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| Europe |
| Kurdish success in Iraq raises hope, fear in Turkey |
| 2006-04-09 |
| Some worry new drive for rights will result in an ethnic civil war DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY - For Ramazan, an elderly Kurdish businessman, the recent battles between masked Kurdish youths and Turkish police have rekindled a dream — the creation of an autonomous zone for his people in Turkey, much like the one carved out of Iraq. But that dream is Turkey's worst nightmare. While Kurds look to northern Iraq for inspiration, Turks see it as an example of what the future could bring: a collapsed central state and a brewing ethnic civil war. Iran and Syria also are concerned that Kurds in Iraq's oil-rich north could set up an independent state if the Iraqi central government collapses — serving as a rallying call for their own restless Kurdish minorities and destabilizing the entire region. Iran's ambassador to Turkey, Firouz Dowlatabadi, warned in an interview published last week that Turkey, Iran and Syria need a joint policy on the Kurdish issue or "the U.S. will carve pieces from us for a Kurdish state." International politics was of little concern to Ramazan as he headed into the streets upon hearing Kurdish protesters were confronting Turkish police. The protests started late last month in Diyarbakir, the largest city in southeastern Turkey, the predominantly Kurdish region devastated by more than a decade of warfare between autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas and the army. At least 15 people were killed, and hundreds were injured and detained as the rioting spread, with mass demonstrations throughout the southeast and smaller protests in Istanbul. "I did not throw any stone. I did not enter the clashes. I am old, you know," said Ramazan, who refused to give details about his life for fear the police could track him down. "But I went out to support the Kurdish revolution. I had to be there since I am a Kurd." Turkey refuses to recognize Kurds as a minority, and speaking Kurdish was illegal until 1991. At the prodding of the European Union, Turkey recently has granted some cultural rights to Kurds such as limited broadcasts on television, but many say it is too little, too late. Turks fear that increasing cultural rights could cause the country to break along ethnic lines. Stoking that fear is the U.S.-supported Kurdish region in northern Iraq, complete with its own government and militia. Kurds have played a key role in the new Iraqi government and are prepared to stay in a federal Iraq. But many say their real aspiration is independence. Turkish businessmen are flocking to the area as the Kurdish economy in northern Iraq grows. Some Turkish Kurds living on the border regions are sending their children to universities in the area. Fighting between government and rebel forces — which has left 37,000 dead since 1984 — largely ended after the 1999 capture of guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan but began to flare up again in 2004. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged not to give in to the rioters. "No one should dare to test the power of the state or the nation," Erdogan said last week in an address to his party. Many Kurds have pinned their hopes on Turkey's push to join the EU, which repeatedly has said Ankara's treatment of the Kurds will be a key determining factor in its decision on whether to accept the country. But that process could take at least a decade. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #8 "the U.S. will carve pieces from us for a Kurdish state." And it won't be a day to soon. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2006-04-09 20:07 |
| #7 caint trustum, nope |
| Posted by: RD 2006-04-09 19:30 |
| #6 no commies need apply. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-09 19:28 |
| #5 not the commie PKK |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-09 18:49 |
| #4 But not the PKK. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-04-09 15:25 |
| #3 Turkey or Kurds? I vote Kurds |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-04-09 15:14 |
| #2 Missed the 4th Division by what 1 vote? Dang. Life's a bitch ain't it? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-09 13:54 |
| #1 *snicker* Erdogan thought he was so big and clever when he attempted to sabatoge our efforts in the war. Feeling pretty good about that now, are you, Yappy? Now he again tries to make himself the big man by joining with two countries that are weak, despotic, ripe for civil war and on a steep downhill slide. Good thinking. Erdogan's a terrible leader and a loser. Turkey has done nothing but slide backwards from the modern world since he was elected. I predict it won't be long before the Turks tire of him and realize he is the source of all of their problems. Good riddance. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-09 11:26 |