This post I write in England. The tension on the Iraqi-Turkish boarder has been one of the main news in the European mass media. But here is not much understanding about the complexity of the Kurdish question.
The news concentrate on PKK. Before I came to London some journalists called me from the Finnish Broadcasting Company. It was easy to understand from their questions that they did not understand much about the problem. Their main interest was to know how many Kurds support PKK.
Some journalists write that if Turkey attacks North Iraq it might have also some other purposes than the destruction of PKK. They understand that Turkey would like to occupy North Iraq to prevent Kurdistan Regional Government to give independence declaration. But these news do not have any details. For example they do not tell about the Kerkuk referendum and Article 140.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in London on Tuesday the 23rd October. His program was kept secret opposite to what is the normal practice during such visits. Also the British government was afraid for demonstrations against his visit. And for good reason. The Kurdish community is preparing demonstrations against the war.
If Turkey really starts the war the demonstrations might became massive. In Europe there is strong peace movement and it has lots of experience in arranging protests against the Iraq war.
In Turkey the self censorship of mass media is reaching an alarming level. Whole the world is against Turkey's war plans but Turkish people do not know it. Instead television programmes tell them that Turks are now as strong than during the Ottoman times. Well, every one outside Turkey knows the truth.
On Sunday one week ago PKK captured eight soldiers in Hakkari. When it gave their pictures to the publicity, Turkish TV channels did not showe these pictures and only very Turkish news papers printed them.
One of the few Turkish journalists who has critised the war plans is Lale Sariibrahimoglu. She is columnist in Today's Zaman and correspondent of Jane's Defence Weekly's. It is one of the leading magazines in the world about military issues. Mrs. Sariibrahimoglu has been writing to it sixteen years. She says about Turkey's war plans that Turkey is shooting itself to the foot.
Last week Mrs. Sariibrahimoglu had a trial in Istanbul. The prosecutor claims that she has insulted the military by one of her articles. According to the Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code this is a crime.
Winter is coming but Turkey's army wants to send its sons to the Kurdish mountains. If the war really starts how the Turkish people feel when they learn the truth only by bitter experience? That the Ottoman time is over.
Whole the world speaks now about negotiations and a peaceful solution to this crisis. Turkish people should listen to these speeches. Also they would benefit if there would be political solution to the Kurdish question. Peace is not a defeat for Turkey.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Happy Bayram to journalists in Turkey!
Bayramı Kutlu Olsun!
Twenty three journalists celebrate Bayram in Turkish prisons. The journalists are:
1- İbrahim Çiçek (Atılım Gazetesi), Tekirdağ No 2 F Type Prison
2- Sedat Şenoğlu (Atılım Gazetesi), Edirne No 1 F Type Prison
3- Füsun Erdoğan (Özgür Radyo), Gebze Special Type Prison, Gebze/Kocaeli
4- Hasan Coşar (Atılım Gazetesi), Sincan F Type Prison, Ankara
5- Ziya Ulusoy (Atılım Gazetesi), Tekirdağ No 1 F Type Prison
6- Bayram Namaz (Atılım Gazetesi), Edirne No 1 F Type Prison
7- Hatice Duman (Atılım Gazetesi), Gebze Special Type Prison, Gebze/Kocaeli
8- Suat Kolca (Özgür Halk ve Genç Bakış), Edirne F Type Special Prison
9- Yaşar Duman (Özgür Halk ve Genç Bakış), Edirne F Type Closed Prison
10- Selahattin Sumeli (Özgür Halk ve Genç Bakış), Edirne F Type Closed Prison
11- Mahmut Bozdağ (Özgür Halk ve Genç Bakış), Edirne F Type Closed Prison
12- Cem Şahin (Özgür Halk ve Genç Bakış), Tekirdağ No 2 F Type Prison
13- Kemal Aydeniz (Odak Dergisi), Bayrampaşa Prison
14- Erol Zavar (Odak Dergisi), Sincan F Type Prison, Ankara
15- Mustafa Gök (Ekmek ve Adalet Dergisi), Sincan F Type Prison, Ankara
16- Barış Açıkel (İşçi Köylü Gazetesi), Kandıra No 1 F Type Prison, Kocaeli
17- Behdin Tunç (DİHA), Diyarbakır D Type Prison
18- Faysal Tunç (DİHA), Diyarbakır D Type Prison
19- Sabri Adanır (Gündem Gazetesi), Diyarbakır E Type Prison
20- Mehmet Karaaslan (Gündem Gazetesi), Mersin E Type Prison
21- Ali Buluş (DİHA), Mersin E Type Prison
22- Sami Gök (Alınteri Gazetesi), Sincan F Type Prison, Ankara
23- Hüseyin Habip Taşkın (Güney Dergisi, Sosyalist Mezopotamya dergisi and Çoban Ateşi gazetesi), Manisa Prison
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Counter insurgency, Kirkuk and Beytüssebap
The text in Kurdish.
I follow news from Kurdistan via internet. Some web pages are made by Kurds from North Kurdistan, some others are made in South Kurdistan. From there I follow mainly the English pages of News agency Peyamner.
When the tension on the boarder between Turkey and South Kurdistan increases, all Kurdish web pages follow the situation closely. Kurds recognize important news on the other side of the boarder but they concentrate mainly on their own area. In Peymner's internet page there are almost daily news about the problems of Kirkuk. In recent days Kurds in North Kurdistan have admired who did the attack in Beytüssebap. Thirteen people were shot dead there the 29th September. Since PKK announced that it did not do this atrocity Kurds assume that it was counter insurgency made by JITEM, the intelligence service of the gendarmerie. Like the bomb attack in Semdinli November 2005.
Kurds have been ruled for centuries by "divide and rule" principle. Now this is changing as the Kurds do not let it any more to continue. There are many small examples of the change.
One example is from the internet page of Peyamner. It puts the news in various categories, for example "national", "Iraq" and "articles". It is interesting that in the category of "national" there are also news from Kirkuk and North Kurdistan. They are not under the control of KRG but they are Kurdish area. But Peyamner does not publish much information about the problems in the north. And the same way the web pages of Turkish Kurds do not tell much about Kirkuk. This is understandable. There are so much local problems in each part of Kurdistan that it takes all the attention of the people. But if Kurds would know better the situation of other Kurds they would understand how similar their problems are.
Last February Ibrahim Aydogdu, the DTP chairman in Diyarbakir, said that any attack to Kirkuk is like one to Diyarbakir. Now there is a big or small attack in Kirkuk almost every day. There are also diplomatic attacks by Turkey to post pone the referendum. Are the northern Kurds doing something?
Here are many types of war. The traditional war starts by a war declaration. Nowadays low intensity war is much more common. Turkey can not attack Kirkuk by aeroplanes and infantry forces. It would spoil its EU negotiations and tourism business. But there are other warfare methods. Counter insurgency which spoils little by little the daily life in the target areas. Black operations.
At the end of September retired Turkish colonel Erdal Sarizeybek published a book entitled "I Have Seen Betrayal", which tells of his time in Hakkari province. Colonel Sarizeybek writes of how the army created "bearded teams", dressed them in PKK uniforms and sent them ahead to secure roads.
If Turkish army can not reach its targets in Kirkuk by other methods there is danger that JITEM will bring to South Kurdistan similar black operations what it is running now in North Kurdistan.
I follow news from Kurdistan via internet. Some web pages are made by Kurds from North Kurdistan, some others are made in South Kurdistan. From there I follow mainly the English pages of News agency Peyamner.
When the tension on the boarder between Turkey and South Kurdistan increases, all Kurdish web pages follow the situation closely. Kurds recognize important news on the other side of the boarder but they concentrate mainly on their own area. In Peymner's internet page there are almost daily news about the problems of Kirkuk. In recent days Kurds in North Kurdistan have admired who did the attack in Beytüssebap. Thirteen people were shot dead there the 29th September. Since PKK announced that it did not do this atrocity Kurds assume that it was counter insurgency made by JITEM, the intelligence service of the gendarmerie. Like the bomb attack in Semdinli November 2005.
Kurds have been ruled for centuries by "divide and rule" principle. Now this is changing as the Kurds do not let it any more to continue. There are many small examples of the change.
One example is from the internet page of Peyamner. It puts the news in various categories, for example "national", "Iraq" and "articles". It is interesting that in the category of "national" there are also news from Kirkuk and North Kurdistan. They are not under the control of KRG but they are Kurdish area. But Peyamner does not publish much information about the problems in the north. And the same way the web pages of Turkish Kurds do not tell much about Kirkuk. This is understandable. There are so much local problems in each part of Kurdistan that it takes all the attention of the people. But if Kurds would know better the situation of other Kurds they would understand how similar their problems are.
Last February Ibrahim Aydogdu, the DTP chairman in Diyarbakir, said that any attack to Kirkuk is like one to Diyarbakir. Now there is a big or small attack in Kirkuk almost every day. There are also diplomatic attacks by Turkey to post pone the referendum. Are the northern Kurds doing something?
Here are many types of war. The traditional war starts by a war declaration. Nowadays low intensity war is much more common. Turkey can not attack Kirkuk by aeroplanes and infantry forces. It would spoil its EU negotiations and tourism business. But there are other warfare methods. Counter insurgency which spoils little by little the daily life in the target areas. Black operations.
At the end of September retired Turkish colonel Erdal Sarizeybek published a book entitled "I Have Seen Betrayal", which tells of his time in Hakkari province. Colonel Sarizeybek writes of how the army created "bearded teams", dressed them in PKK uniforms and sent them ahead to secure roads.
If Turkish army can not reach its targets in Kirkuk by other methods there is danger that JITEM will bring to South Kurdistan similar black operations what it is running now in North Kurdistan.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Remembering Anna Politkovskaja
Yesterday was the birthday of Vladimir Putin. Maybe you remember what birthday present he got last year....
Journalist Anna Politkovskaja was murdered in Moscow the 7th October 2006.
The Finnish PEN arranged a candle ceremony in front on the Russian Embassy in Helsinki on Sunday the 7th October 2007. These pictures are from there. (Last February we left candles in front of the Turkish Embassy for the memory of Hrant Dink.)
The Russian Embassy in Helsinki. We had to stay on the other side of the street like in February when we met outside the Turkish Embassy.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Demonstration of Umbrellas in Brussels
Thousands of Kurds gathered in Brussels on Saturday the 29th September 2007. They demanded to get information about the health check up which was made to Abdullah Öcalan in the summer. Really, the doctors must have found something special in their survey as it takes so long time to write the report!Unfortenately the weather was rainy but it didn't seem to disturb the people who marched kilometres through the down town and listened after that Kurdish music in open air. For me this was a good sight seing tour in Brussels. Just look how attractive statues there are in Brussels!
Pictures by Kristiina Koivunen.
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