The text in Kurdish.
It is time to congratulate all Kurds. The relationship between South Kurdistan and Turkey is still tensed but Turkish soldiers are on their own side of the boarder. News agency Ajans a Peyamnêr (PNA) wrote the 17th June that major Turkish incursion in North Iraq is unlikely. The Kurds have prevented Turks from entering their area.
Has there been earlier such a situation? No, never. In early 1980s Turkey did not attack North Iraq but at that time the Kurds were not active. Last week I wrote that I have not counted how many times the Turkish army went across the boarder during the first war (1984-1999). But the former Indian ambassador in Turkey, K M Bhadrakumar has done it. He says in his article in Asia Times Online that 1983-1998 Turkish troops went 36 times to North Iraq. The strength of the troops was up to 50 000 men and sometimes they went 200 kilometres into Iraqi territory.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Foreign Minister Nuri al-Maliki to come to Ankara to discuss. Al-Maliki accepted the invitation. Good luck for the negotiations! Al-Maliki will meet Prime Minister Erdogan, not General Yasar Büyükanit. Büyükanit has threatened to send his soldiers to North Iraq but Erdogan has spoken about a political solution to the Kurdish question.
I repeat what I have said many times: in difficult negotiations it is good to use mediators. I wrote about this in my column the fifth of March. Now my greetings from Finland are that our former President Martti Ahtisaari said in his birthday interview that he wants to continue doing peace negotiations even after the Kosova process. Mr Ahtisaari had last Saturday the 23rd June his 70th birthday. Turkish Daily News wrote last Friday that The Independent Commission will reactivate its work on the EU membership of Turkey. The Commission consists of nine European politicians and former statesmen. In 2004 when Mr Ahtisaari was the chairman of the group it prepared a report about Turkey. Ahtisaari plans to visit Turkey next September.
When Turkey and South Kurdistan debate about PKK they forget one threat which affects both of them: al Qaida. A suicide bomb explosion in Sulaiman Bek a few days ago is the latest evidence of it. Turkey, South Kurdistan and Iraq should make cooperation against this threat.
The time of al-Maliki's journey to Ankara is not announced when I write this column. Ajans a Peyamnêr wrote that al-Maliki will meet Erdogan rather at the beginning of July than at the end of June. It will be hectic time in Turkey because the elections will be only a few weeks later. It is expected that both Erdogan's AK Party and nationalists will use the meeting in their election campaigning.
Turkish voters decide whether they want political and diplomatic or military solution to the crisis. In one month almost thirty Turkish soldiers have died in the battles against PKK. Turks want revenge. But they should understand that it would lead to death of more soldiers. The only way to save the lives of Turkish Mehmetcis is to negotiate peace and stop hostilities. But Turkish televisions and newspapers do not tell this to their audience. Due to self-censorship of mass media the Turkish people are not aware of the strength of the Kurds and their growing unity. But every one in Turkey understand that something is now different than during last decade: after 36 attacks to South Kurdistan the Turkish army stays now at home.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Gulan: The first war and the second war in Southeast Turkey
The text in Kurdish
At the end of last January I asked in my column whether Turkey is turning back to the nineties. It was the time of murder of Hrant Dink. The appearance of political murders is just one sign of this. Another is that Turkey has declared a state of emergency rule again in the Kurdish area.
Last decade there was a state of emergency rule (OHAL) in biggest part of Southeast Turkey. Last week the state declared an emergency rule again in three Kurdish provinces: Hakkari, Siirt and Sirnak. It is valid from the 9th June to the 8th September. This is the area where the army is ready to cross the boarder to Iraq. No journalists are permitted to enter there.
The first war in Southeast Turkey was 1984-1999 and the second war started autumn 2005. They are totally different types of wars.
On Tuesday the 12th June Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "Turkey should focus on battling Kurdish guerrillas at home rather than in Northern Iraq". It seems that Turkey has accepted the international opinion which is against an attack to South Kurdistan. How many times the Turkish army went across the boarder during the first war? I have not counted. But during the second war this has not happened.
Why the wars are different? The Kurdish movement has developed but also the world has changed a lot in fifteen years. Due to modern communication technology no place can be so isolated than the OHAL-area last decade.
There is lots of ethnic tension and hate in Turkey. What will happen when Turkish nationalists can not express it by attacking South Kurdistan? There is big danger that they will pour it towards their own Kurds. They are not protected by the international community the same ways as the Kurds beyond Turkey´s boarders. I am afraid that there could happen even a genocide. Most genocides happened last century in states which where collapsing. What is happening nowadays in Turkey is one step in the collapse process of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is a genocidal society. There were two genocides last century: the Armenian genocide 1915 and the Dersim Genocide 1937.
The model is clear. The columnist of newspaper "Radikal", Professor Murat Belge from Bilgi university spoke last April in a conference in London. He described the feelings Turkish nationalists like this: "Nationalists say: Yes, we did the Armenian genocide. And we will do it again. And Kurds, if you are not careful, your turn will be next."
Genocidal process develops so that first there are milder forms of it before the actual killing starts. Now Turkey is practising cultural and linguistic genocide against the Kurds. A harder form of genocide is possible development.
I really hope I am wrong with my pessimistic thinking. I hope the Turks understand how dangerous this situation is. A genocide would destroy also the Turkish country and society. And I believe European Union and other countries do not close their eyes for ever from the atrocities which happen in Turkey.
At the end of last January I asked in my column whether Turkey is turning back to the nineties. It was the time of murder of Hrant Dink. The appearance of political murders is just one sign of this. Another is that Turkey has declared a state of emergency rule again in the Kurdish area.
Last decade there was a state of emergency rule (OHAL) in biggest part of Southeast Turkey. Last week the state declared an emergency rule again in three Kurdish provinces: Hakkari, Siirt and Sirnak. It is valid from the 9th June to the 8th September. This is the area where the army is ready to cross the boarder to Iraq. No journalists are permitted to enter there.
The first war in Southeast Turkey was 1984-1999 and the second war started autumn 2005. They are totally different types of wars.
On Tuesday the 12th June Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "Turkey should focus on battling Kurdish guerrillas at home rather than in Northern Iraq". It seems that Turkey has accepted the international opinion which is against an attack to South Kurdistan. How many times the Turkish army went across the boarder during the first war? I have not counted. But during the second war this has not happened.
Why the wars are different? The Kurdish movement has developed but also the world has changed a lot in fifteen years. Due to modern communication technology no place can be so isolated than the OHAL-area last decade.
There is lots of ethnic tension and hate in Turkey. What will happen when Turkish nationalists can not express it by attacking South Kurdistan? There is big danger that they will pour it towards their own Kurds. They are not protected by the international community the same ways as the Kurds beyond Turkey´s boarders. I am afraid that there could happen even a genocide. Most genocides happened last century in states which where collapsing. What is happening nowadays in Turkey is one step in the collapse process of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is a genocidal society. There were two genocides last century: the Armenian genocide 1915 and the Dersim Genocide 1937.
The model is clear. The columnist of newspaper "Radikal", Professor Murat Belge from Bilgi university spoke last April in a conference in London. He described the feelings Turkish nationalists like this: "Nationalists say: Yes, we did the Armenian genocide. And we will do it again. And Kurds, if you are not careful, your turn will be next."
Genocidal process develops so that first there are milder forms of it before the actual killing starts. Now Turkey is practising cultural and linguistic genocide against the Kurds. A harder form of genocide is possible development.
I really hope I am wrong with my pessimistic thinking. I hope the Turks understand how dangerous this situation is. A genocide would destroy also the Turkish country and society. And I believe European Union and other countries do not close their eyes for ever from the atrocities which happen in Turkey.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Gulan 4th June 2007: The need for Kurdology
The text in Kurdish.
I have done my PhD thesis in sociology about the effects of the war for civil population in last decade in Southeast Turkey. I think this kind of research is also Kurdology through usually the term is understood to mean research about Kurdish culture and language.
Many weeks I wanted to write in Gulan about Kurdology. It develops now rapidly. There are new researchers who are interested about the Kurdish issue and students making their PhD thesis about the Kurds. And even more ones planning it. There is almost a flow of new books about the Kurds. The situation is really different than it was ten years ago. There are Kurdish universities in Hewler and Sulaymania making contacts to universities around the world. In European countries there is a new generation of Kurdish youth who want to make research their own ethnic group. And also Europeans - like me - have became interested in this issue.
Now most information about the Kurds is collected by intelligence services, not by universities. There is great need for good research about the Kurds, the Turks and their historical relationship. Turks need it as much as Kurds. Because now it seems that Turks are making important decisions based on totally wrong information. It is dangerous for them. They wow that they want to start a war against the Kurds without understanding what is there in the mountains waiting for them. Why I did not write earlier about Kurdology? Because every week something important happened in Ankara which I wanted to comment. Even this week I would have many things to say about the recent speeches of General Büyükanit. But it has to wait now.
This week I want to say that I believe that Kurdology has great future. Kurdologs, researchers in Kurdology are creating a new science. Like Kurdish activists are creating something new in their own field in culture, mass media, politics and what ever thing they work with. The future generations will base their systems in practises which are created now.
Academic research is often a little bit distant when it analyses an armed conflict. For me, even when I want to describe a situation deeply, it is difficult to take a distant attitude. When it is question of life and death and survival of a nation and its language it is more important to campaign for the right things than to describe their failure in an academically correct way.
In Turkey there is no academic research about the Kurds done from the Kurdish perspective. The issue is studied only from the Kemalist perspective. But there are many Kurdish organisations surveying the problems. I believe in the future when there will be peace their activities are a good basis for correct research about the Kurds.
Kurdish activities flourish from a situation which is changing all the time. Kurds are very creative. I feel that I am privileged when I can follow the development of the Kurdish national movement from a near distance. Of course I know that Kurds themselves just wish to live a normal life, it is not your choice to be part in such a horrible situation. I tell one example. Last week Gulan's internet page was attacked by a hacker who replaced Gulan's articles by picture of Kemal Atatürk. I am sure this was very frustrating for the staff of Gulan but I started to laugh when I saw the hacker's creature. I felt that I want to work even more harder for the Kurdish issue. Making research about traditional issues is not like this. I am sure in the future the experiences in Kurdology will benefit also research in other fields.
I have done my PhD thesis in sociology about the effects of the war for civil population in last decade in Southeast Turkey. I think this kind of research is also Kurdology through usually the term is understood to mean research about Kurdish culture and language.
Many weeks I wanted to write in Gulan about Kurdology. It develops now rapidly. There are new researchers who are interested about the Kurdish issue and students making their PhD thesis about the Kurds. And even more ones planning it. There is almost a flow of new books about the Kurds. The situation is really different than it was ten years ago. There are Kurdish universities in Hewler and Sulaymania making contacts to universities around the world. In European countries there is a new generation of Kurdish youth who want to make research their own ethnic group. And also Europeans - like me - have became interested in this issue.
Now most information about the Kurds is collected by intelligence services, not by universities. There is great need for good research about the Kurds, the Turks and their historical relationship. Turks need it as much as Kurds. Because now it seems that Turks are making important decisions based on totally wrong information. It is dangerous for them. They wow that they want to start a war against the Kurds without understanding what is there in the mountains waiting for them. Why I did not write earlier about Kurdology? Because every week something important happened in Ankara which I wanted to comment. Even this week I would have many things to say about the recent speeches of General Büyükanit. But it has to wait now.
This week I want to say that I believe that Kurdology has great future. Kurdologs, researchers in Kurdology are creating a new science. Like Kurdish activists are creating something new in their own field in culture, mass media, politics and what ever thing they work with. The future generations will base their systems in practises which are created now.
Academic research is often a little bit distant when it analyses an armed conflict. For me, even when I want to describe a situation deeply, it is difficult to take a distant attitude. When it is question of life and death and survival of a nation and its language it is more important to campaign for the right things than to describe their failure in an academically correct way.
In Turkey there is no academic research about the Kurds done from the Kurdish perspective. The issue is studied only from the Kemalist perspective. But there are many Kurdish organisations surveying the problems. I believe in the future when there will be peace their activities are a good basis for correct research about the Kurds.
Kurdish activities flourish from a situation which is changing all the time. Kurds are very creative. I feel that I am privileged when I can follow the development of the Kurdish national movement from a near distance. Of course I know that Kurds themselves just wish to live a normal life, it is not your choice to be part in such a horrible situation. I tell one example. Last week Gulan's internet page was attacked by a hacker who replaced Gulan's articles by picture of Kemal Atatürk. I am sure this was very frustrating for the staff of Gulan but I started to laugh when I saw the hacker's creature. I felt that I want to work even more harder for the Kurdish issue. Making research about traditional issues is not like this. I am sure in the future the experiences in Kurdology will benefit also research in other fields.
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