Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti
'***} si i
Halime, right, a mother of eight, said she celebrated the Kurd¬
ish spring festival of Nawruz for the first time several years ago.
Kurdish names. Limited Kurdish
broadcasting was allowed.
The P.K.K. shifted some of its
primary demands to Mr. Ocalan's
release and treatment, raising
more questions among the more
educated Kurdish public about
their motives.
"What are their objectives a
better life for Kurds in Turkey or
the improvement of their leader's
prison environment?" said a civil
servant in Mardin, who asked
that his name not be used out of
fear of retribution.
Mr. Erdogan began a concert¬
ed effort to win the Kurdish pop¬
ulation. He promised roads and
electricity in every village. In
2005, basic health care for the
poor and aid for school children
®l)eiNetoi|otk States
November 2, 2007
were arranged. Perhaps most im¬
portant, he stated publicly in a
landmark speech that same year
that Turkey had a "Kurdish prob¬
lem," a remark that was almost
unprecedented for Turkish lead¬
ers and made a deep impression
in the region.
"His call for brotherhood, that
was what won me," Mr. Gokce
said, standing in Mr. Ozgun's
shop as customers asked ques¬
tions in Kurdish.
"We know he was trying to
break a mindset."
Kurds responded, and in elec¬
tions last July, they voted in large
numbers for Mr. Erdogan's party,
the only non-Kurdish party that
campaigned in the southeast, re¬
ducing the number of Kurdish
party wins to 6 provinces, from 13
in 2002.
Independent candidates from
the Kurdish party still garnered
by far the most votes in the re¬
gion, winning 20 seats in Parlia¬
ment, the first Kurdish represen¬
tation in more than a decade.
The new choice reflects a
broader shift among Kurds to
mainstream Turkish society. Vast
numbers of Turkey's Kurds
moved west during the war in the
southeast, and while they are still
poorer and less privileged than
the rest of Turkish society, they
have learned from the exposure.
"Kurdish people are much
more aware than they used to
be," Mr. Gokce said.
The party's success "hinted
the beginning of a shift and trans¬
formation in people's minds and
expectations," said Sezgin Tanrikulu,
head of the Diyarbakir Bar
Association.
"The violence was once seen as
a legitimate way to seek for
equality, no longer is," he said,
adding that this week, 91 regional
business groups, nongovernmen¬
tal organizations and intellectu¬
als in the region signed a declara¬
tion asking the group to lay down
its arms.
The only way to end the con¬
flict is for the government to take
"a courageous and fearless step,"
to expand Kurds' rights, Mr. Tanrikulu
said. Abdurrahman Kurt, a
lawmaker from Diyarbakir and a
member of Mr. Erdogan's party,
said that the P.K.K. had stepped
up attacks recently, precisely be
cause of the government's suc¬
cess in bringing more rights for
Kurds. Both the P.K.K. and the
hard-liners in the Turkish mil¬
itary have strong interests in
keeping the conflict going, Mr.
Kaya said.
"They have always hit back at
times when the country has
reached crossroads in democra¬
cy," Mr. Kurt said.
The crisis has also brought out
deep nationalist anger, and Mr.
Tanrikulu expressed concerns
that, beyond slowing Turkey's
transition to democracy, it could
also bring ethnic strife.
Mr. Gokce said that several
years ago he had lost hope, and
was considering moving to Eu¬
rope, but decided to stay after the
government's new policy of inclu¬
sion. Early aspirations for state¬
hood have since faded.
"We used to think that Kurds
should have their own land," he
said wedged between customers
in his shop. "But as we grew
more conscious, we realized it
was a false ambition."
Britain Praises Iraqi Kurds9 Efforts to End Crisis
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
SALAHUDDIN, Iraq, Nov. 1 -
While Turkish and American offi¬
cials have stepped up criticism of
Iraqi Kurdish leaders for failing
to curb the guerrilla fighters who
have sanctuary in northern Iraq,
a top British official lent his sup¬
port to the Kurdish regional gov¬
ernment during a visit on Thurs¬
day and indicated that he was
confident of its commitment to
resolving the crisis.
The British defense secretary,
Des Browne, appeared here at a
news conference with Massoud
Barzani, the Kurdish leader of
northern Iraq. Mr. Browne said
that he had seen "a serious com¬
mitment to implement a range of
measures which will make a dif¬
ference."
Mr. Browne's comments stood
in contrast to remarks last week
by the State Department's senior
Iraq adviser, David M. Satter-
field, that the United States was
"not pleased with the lack of ac¬
tion" shown by Kurdish leaders.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan of Turkey was quoted
this week accusing Mr. Barzani of
"aiding and abetting" the Kurd¬
ish guerrilla group, the Kurdistan
Workers' Party.
The guerrillas' bloody crossborder
attacks on Turkish forces
have put enormous political pres¬
sure on Turkish leaders to show
that they are taking swift action
against the rebels. Turkish mil¬
itary forces are now massed at
the Iraqi border for a potential in¬
vasion, though Turkish officials
have suggested that no action
will be taken before Mr. Erdogan
meets with President Bush in
Washington next week.
And while Turkish officials
contend that a Turkish attack
only on guerrilla bases in north¬
ern Iraq would not be an "inva¬
sion," Mr. Browne suggested that
the British government wanted
no form of Turkish offensive in¬
side Iraq.
"The whole focus of our efforts
and the advantage of me being
here today is that I can make a
contribution to the collective ef¬
forts to ensure that no such
cross-border operation ever
takes place," Mr. Browne said.
Turkish officials also said
Thursday that they had initiated
economic sanctions against the
Kurdish guerrillas, though they
did not say what the sanctions
were or how they could frame
them to affect only the guerrillas.
The Iraqi Kurds depend on im¬
ports from Turkey for electricity,
food and other critical needs, and
they fear that the closing of trade
routes would be devastating. Mr.
Barzani said that Turkey had just
closed its airspace to flights
headed toward northern Iraq, but
Turkish officials denied taking
that step.
19