solving kurdish problem in Turkey, and I ask why EU keeps so silently in solving Kurdish problem?
KK: This question you should make to Mr Olli Rehn, the Enlargement Commissioner in European Union. I think that EU has not understood the seriousness of the Kurdish question. If this question is not solved it is a threat to the stability of Turkey, and also to the stability of whole Europe.
5 - Turkey counts Kurds as an enemy of himself, and also tries to involve in Iraqi Kurdistan's regional internal affairs, and this behaviours obviously are against to Principle of NATO & EU & international Relations, so why Turkey does this?
KK: I am worried about the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government, but unfortenately I do not know much about this issue so I can not comment it.
6 - My last question, How do you expect Iraqi Kurdistan's future to be?
KK: I do not know much about the situation in North Irak. But the alarming news which come from Irak almost daily are always from the south of the country. Kurdish area in Irak is not in news due to bomb attacks and problems but due to positive development and stability. I think it will have good future. Compared to other parts of Irak, the autonomous Kurdish zone does not have the same problems, like the division of the people. Administration in the Kurdish area seems to functioning well and the economy is good due to oil production.
I have never been in North Irak but I would like very much to visit it
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