Tweet
KURDISH 'GENIE' LET OUT OF THE BOTTLE
The Toronto Sun
December 16, 2007 Sunday
Diyarbakir, Turkey
Turkey gets tough as Kurds renew their battle for independent state
The Turkish army helicopter came in low, passed directly overhead,
then began descending onto a landing pad inside the sprawling 7th
Corps military base.
I thought it would make a good photo and I quickly snapped a couple
of shots. A shout from behind told me that someone took exception to
my photography. A young Turkish jandarma had his rifle pointed at me
as others came running out of a nearby building.
Keeping my arms outstretched to indicate my complete compliance I
walked slowly towards the jandarma. They quickly removed my camera
from my possession and despite the presentation of my press credentials
and passport, I was whisked into the guardhouse.
The sergeant inside was curious as to my identity and activity, but
I quickly realized he was only politely killing time until the M.I.T.
agents (Turkish secret service) arrived. About 90 minutes after my
apprehension, four M.I.T. operatives arrived. Dressed in civilian
clothes and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, it was readily
apparent that the M.I.T. inspired awe in the uniformed jandarma. As
none of the agents spoke English, they had to call a translator.
Eventually, they verified my press card registration and were convinced
of my identity.
The photos I took were examined and any shot that included an image of
Turkish military equipment or personnel was deleted. The M.I.T. team
then drove me several blocks away from both the military base and my
hotel and then left me on a deserted sideroad.
While I was disappointed by the deletion of some good photos and the
prospect of a lengthy hike back to my lodgings, the Turks certainly
have good reason to be on full alert in the Kurdish separatist hotbed
of Diyarbakir.
So far this year Kurdish rebels have killed 110 Turkish security forces
and wounded an additional 227. Most of these attacks took place in
the border region with the Kurdish ambushers then retreating back to
their mountain bases in northern Iraq. In a series of daring operations
last October, the Kurds killed 28 Turkish soldiers, wounded another
23 and captured eight.
In addition to these cross-border guerrilla-style clashes with Turkish
security forces, an extremist group called the Kurdistan Liberation
Hawks (TAK) has initiated a terror bombing campaign. These violent
provocations have ignited Turkish nationalist sentiment. A somewhat
embarrassed Turkish military has explained that their hands are tied
as long as the Kurdish rebels can operate with impunity from bases
inside Iraq.
As a result of mounting domestic pressure to restore national security,
the Turkish parliament approved a bill that will allow their military
to launch a self-defence pre-emptive strike against the Kurdish rebels
in Iraq.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Bush administration has
publicly refused to grant Turkey the authority to enter Iraqi territory
even to eliminate known terrorists. This double-standard policy --
America invaded Iraq to protect themselves from non-existent weapons of
mass destruction, but forbids Turkey from engaging proven terrorists --
has led to increased anti-U.S. sentiment among Turkish nationalists.
For the Turkish military, the anti-American sentiment stems from
the fact that the U.S. intervention into Iraq not only plunged a
neighbouring country into chaos, it also let the genie of Kurdish
nationalism in Turkey out of the bottle.
In 1984 the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) had first entered into
open revolt against Turkish authorities, resulting in 15 years of
bloodshed. An estimated 37,000 people were killed before the PKK
leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested in 1999 and the remaining
Kurdish rebels fled from eastern Turkey into northern Iraq.
Following Ocalan's incarceration, the Turkish government implemented a
number of reforms and economic development projects in eastern Turkey
in an effort to appease the Kurdish minority. Closely monitored by
the international community, the reformation and reconciliation with
the Kurds is one of the benchmark objectives for Turkey's entry into
the European Union.
However, not all Kurdish residents of eastern Turkey view these
projects as progress.
"They built thousands of schools and, in particular, encouraged
the education of our women," explained Serdar Sengul, the foreign
relations advisor to the Kurdish municipal government in Diyarbakir.
"The problem is that the only official teaching language is Turkish
and this is therefore a program designed to assimilate the Kurds and
deprive them of their mother tongue."
TOO MANY DIALECTS
Turkish officials have argued that Kurdish is not a progressive
language for education purposes as it consists of three primary
dialects with dozens of regional sub dialects. Sengul, who studied
Kurdish on his own initiative, discounted this argument by explaining
that sometime in 2008 "Kurdish scholars will reach a consensus on a
common alphabet."
Following the 1991 Gulf War, the Kurds in northern Iraq had
militarily wrested control of three provinces from a severely
weakened Saddam Hussein. This autonomous region was monitored by the
UN and protected from Saddam by U.S. aircraft enforcing the post-war
no-fly-zone. Although they were free from the Baghdad regime, the
two major Kurdish factions in northern Iraq continued to battle each
other in territorial disputes.
The key rivals, Massoud Barzani with the Kurdish Democratic Party
(KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), only
forged an alliance of mutual convenience on the eve of the 2003 U.S.
attack. Since that juncture, Barzani and Talabani have supported the
Americans. Talabani is now president of the entire country and his
rival, Barzani, is the head of the Kurdish Regional Government.
For the past four-and-a-half years, northern Iraq has been steadily
evolving into an independent state. Such an eventuality will not only
fuel Kurdish separatist sentiments in Turkey, it will also ignite
similar movements among the Kurdish minorities in neighbouring Syria,
Iran and Armenia.
"When I visited (northern Iraq) earlier this year my heart was filled
with pride," said 32-year-old Sengul. "Everywhere there was Kurdish
flags flying, people were openly speaking Kurdish, and the name
Kurdistan was evident everywhere. Here in Diyarbakir we don't consider
that region to be northern Iraq. It is in fact southern Kurdistan."
With Turkish media continually broadcasting images of their military
buildup along the Iraq border, there has been mounting pressure on
the U.S. to push their Kurdish allies into reining in the PKK rebels.
Flexing their increased clout and independence, the Iraqi Kurds are
divided in their support for the PKK. Massoud Barzani's KDP, whose zone
of control includes the border region with Turkey, is fairly pragmatic.
"We are not opposed to a Turkish cross-border operation provided it
does not destroy our villages and harm our people," said Omar Mirani,
the KDP representative in Turkey. "We don't want a war between the
Turks and PKK in our garden."
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was more bellicose in his response
in which he declared that no Kurd, "not even a Kurdish cat," will be
turned over to the Turks.
It is estimated that there are upwards of 5,000 PKK fighters currently
based in northern Iraq. The rough mountain terrain where they are
encamped is in very remote and inaccessible regions. This makes
matters problematic not only for Turkish security forces, but also
for the KDP to control them.
For the Turkish military, any cross-border operation to engage the
PKK camps faces the same obstacle of hostile terrain that favours
guerrilla tactics. So far, it seems as though the Turkish military
response has been largely limited to only airstrikes and artillery
barrages. Many of the fighter jet sorties are flown out of the major
airbase at Diyarbakir to pound suspected PKK positions inside Iraq.
Ironically, it is Diyarbakir itself that might yet prove to be the
key battleground in this burgeoning conflict.
With more than 1 million inhabitants, Diyarbakir is the major Kurdish
urban centre in eastern Turkey. During the previous decade-and-a-half
of violence, more than 5,000 residents have been killed in this city
as a result of the fighting between separatists and security forces.
This past September, a bomb was detonated in one of Diyarbakir's
public parks killing 10 Kurdish civilians -- mostly schoolchildren
-- and injuring another 14. Speculation is that Turkish nationalists
were responsible for the blast and that it was in retaliation for the
Kurdish TAK extremists bombing campaign throughout the rest of Turkey.
On Nov. 25, Turkish police were forced to use water cannons, tear gas
and batons on a Kurdish demonstration that spiralled into a riot. The
reason for the protest was to demonstrate support for the Democratic
Society Party (the political arm of the PKK) and to protest Turkish
military strikes against the Kurdish rebels. Turkish state prosecutors
have initiated proceedings to shut down the DSP for its refusal to
condemn PKK terrorists. The Turkish Constitutional Court has agreed to
examine the charges and to rule on the continued legality of the DSP.
"It will not be a quick process and it will obviously be a very
sensitive ruling," explained Osman Paksut, a vice president of the
Constitutional Court. "The DSP will have until next April to reverse
their position and condemn the PKK terrorists. But no one expects
them to take such action."
In the meantime, it appears the DSP in Diyarbakir has ample funding
and widespread popular support amongst the Kurdish population. When
I stopped by their new offices for a visit, it was my hope to obtain
an interview with Osman Baydemir, Diyarbakir's 35-year-old mayor and
a key figure in the DSP.
In March 2006, Baydemir received national attention when Diyarbakir
erupted with violence. The spark was a funeral procession held for
14 members of the PKK who had been killed by Turkish security forces
as they crossed over the Iraqi border. Four of those killed were from
Diyarbakir and emotions had boiled over into a full-scale riot.
Police reaction resulted in the death of an additional 12 Kurdish
civilians.
MAYOR TALKED TO CROWD
At the height of the crisis, Mayor Baydemir addressed the crowd in
Kurdish and successfully dispersed them.
After making several phone calls, DSP officials advised me that, due
to a full schedule, an interview with the mayor was not possible. As
I left, a pair of F-16 fighter jets took off from the nearby airbase
and flew overhead towards the Turkish border. My DSP host shook his
head and said, "They're (Turkish pilots) wasting their time flying
into Iraq. The PKK are here in Diyarbakir." When I asked him how he
could be sure of this, he just grinned.
The revelation that the PKK have a known presence within the
city limits made the actions of the M.I.T. agents far easier to
understand. Dropping me off unseen on a deserted street was probably
far safer for me than to be seen by Kurdish separatist sympathizers
stepping out of a Turkish intelligence vehicle .
Besides, it was a pleasant day for a long walk.
The Toronto Sun
December 16, 2007 Sunday
Diyarbakir, Turkey
Turkey gets tough as Kurds renew their battle for independent state
The Turkish army helicopter came in low, passed directly overhead,
then began descending onto a landing pad inside the sprawling 7th
Corps military base.
I thought it would make a good photo and I quickly snapped a couple
of shots. A shout from behind told me that someone took exception to
my photography. A young Turkish jandarma had his rifle pointed at me
as others came running out of a nearby building.
Keeping my arms outstretched to indicate my complete compliance I
walked slowly towards the jandarma. They quickly removed my camera
from my possession and despite the presentation of my press credentials
and passport, I was whisked into the guardhouse.
The sergeant inside was curious as to my identity and activity, but
I quickly realized he was only politely killing time until the M.I.T.
agents (Turkish secret service) arrived. About 90 minutes after my
apprehension, four M.I.T. operatives arrived. Dressed in civilian
clothes and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, it was readily
apparent that the M.I.T. inspired awe in the uniformed jandarma. As
none of the agents spoke English, they had to call a translator.
Eventually, they verified my press card registration and were convinced
of my identity.
The photos I took were examined and any shot that included an image of
Turkish military equipment or personnel was deleted. The M.I.T. team
then drove me several blocks away from both the military base and my
hotel and then left me on a deserted sideroad.
While I was disappointed by the deletion of some good photos and the
prospect of a lengthy hike back to my lodgings, the Turks certainly
have good reason to be on full alert in the Kurdish separatist hotbed
of Diyarbakir.
So far this year Kurdish rebels have killed 110 Turkish security forces
and wounded an additional 227. Most of these attacks took place in
the border region with the Kurdish ambushers then retreating back to
their mountain bases in northern Iraq. In a series of daring operations
last October, the Kurds killed 28 Turkish soldiers, wounded another
23 and captured eight.
In addition to these cross-border guerrilla-style clashes with Turkish
security forces, an extremist group called the Kurdistan Liberation
Hawks (TAK) has initiated a terror bombing campaign. These violent
provocations have ignited Turkish nationalist sentiment. A somewhat
embarrassed Turkish military has explained that their hands are tied
as long as the Kurdish rebels can operate with impunity from bases
inside Iraq.
As a result of mounting domestic pressure to restore national security,
the Turkish parliament approved a bill that will allow their military
to launch a self-defence pre-emptive strike against the Kurdish rebels
in Iraq.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Bush administration has
publicly refused to grant Turkey the authority to enter Iraqi territory
even to eliminate known terrorists. This double-standard policy --
America invaded Iraq to protect themselves from non-existent weapons of
mass destruction, but forbids Turkey from engaging proven terrorists --
has led to increased anti-U.S. sentiment among Turkish nationalists.
For the Turkish military, the anti-American sentiment stems from
the fact that the U.S. intervention into Iraq not only plunged a
neighbouring country into chaos, it also let the genie of Kurdish
nationalism in Turkey out of the bottle.
In 1984 the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) had first entered into
open revolt against Turkish authorities, resulting in 15 years of
bloodshed. An estimated 37,000 people were killed before the PKK
leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested in 1999 and the remaining
Kurdish rebels fled from eastern Turkey into northern Iraq.
Following Ocalan's incarceration, the Turkish government implemented a
number of reforms and economic development projects in eastern Turkey
in an effort to appease the Kurdish minority. Closely monitored by
the international community, the reformation and reconciliation with
the Kurds is one of the benchmark objectives for Turkey's entry into
the European Union.
However, not all Kurdish residents of eastern Turkey view these
projects as progress.
"They built thousands of schools and, in particular, encouraged
the education of our women," explained Serdar Sengul, the foreign
relations advisor to the Kurdish municipal government in Diyarbakir.
"The problem is that the only official teaching language is Turkish
and this is therefore a program designed to assimilate the Kurds and
deprive them of their mother tongue."
TOO MANY DIALECTS
Turkish officials have argued that Kurdish is not a progressive
language for education purposes as it consists of three primary
dialects with dozens of regional sub dialects. Sengul, who studied
Kurdish on his own initiative, discounted this argument by explaining
that sometime in 2008 "Kurdish scholars will reach a consensus on a
common alphabet."
Following the 1991 Gulf War, the Kurds in northern Iraq had
militarily wrested control of three provinces from a severely
weakened Saddam Hussein. This autonomous region was monitored by the
UN and protected from Saddam by U.S. aircraft enforcing the post-war
no-fly-zone. Although they were free from the Baghdad regime, the
two major Kurdish factions in northern Iraq continued to battle each
other in territorial disputes.
The key rivals, Massoud Barzani with the Kurdish Democratic Party
(KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), only
forged an alliance of mutual convenience on the eve of the 2003 U.S.
attack. Since that juncture, Barzani and Talabani have supported the
Americans. Talabani is now president of the entire country and his
rival, Barzani, is the head of the Kurdish Regional Government.
For the past four-and-a-half years, northern Iraq has been steadily
evolving into an independent state. Such an eventuality will not only
fuel Kurdish separatist sentiments in Turkey, it will also ignite
similar movements among the Kurdish minorities in neighbouring Syria,
Iran and Armenia.
"When I visited (northern Iraq) earlier this year my heart was filled
with pride," said 32-year-old Sengul. "Everywhere there was Kurdish
flags flying, people were openly speaking Kurdish, and the name
Kurdistan was evident everywhere. Here in Diyarbakir we don't consider
that region to be northern Iraq. It is in fact southern Kurdistan."
With Turkish media continually broadcasting images of their military
buildup along the Iraq border, there has been mounting pressure on
the U.S. to push their Kurdish allies into reining in the PKK rebels.
Flexing their increased clout and independence, the Iraqi Kurds are
divided in their support for the PKK. Massoud Barzani's KDP, whose zone
of control includes the border region with Turkey, is fairly pragmatic.
"We are not opposed to a Turkish cross-border operation provided it
does not destroy our villages and harm our people," said Omar Mirani,
the KDP representative in Turkey. "We don't want a war between the
Turks and PKK in our garden."
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was more bellicose in his response
in which he declared that no Kurd, "not even a Kurdish cat," will be
turned over to the Turks.
It is estimated that there are upwards of 5,000 PKK fighters currently
based in northern Iraq. The rough mountain terrain where they are
encamped is in very remote and inaccessible regions. This makes
matters problematic not only for Turkish security forces, but also
for the KDP to control them.
For the Turkish military, any cross-border operation to engage the
PKK camps faces the same obstacle of hostile terrain that favours
guerrilla tactics. So far, it seems as though the Turkish military
response has been largely limited to only airstrikes and artillery
barrages. Many of the fighter jet sorties are flown out of the major
airbase at Diyarbakir to pound suspected PKK positions inside Iraq.
Ironically, it is Diyarbakir itself that might yet prove to be the
key battleground in this burgeoning conflict.
With more than 1 million inhabitants, Diyarbakir is the major Kurdish
urban centre in eastern Turkey. During the previous decade-and-a-half
of violence, more than 5,000 residents have been killed in this city
as a result of the fighting between separatists and security forces.
This past September, a bomb was detonated in one of Diyarbakir's
public parks killing 10 Kurdish civilians -- mostly schoolchildren
-- and injuring another 14. Speculation is that Turkish nationalists
were responsible for the blast and that it was in retaliation for the
Kurdish TAK extremists bombing campaign throughout the rest of Turkey.
On Nov. 25, Turkish police were forced to use water cannons, tear gas
and batons on a Kurdish demonstration that spiralled into a riot. The
reason for the protest was to demonstrate support for the Democratic
Society Party (the political arm of the PKK) and to protest Turkish
military strikes against the Kurdish rebels. Turkish state prosecutors
have initiated proceedings to shut down the DSP for its refusal to
condemn PKK terrorists. The Turkish Constitutional Court has agreed to
examine the charges and to rule on the continued legality of the DSP.
"It will not be a quick process and it will obviously be a very
sensitive ruling," explained Osman Paksut, a vice president of the
Constitutional Court. "The DSP will have until next April to reverse
their position and condemn the PKK terrorists. But no one expects
them to take such action."
In the meantime, it appears the DSP in Diyarbakir has ample funding
and widespread popular support amongst the Kurdish population. When
I stopped by their new offices for a visit, it was my hope to obtain
an interview with Osman Baydemir, Diyarbakir's 35-year-old mayor and
a key figure in the DSP.
In March 2006, Baydemir received national attention when Diyarbakir
erupted with violence. The spark was a funeral procession held for
14 members of the PKK who had been killed by Turkish security forces
as they crossed over the Iraqi border. Four of those killed were from
Diyarbakir and emotions had boiled over into a full-scale riot.
Police reaction resulted in the death of an additional 12 Kurdish
civilians.
MAYOR TALKED TO CROWD
At the height of the crisis, Mayor Baydemir addressed the crowd in
Kurdish and successfully dispersed them.
After making several phone calls, DSP officials advised me that, due
to a full schedule, an interview with the mayor was not possible. As
I left, a pair of F-16 fighter jets took off from the nearby airbase
and flew overhead towards the Turkish border. My DSP host shook his
head and said, "They're (Turkish pilots) wasting their time flying
into Iraq. The PKK are here in Diyarbakir." When I asked him how he
could be sure of this, he just grinned.
The revelation that the PKK have a known presence within the
city limits made the actions of the M.I.T. agents far easier to
understand. Dropping me off unseen on a deserted street was probably
far safer for me than to be seen by Kurdish separatist sympathizers
stepping out of a Turkish intelligence vehicle .
Besides, it was a pleasant day for a long walk.