Turk-Kurd Tensions Flare Despite P.M.'s Efforts
Kurdish demonstrators clash with Turkish riot police in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir - Kurdish demonstrators clash with Turkish riot police Sunday in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. One protester was shot and killed. A day later, seven soldiers died in an ambush by a faction of Kurdish militants, which raised tensions between Turks and minority Kurds even higher. (Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images)
Turkey's highest court on Friday banned the country's main Kurdish political party over its alleged links to Kurdish rebels.
The ruling from the constitutional court is not likely to please Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has pledged to end the 25-year-old Kurdish rebellion by giving more rights to the minority Kurds.
Recently, protests over the constitutional court case had become larger and more violent in the Kurdish heartland of southeast Turkey.
(Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images)
A Dec. 6 protest in Diyarbakir, a predominantly Kurdish city, turned into a riot when a protester was shot and killed. A day later, seven soldiers died in an ambush carried out by a faction of Kurdish militants, which raised tensions even higher.
Tahir Elci, a human rights lawyer in Diyarbakir, says he is afraid the violence will continue.
"This problem is more difficult than the government expected," Elci says. "Two months ago, there was big hope. But in last days, there are many bad implementations."
The mood was very different two months ago in parliament, when Erdogan made a historic speech, known as "The Kurdish Opening." He pledged to expand rights for Kurdish citizens — who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's 70 million people. It's an important step to end the conflict, says journalist Yasemin Congar.
"This country spent about a trillion dollars in this war. If we didn't spend this money to basically kill our own citizens, we would have become a much stronger economy today," she says.
For a Turkish leader like Erdogan, even saying the word Kurd was a break with the past, Congar says. For more than 80 years, Turkey has denied that Kurds existed, with a distinct culture and language.
The first Kurdish-language channel on state TV debuted in January this year.
Now, Kurds can register Kurdish names on birth certificates, and reclaim Kurdish names for towns and villages. But such small steps have raised big expectations. Elci points to the Turkish constitution, which still defines all citizens of the country as Turks.
"Many things changed, but there is a trust problem with Kurdish society and the state in Turkey," Elci says.
The trust problem is evident for Abdullah Demirbas, the mayor of Sur, a municipality of Diyarbakir, in a court case that could result in jail time for producing tourist brochures.
His crime is that the Kurdish version of the brochure — it was also produced in Turkish and English — makes use of illegal letters: q, w and x. These letters occur in the Kurdish alphabet but not in the Turkish one, and the Turkish penal code prohibits their use.
The measure is based on a 1920s law that was intended to modernize the country — banning the old Arabic alphabet, as well as the traditional cap known as the fez. The letter ban is still used against Kurds.
"They are not illegal if it is in any other language than Kurdish," Demirbas says.
Congar, the journalist, says this is a relic of Turkish history.
"How can you explain it to an American or a Westerner that this country has a revolution about wearing hats? You have to wear a hat, our government told us, and not a turban and not a fez. And you have to use these letters and not those letters. We make fun of it ourselves," she says.
But it is no joke for Kurds, Congar says.
"It's not about changing ways and methods and laws; it's about changing minds," she says.
But Kurds and Turks are still far apart. The prime minister has staked his job on convincing the public that the Kurdish opening is good for everyone. But so far, his initiative on Kurdish rights is costing him domestic support.
His job was made much harder by the PKK, or Kurdish Workers' Party, considered a terrorist group in Turkey and the U.S. Last month, the PKK upstaged Erdogan by sending 34 of its members into Turkey, across the border from their mountain redoubt in northern Iraq.
Turkish judges were dispatched to the border by helicopter so the guerrillas could turn themselves in. They were given brief hearings and granted amnesty. The unprecedented event was broadcast live across the country.
When more than 100,000 Kurds filled the streets to welcome the militants home, the Turkish public saw that, too, and were outraged, says political analyst Mithat Bereket.
"They tried to change this into a big show, as if they are not coming to surrender, but they come to declare their rights. That caused a lot of problems that caused a lot of reactions," he says.
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Turkey's prime minister was hoping to bring an end to a year's long rebellion when he pledged to give the country's Kurdish minority more rights. Now, weeks later, he may not be able to deliver on that pledge. That's because today, Turkey's constitutional court is expected to ban the country's main Kurdish political party, because it's accused of having links to Kurdish rebels. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Istanbul.
(Soundbite of gunfire)
DEBORAH AMOS: Protests over the constitution court case have grown larger and more violent in the Kurdish heartland of southeast Turkey. This one in Diyarbakir, a predominantly Kurdish city, turned into a riot when a protester was shot and killed. A day later, seven soldiers died in an ambush carried out by a faction of Kurdish militants, which raised tensions even higher.
Mr. TAHER ELCI (Attorney): I am afraid that the violence will continue. This problem is more difficult than the government expected.
AMOS: That's Taher Elci, a human rights lawyer in Diyarbakir.
Mr. ELCI: Two months ago, there was big hope. But in last days, there are many bad implementations.
AMOS: The mood was very different two months ago, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a historic speech in parliament. It was called "The Kurdish Opening." He pledged to expand rights for Kurdish citizens. It was an important step to end the 25-year conflict, says journalist Yasemin Congar.
Ms. YASEMIN CONGAR (Journalist): This country spent about a trillion dollars in this war. If we didn't spend this money to basically kill our own citizens, we would have become a much stronger economy today.
AMOS: For a Turkish leader, even saying the word Kurd was a break with the past, says Congar. For more than 80 years, Turkey has denied Kurds existed, with a distinct culture and language.
Unidentified Woman: (Foreign language spoken)
AMOS: This was the dramatic introduction for the first Kurdish-language channel on state TV. But small steps have raised big expectations. Taher Elci points to the Turkish constitution, which still defines all citizens of the country as Turks.
Mr. ELCI: Many things changed, but there is a trust problem with Kurdish society and the state in Turkey.
AMOS: The trust problem is evident for Mayor Abdullah Demirbas in a court case that could result in jail time. He produced tourist brochures, which he displays on his desk.
Mayor ABDULLAH DEMIRBAS: (Foreign language spoken)
AMOS: And these are also for tourists in Kurdish, Turkis...
Mayor DEMIRBAS: English.
AMOS: ...and English.
His crime: the Kurdish brochure makes use of illegal letters: q, w and x, letters that occur in the Kurdish alphabet but not in the Turkish one, and the Turkish penal code prohibits their use.
Mayor DEMIRBAS: (Through translator) When they use these three letters that's a crime.
AMOS: The measure is based on a 1920s law that was intended to modernize the country � banning the old Arabic alphabet, as well as the traditional cap known as the fez. The letter ban is still used against Kurds.
Ms. CONGAR: They are not illegal if it is in any other language than Kurdish.
AMOS: Yasemin Congar says it's a relic of Turkish history.
Ms. CONGAR: How can you explain it to an American or to a Westerner, that this country had revolutions about wearing hats? You have to wear a hat, you know, our government told us, and not a turban and not a fez. And you have to use these letters and not those letters. We make fun of it, ourselves.
AMOS: But it's no joke for the Kurds, says Congar.
Ms. CONGAR: It's not only about changing ways and methods and laws, but it's also about changing minds.
AMOS: Changing minds is Prime Minster Erdogan's job. But so far his initiative on Kurdish rights is costing him domestic support. His job was made much harder by the PKK, the Kurdish Workers' Party, considered a terrorist group in Turkey and the U.S.
(Soundbite of horn honking)
Last month, the PKK upstaged Erdogan by sending 34 of its members across the border from their mountain redoubt in northern Iraq. Turkish judges were dispatched by helicopter to the border so the guerrillas could turn themselves in. They were given brief hearings, granted amnesty. The unprecedented event was broadcast live across the country.
(Soundbite of singing)
(Soundbite of cheering)
When more than 100,000 Kurds came to the streets to welcome the militants home, the Turkish public saw that, too, and were outraged, says political analyst Mithat Bereket.
Mr. MITHAT BEREKET (Political analyst): They tried to change this into a big show, as if they are not coming to surrender, but they come and try to declare their rights. And that caused a lot of problems, that caused a lot of reactions.
AMOS: Kurds and Turks are still far apart. The prime minister has staked his job on convincing them the Kurdish opening is good for everyone.
Deborah Amos, NPR News, Istanbul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
