KurdistanObserver.com

What the Kurds want now -- after December 17

Dec 23, 2004

Turkish Daily News

Nimet Tanrikulu: If we aren’t able to protect the values of this generation and put them into effect by our own inner dynamics, I don’t think that the laws promulgated during the EU negotiation process will be effective

ISTANBUL (TDN) - Ahead of the Dec. 17 EU summit, Turkey’s Kurds attempted to express their demands of Turkey and the European Union as well as the conditions they deem indispensable during the EU negotiation process. Tunceli Cultural and Solidarity Foundation Chairman Nimet Tanrikulu told the Turkish Daily News in an exclusive interview that EU relations were very important for ending armed conflict and creating a peaceful environment in Turkey.

She said armed conflict was still continuing in the country. Noting that the Kurds insisted that Turkey end the conflict before starting negotiations with the EU, Tanrikulu noted: “During inspections in Turkey, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities, which are the basis of the Copenhagen criteria, were determined to be indispensable conditions for Turkey by the EU. The union stressed that these problems should be resolved not by violence but by peaceful methods.”

The demands of Turkey’s Kurds

Tanrikulu emphasized that they wanted the Kurdish problem to be solved and the Kurdish language, culture and identity guaranteed by the Constitution. She added: “Thousands of our people lost their lives, our properties were plundered and our villages were evacuated during the conflict, which lasted for so many years. Although today it’s said that a peaceful environment has been created, we see that it’s not true. The Kurds want a constitutional guarantee today because there are still very serious problems as regards protection of the right to life. The murder of a father and his son in Mardin’s Kiziltepe district took place right during the EU process. [The 12-year-old boy and his father were allegedly shot in a police firefight with terrorists.] Human rights defenders in their reports stress that human rights violations are continuing. The Kiziltepe incident and pressure on local officials in Dersim (Tunceli) are some examples of it.

Finally, we couldn’t do anything about the massacre of nature in Dersim. [For five years the forests around Tunceli have been burned down because terrorists were allegedly using them as cover for their actions.]

Furthermore, we faced the threat that our right to life would be forfeited. Harmonization laws should not exist on paper only. Also, a country that is governed by the Constitution approved after the Sept. 12 military coup can talk about a civil parliament.

That’s why amnesty still has not been granted for political crimes; violence is still continuing under peaceful conditions and enmity against the people and labor still exists in Turkey.

“Consequently, the Kurds want the creation of a peaceful and safe environment; amnesty for political crimes in order to stop violence and conflict; preparation and implementation of a comprehensive and European-backed development program in order to rebuild more than 3,400 villages that were evacuated in the 1990s and to encourage nearly 3 million Kurds to return to their homes; preparation of a constitution that recognizes the existence of the Kurdish people and guarantees their rights to receive education in their own language, conduct their own media activities and freely express their own political demands by forming an organization and a party.”

Demands of Alawis after Dec. 17

Pointing out that Turkey was a secular country, Tanrikulu said she believed that secularism was the basis of a free mind, scientific knowledge and democracy. Noting that pressures on the Alawis were still continuing despite legal changes having been made for various religious groups living in Turkey, Tanrikulu said that Alawiism is a faith, a culture and a lifestyle.

“Alawiism is a doctrine. As a member of an Alawite family, I can easily say that if you are prevented from carrying out your own worship in your own house of worship, secularism must be discussed. Faith is a matter of conscience. In this sense people can defend the world that they want with their own conscience, faith and thoughts. Alawis are exposed to discriminatory practices.

Their houses of worship are still excluded. Their services are ignored. Alawiism is open to science, art and all thought. It has such a rich culture that it cannot be compared to other doctrines,” she added.

Tanrikulu briefly expressed the expectations of Alawis from EU negotiations as “The Alawite faith and its organizations should be constitutionally guaranteed. Cemevis, which are the houses of worship for the Alawis, should receive legal status just as mosques, churches and synagogues have. The ‘Religion’ category on ID cards should be abolished.”