KURDISH ISSUE Essays - Kurdistan, Ethnic Groups In Turkey

KURDISH ISSUE 1- FACT BASED ISSUES Since the end of World War I, Kurdistan has been administered by five sovereign states, with the largest portions of the land being respectively in Turkey (43%), Iran (31%), Iraq (18%), Syria (6%) and the former Soviet Union (2%). The PKK's origins can be traced back to 1974, when ?calan, in Ankara, led a small group of radicals out of Revolutionary Youth (DEV-GEN?). The Kurdistan Workers Party, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) was established in 1978. ?calan, the leader of the organization took refuge in Syria, after 1980, following the efficient struggle against such organizations by the Turkish Security Forces. In the annual report of the U.S. State Department published in April 1993 under the title of Patterns of Global Terrorism the PKK is described as a Marxist Leninist terrorist group composed of Turkish Kurds seeking to setup a Marxist state in Southeastern Turkey The PKK is recognized and classified as a terrorist organization by all Western countries including the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. France and Germany, recently, banned the activities of this terror group and other West European governments, are closely monitoring the situation. PKK's Subordinate Military Committee established under the name of Liberation Units of Kurdistan (Hazen Rizgariya Kurdistan-HRK) was dissolved and replaced by Kurdistan Peoples Liberation Army (Arteshen Rizgariya Gelli Kurdistan-ARGK) after the Third Congress of the PKK held in Damascus-Syria in October 1986. The external center of the PKK operates through the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (Eniya Rizgariya Netewa Kurdistan-ERNK) which was established on March 21, 1985. The ERNK started to operate after 1989 when the European countries opened their doors and allowed it to flourish in their territories. The United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotic Matters, has published a report in 1992, called International Narcotics Control Strategy. This report stipulates that the European drug cartel is controlled by PKK members. NUMBER OF DEATHS YEAR Terrorist Civilian Soldier Police Village Guard 1984 11 20 24 - - 1985 100 82 67 - - 1986 64 74 40 3 - 1987 107 237 49 3 10 1988 103 81 36 6 7 1989 165 136 111 8 34 1990 350 178 92 11 56 1991 356 170 213 20 41 1992 1055 761 444 144 167 1993 1699 1218 487 28 156 1994 4114 1082 794 43 265 1995 2292 1085 450 47 87 (First 6months) TOTAL 10416 5124 2087 313 813 RESOURCE: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupa/ac/acf/acf1/pkk.htm GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF APPROXIMATE KURDISH POPULATION YEAR 1990 Region Population (in thousands) proportion to total Do?u 2230,29 41,96 G?neydo?u 2365,04 64,98 Ege 296,99 3,98 Karadeniz 37,88 0,5 Anadolu 579,38 5,53 Marmara 810,13 6,09 Akdeniz 726,55 8,95 Total 7046,25 12,6 RESOURCE: S.MUTLU,"The Population of Turkey by Ethnic Groups and Provinces", New Perspectives on Turkey, 12 (Spring 1995), p.49 2- VALUE BASED ISSUES The Republic of Turkey openly states that: 1. The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Turkey is beyond discussion. PKK is an organization, whose ideology is based on Marxism-Leninism, seeks to establish an independent Kurdish state encompassing Turkey's southeastern provinces. The Anatolian people have a common past. They have lived together for ten centuries thus creating a Turkish identity. The term Turkish refers to being a Turkish citizen. It does not reflect any ethnicity. The Anatolian people as a whole struggled for the independence of Turkey and everybody has contributed immensely in building this state. Turkey is forced to its legitimate self-defense for its territorial integrity and the protection of its people. 2. In the Republic of Turkey, which relies upon the rule of law, everyone has the freedom to pursue his or her rights through legal means. The constitution of the Republic of Turkey treats individuals on equal footing before the law irrespective of their language, race, color, sex, political opinion, conviction, religion and creed. The terrorist acts of PKK in a country where all legal and democratic means for the prevalence of justice is open for all, cannot be justified. It is the legitimate right of any country facing terrorism to root it out with all legal means available to it. Turkish citizens, irrespective of their ethnic origins, are free to form or to support a political party that expresses their political views and all Turkish citizens. Moreover regardless of ethnic background, have the right to participate actively in Turkey's multi-party system. All citizens are free to organize and to join political pressure groups, including human rights organizations. 3. Turkish citizens of Kurdish