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  • The role of Europe in promoting democratic changes

    Kurdish Aspect, CO
    Feb 1 2009


    The role of Europe in promoting democratic changes

    Kurdishaspect.com - By Amed Dichle

    Dear Guests,

    Before beginning to my speech, I would like to commemorate
    respectfully our colleague, writer, thinker and also one of the hosts
    of this conference Harold Pinter.

    In my speech I'll have another view on the subject `THE ROLE OF EUROPE
    IN PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC CHANGES'. Thereby I'll focus on the `Freedom
    of Press' and democratisation itself.

    Please allow me to make an initial statement.

    AKP government has never seen the Accession process to the European
    Union as a strategic ambition. AKP instead considered it as a tactical
    manoeuvre opportunity. That is why when AKP thought it is in its
    interests, it pushed reforms forwards, when not it decelerated reform
    process and sometimes as it was the case in the last two years, it
    forgot the reform process completely. Now, when the local elections
    come close, AKP government remembered again EU Accession process and
    democratisation, which doesn't seem to be honest, fair minded and
    stable since democracy can not be compatible with nationalist, racist
    and religious slogans. In my opinion, difficulties that Kurdish media
    is facing in Turkey , also politics that Turkish state is leading
    against Kurdish Media will draw a very serious and understandable
    picture of that, where Turkey on his journey of accession to the
    European Union is situated.

    Despite of wars and intern conflicts in Kurdistan, Middle East and in
    different part of our world, it is evident that 21st century is in the
    same time a century of progress in Democracy and Human Rights. It is a
    shame for humanity that in this century a people consisting of
    millions individuals is still considered as without identity. At this
    point, in spite of values of this era, as a member of a people whose
    language, culture and identity is denied, as a journalist of this
    people I would like to point to the violence and oppression that
    Kurdish media is facing.

    Kurdish Media begun with the newspaper ` Kurdistan ' which was
    published for the first time on the 22nd April 1898 by Miqtat Mithat
    and Bedirxan. Despite of more than hundred years passed by, violence
    and terror of denier, monist and racist states against Kurdish media
    and its labours still continues in our days. In the last 15 years only
    in Turkey including writers and journalists as Hafız Akdemir,
    Musa Anter, Hüseyin Deniz, Ferhat Tepe and dozens of
    journalists, labours of newspapers and newspaper distributors are
    murdered. Between 1992 and 1994, 19 friends and colleague of ours lost
    their life as a result of assassinations by Turkish Contra-Guerrilla
    organisation. First time in the history a Prime Minister ordered
    bombing of a Central Building of a Newspaper, namely Ozgur Ulke. The
    Building is totally destroyed and journalist Ersin Yildiz lost his
    life. Also official notices distributed which ordered to mute
    journalists.

    Even today censorship in Turkey practised in a very strict and a very
    rude way. Particularly against Kurdish Media a very strict politic is
    pursued. Print of Kurdish Media's publications is one by one halted;
    their magazines are closed down, their television channels are
    declared illegal by the state censorship. For instance between 4th
    August 2006 and 27th December 2008 the print of 22 Kurdish Newspaper
    is halted 49 times. Yes, these are happened in Turkey governed by AKP,
    and they continue to happen. This picture shows how Kurdish Media and
    the opinions about Kurdish Question are oppressed in Turkey . Kurds
    are forced to issue almost each day a new Newspaper. They now have
    difficulties to name their Newspapers. Gundem which is published in
    Turkish and Azadiya Welat which is published in Kurdish are two
    Kurdish daily newspapers facing a in the whole world unprecedented
    censorship. Because they printed W, Q and X letters they are closed
    down several times. I suppose such a tyrannous practise of a similar
    oppression is not seen anywhere else in the world. On the one hand
    Turkish state is using all opportunities and instruments to mute
    Kurdish Media, on other hand it always tried to mute first
    multilingual Kurdish satellite television MED TV, then MEDYA TV and
    now our television channel ROJ TV, which were and are forced to
    broadcast in exile. It is still trying to mute our television Channel.

    Let me please make some others statements. From outside AKP government
    looks partly like a `reformist' government, but today the same
    government is developed into a wholly war and denier government. After
    general election on the 22nd July 2007 it forgot all its promises. It
    betrayed Kurdish votes it became. As a result of secret and open
    agreements with army generals, it said `yes' to the militarist
    politics. It gave all authority which army needed for air assaults and
    land offensive against South of Kurdistan, and encouraged cruel
    attacks against Kurdish people.

    10th November 2008 Turkish defense minister Vecdî Gonul has
    here in the heart of European Union in Brussels advocated openly one
    of the greatest crimes against humanity, namely genocide of Turkish
    state against Armenian, Pontus-Greeks and Assyrian people. In the same
    days, during a trip to cities of North Kurdistan , Turkish Prime
    Minister Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Kurds with deportation and
    genocide, saying `love it or leave it'.

    It is Erdogan, who in Germany sad `asimilation is a crime against
    humanity', it is the same Erdogan who says daily `one homeland, one
    people, one language and one state'. If really he considers
    assimilation as a crime against humanity, why is mayor of Sur because
    of his project of `multilingual municipality' removed from his duty?

    It may seem strange for Europeans that still when Kurdish deputies of
    Turkish Parliament spoke some Kurdish words, these words are written
    down into the official protocol as an unknown language. Three months
    before it was written down as unknown language, and since one month
    instead of Kurdish words, three points are taken into the protocol. Is
    there any bigger insult, any bigger denying against a people, against
    a nation imaginable?

    That is why, in face of closer coming local elections, we naturally
    doubt all steps made by AKP. TRT 6 begun without to have its name
    broadcasting, this is why Kurdish community, its political and
    intellectual dynamics didn't find TRT 6 as a credible and sincere
    step. This is a maneuver of AKP, which has severe difficulties facing
    intern and extern public opinion, and in the same time can't find a
    durable and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.


    Dear participants,

    I would like to point to the oppression against Kurdish television
    channel ROJ TV, for which I work. I would clearly state that ROJ TV is
    an objective sign of practicing the right of Kurdish people, to have
    access to news and information in its own language. Now what Turkish
    state tries to hinder is the right of a nation to have access to the
    information in its own language. ROJ TV renders very valuable services
    in order to protect and develop Kurdish culture, to create a visual
    Kurdish national archive and to protect from diminishing Kurdish
    dialects and also to protect and develop Assyrian languages. In
    addition to this ROJ TV is a solely laic Institution for faith
    communities such as Alevits, Yezidis and Christians which suffer under
    the oppression of dominant political Islam, where they can express
    themselves freely.

    For the preparation of Turkey and Kurds for EU, it is doubtless that
    ROJ TV is the broadest communication and news source. Millions of
    people have heard EU-criteria for the first time from ROJ TV. ROJ TV
    is an important channel that communicates steps on the way reaching
    peace and democracy to the community and which also strengthens these
    steps. ROJ TV is the television channel which most broadcasts
    discussions in this conference.

    On one hand Turkish State don't recognize the rights of Kurds and
    other ethnic minorities in Turkey , on the other hand it tries to mute
    and determine them beyond its borders. These efforts of Turkey
    contrivance totally values of our era and are in conflict with
    them. Turkish State 's approach is anti-democratic and outdated.

    I have unfortunately to state that some member states of EU are
    supporting this anti democratic and outdated approach of Turkish State
    . This situation is not compatible with democratic values of
    EU. Germany has banned our television channel ROJ TV, and this is a
    very clear example of this very contradiction. Germany had earlier
    banned Ozgur Polîtika (daily newspaper) and News Agency
    Mesopotamia.

    The attack against ROJ TV in Germany is part of a wider campaign
    against press freedom and the Kurdish Media. Mostly Kurdish, ROJ TV
    has an audience of millions of Kurdish viewers who consider this as an
    attack against their language, culture, songs, history, values and
    future aspirations and are following the events with concern.

    The German Interior Minister's `justifications' for the decision
    against Roj TV mirror the Turkish States attacks of freedom of
    expression. These spurious grounds have been several times refuted by
    the High Secretariat of Broadcasting in Denmark . It has been stated
    forcefully that ROJ TV did not and does not abuse broadcasting codes
    and regulations. The German Interior Minister has already stated that
    the decision to ban was not juridical but rather political. From this,
    we see very clearly that the European states such as Germany are not
    sincere in pursuing the required reforms by Turkey as laid out by the
    Copenhagen Criteria.

    Kurds, who escaped oppression of Turkey and other states in the region
    and was obliged to flee to European countries, had benefited from the
    juridical system and democracy of these countries. In order to defend
    their cultural existence, they established very important
    institutions. These institutions are not only for democratic rights of
    Kurds, but also for European Democracy's progress important
    signs. Unfortunately, first of all Germany and France, some members of
    European Union criminalize Kurdish Institutions mainly for their own
    economic, military and political interests. These practices were
    legitimated by `anti-terror-laws' and are criminalization of
    Kurds. These practices have limited rights and freedom of Kurds living
    in Europe . We observe that these practices have changed into durable
    policies. These policies of EU encourage Turkey and other states in
    the region and tragically let Kurdish people stay alone in front of
    their oppression.

    Kurdish people has the impression that oppressions practiced by Turkey
    and other states in the region are supported by EU. And naturally this
    situation decreases credibility and sustains disillusion among Kurdish
    people.

    The European countries should abandon this policy of aiding Turkey in
    its denial and assimilationist policies and rather help Turkey to
    comply with European laws by ensuring compliance with the Copenhagen
    Criteria. The United States of America and the EU should forcefully
    encourage Turkey to undertake steps for solving the Kurdish Question
    in a democratic and durable way. Every support that is given to the
    racist and denial policies of the Turkish state will mean the
    encouragement of war and more unnecessary deaths. Unfortunately this
    is the situation at this moment. We hope that this given situation
    will change. We hope that the day will come, in which the rights of
    the Kurdish language, of the Kurdish media, of the Kurdish identity
    and the right of Kurdish people to decide its own future will come. If
    we all work together for this aim, in the words of the newly elected
    US President, `Yes, we can!'

    Thank you very much to have given your intention to my speech

    Courtesy of Mezopotamian Development Society

    http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc020109AD. html
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