Tuesday, September 07 2010
Kurdish Info BREAKDOWN- The meeting, which had been organized two months prior, started with a smaller crowd than the previous ones. As the people who gathered at the meeting area were a few, the meeting had to be postponed for an hour. Despite people from the villages and neighborhoods were brought to the meeting by vans and buses, the interest was not much. Although, the cameras were trying to show as much crowd as possible, the reality could not be hidden.
Even those, who are close to the AKP, said that the numbers of the people were less than the previous ones and they stated that the pro-Kurdish party BDP’s boycott decision is effective on this.
If a prime minister visits a city under the control of thousands of soldiers and police, it means that he is already a foreigner (alien). The numbers of soldiers and police are so much in the city that it resembles the martial law era. The military coupe mastermind, Kenan Evren would have also entered Diyarbakir in this manor. These scenes clearly set out the relationship of the prime minister with the Kurds. To declare Diyarbakir as a prohibited area for 10-15 days is a clear indication of the level of pressure that will be prominent during the forthcoming referendum.
The prime minister’s speech at the meeting was the same as before. It was as if it had been cut and pasted from previous conversations.
He started his speech saying that he spent three months in prison; that he did not lose his hope and understood better the meaning of the democracy during those three months. In conjunction, a huge majority of non-political Kurds have been spent their life in prison. He spoke of his three month imprisonment looking into the eyes of the Kurds whom have only recently witnessed around two thousand democratically elected politicians arrested, imprisoned most of whom still wait to be indicted in prison. In an attempt to fool the Kurds he commented on how his party had abolished the State Security Courts; whereas in practice the the special courts constantly authorize the arrest, detention and imprisonment of Kurds. It was really ironic that the prime minister, who continues his political attacks on Kurds, explained his being in prison for just three months as a very big issue.
It simply is not fair for the prime minister to talk of democracy lessons when on the one hand his party is instrumental in the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of democratically elected politicians. To arrest the very people, who are actively struggle of solving the Kurdish question, is the biggest hostility of democracy because without solving the Kurdish question, democracy will not develop in Turkey. Without solving the Kurdish question, Turkey can not be democratized. Therefore, attacking Kurdish politicians, the AKP clearly demonstrated that it is not sincere about democracy nor the peaceful resolution of the.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the unsolved murders in the past through extra judicial killings. It is no secret that no government has accepted responsibility for these murders in the past. However, the prime ministers approach to this has been nothing short of window dressing giving that he has not mentioned anything about the murders that have occurred during the term of his government.
What is important for the Kurdish people is what has happened during the AKP term in office. In an attempt at sweeping this under the carpet, the prime minister has simply stayed silent on these issues. Was it not this prime minister, who had said that our security forces will not shay from the tears of women or children and do what is necessary? Was it not during this government’s term in office that children as young as, 2, 4, 8 and 10 years killed? Was it not the police of this government who killed many Kurdish young people at meetings and protests alike? Is it not the case that the military and political operations increased during this government against the Kurds? whilst there have been such terrible atrocities against the Kurds at the hands of the prime ministers government, it is not right to talk of the misdoings of previous governments; albeit these do need facing up to.
Tayyip Erdogan mentioned Ahmede Xane, who was a prominent Kurdish poet and writer in Kurdish literature history. The prime minister accepted that there is a language called Kurdish, but does not accept the very basic demand for by the Kurd to be educated in their mother-tongue. He states that education in the Kurdish mother-tongue will divide Turkey and does not accept any language except Turkish as an official language. The emphasizes is that the only language will be Turkish at schools and at all government offices and all correspondence will only be in Turkish. The prime ministers hypocrisy is self evident from firstly him advocating the notion of "one nation, one flag and one nation-state" and on the other hand him talking about a historical personality such as Ahmede Xane of the Kurdish cultural heritage.
The prime minister states that the Kurdish publications are free, but we know that Kurdish newspapers are constantly closed down. It is not an under statement to say that one can get lost for words at the level of hypocrisy produced by the prime minister. Almost every day, he addresses the Kurds by boasting that the AKP government opened TRT6 (a Kurdish TV channel) as if to say what else do the Kurds want. That is a clear indication of mentality if the AKP government.
Tayyip Erdogan has already been disingenuous for eight years. On the one hand, he advocates the notion of "one nation, one country, one flag and one nation-state" and confirms that the first 3 articles of the constitution (safeguarding this notion) cannot be changed; whilst on the other hand he talks about a new constitution when his government has gained another term of office. It is no secret without changing these basic articles any new constitution will remain as that of 12th September 1980's constitution.
The governments in genuine approach to the peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question have been further highlighted with their latest demand for democratic autonomy as possible and reasonable resolution to the problem. Indeed it is none other than the AKP to first oppose this project. Therefore, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vows of democracy and harmony in the wake of his efforts at pushing through limited constitutional reforms are simply superficial lies and nothing other than deception.
Where as the notorious Diyarbakir prison should be transformed into a human rights museum, to say that it will be taken down is a simply way of trying to erase the memory of Kurds and atrocities and cruelty that occurred there. To destroy this prison means that they have the same mentality that used torture there. It is understood that Erdogan is trying to hide what the state did to Kurdish people under the debris of the prison. To tear down the Diyarbakir prison is not a promise to the people of Diyarbakir, it is an insult.
Tayyip Erdogan must know that people of Diyarbakir will not let that prison to be destroyed. It will not to be allowed to delete the great resistance shown against that torture from the memories. It will be a human rights museum.
We believe that Kurdish people do not accept the destruction of Diyarbakir Prison to always remember the torture and the great resistance there and restore it as a human rights museum.
