Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RNISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi<br />
Turkisb Daily News<br />
THURSDAY,JUNE29.199S<br />
r---------------------------------------------------------,<br />
Local support for Kurd<br />
rebels hin<strong>de</strong>rs Turks<br />
By Aliza Marcus<br />
Reuter<br />
TUNCELt, Turkey- The Turkish military's<br />
drive against rebel Kurds in the<br />
eastern province of Tunceli is hampered<br />
. bya major factor, front-line mem1iers of<br />
the security forces say"":' many Kurdish<br />
civilians support the rebels. '7be problem<br />
is there is still sympathy for the<br />
PKK (Kurdistan Worker.çPartj), and as<br />
long as that continues it will be impossible<br />
to finish them off," a counter-insurgency<br />
commando told Reuters at the<br />
weekend. Turkey has long said the<br />
PKK, which it calls a terrorist group,<br />
commands little support in the mairily<br />
Kurdish east and southeast, where the<br />
rebels have fought for 11 years for<br />
autonomy or in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nce. Over 16,000<br />
people have died. The Turkish army<br />
outnumber.ç the PKK by som<strong>et</strong>hing like<br />
25 to one in Tunceli province, at the<br />
heart of the struggle. Troops were<br />
recently boosted to at least 50,()(}(}there<br />
against an estimated 2,000 rebels. But<br />
Kurdish sources throughout the region<br />
say the guerrillas rely on villagers for<br />
food, shelter and supplies, som<strong>et</strong>hing<br />
some give willingly and other.çprovi<strong>de</strong><br />
outo(fear.<br />
The commandos, based in Tunceli for<br />
almost four years, said they found it<br />
hard to accept continuing sympathy for<br />
the rebels, WDO have bumed schools and<br />
health clinics, killed teachers and<br />
attacked families of state-paid village<br />
guards.<br />
'1t's not ue to us to solve this, wejust<br />
take or<strong>de</strong>rs, said one commando, who<br />
like the others would not give his name.<br />
"But if the state would lift some<br />
restrictions, like allow Kurdish television<br />
or schools, then sympathy would<br />
probably drop," he saId. Kurdish<br />
activists have long argued the PKK benefits<br />
from state repression of Kurdish<br />
cultural and pol1tical i<strong>de</strong>ntity, and<br />
Turkey's weak record on human rights.<br />
Many Kurds who do not support the<br />
PKK say Ankara is playing mto the<br />
hardline 8Ioup's hanos by closing off<br />
<strong>de</strong>mocratJc alternatives and essentially<br />
criminalising discussion of Kurdishrelated<br />
issues. Last year the pro-Kurdish<br />
Democracy Party was shut 6y the courts<br />
for separatist actility and six of its parliamentarians<br />
were jailed in December<br />
on similar grounds.<br />
"Ifl suggest a fe<strong>de</strong>ration or complain<br />
about Tuifish policies I'll also end up in<br />
prison," said a Kurdish intellectual.<br />
Tunceli province has always been a<br />
stronghoJd of leftist and Kurdish<br />
activism, and a 1936-38 rebellion harshly<br />
put down by Turkish troops has<br />
beCome the stuff of local folklore.<br />
"Back then our people wanted a<br />
Kurdish province, where cultural rights<br />
and thelt Kurdish i<strong>de</strong>ntity could be<br />
free," said a bus driver, who like others<br />
insisted his name not be used.<br />
'The rebels in the mountains now are<br />
fighting for the same thing." Turkish<br />
forces last September launched a major<br />
operation against PKK forces in<br />
Tunceli, criss-crossed by narrow gorges<br />
and soaring mountains that offer rebels<br />
natural hiding places.<br />
Despite frequent promises the military<br />
has not managed to end PKK<br />
attacks or hunt down regjonal comman<strong>de</strong>r<br />
Semdin Sakik and local comman<strong>de</strong>r.ç<br />
say PKK activity seems to be on<br />
the rise again.<br />
Since mid-April the PKK has killed at<br />
least 33 soldiers in two major attacksin<br />
Tunceli and staged numerous<br />
raids.<br />
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