The Kurdish problem

Before arriving in Turkey, I was more or less aware of the conflict pertaining to the Kurdish minority group encircling national politics, national unity and national security. However, I was largely unaware of the complexity and severity of this problem until I began hearing racist remarks and witnessing repeated terrorist attacks in eastern Turkey on the nightly news.

The Kurdish population, belonging to a distinct ethnic and linguistic group, stands at about 20-25 million. It is concentrated in parts of eastern Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, making up a region known as Kurdistan. Twenty percent of Turkey's population is Kurdish, though Turkey's constitution provides a single nationality designation for all Turks and therefore does not recognize Kurdish citizens as national, racial or ethnic minorities. The Kurdish national movement dates back to 1925, and there has been an active Kurdish separatist movement in southeastern Turkey since 1984.

The government's main strategy for assimilation is through language suppression, forcibly banning speaking or writing Kurdish (remember my previous post, Turks are very nationalist!). Kurdish resistance to this "Turkification" includes both nonviolent struggle, peacefully working through the political system, and violent armed struggle. The best known and most radical of these armed movements is the PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party), which does not represent the majority of Kurds. The PKK was formed in the late 1970s by Abdullah Öcalan, with the declared objective of setting up an independent Marist Kurdish state in the area comprising Kurdistan. It is estimated that more than 37,000 people have been killed in the Turkey-PKK conflict since 1984.

However, to view the Kurdish problem as simply the fighting and terrorism of the PKK in the southeastern provinces is both misguided and demonstrates an incomplete understanding of the wide reach and depth of this struggle. This conflict affects every Turkish citizen. In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 20-41 years of age. My dear friend Tansu will be joining the military shortly after I leave Turkey, as will nearly all of the young men I have met during my time here. Additionally, the grievances of the millions of Kurds whom do not support the PKK but are victim to ongoing fighting, is an international problem. Kurds who publicly or politically assert their identity risk public censure or harassment. Lastly, this conflict affects me. I live in a neighbourhood known to occupy many Kurds and I have met many people who are proud to be Kurdish, sharing with me their traditional music and food. I believe that it is time for the government to move toward a solution of the Kurdish problem, not through the use of violence, but through bold new policy which recognizes the Kurdish minority and encourages economic growth in areas comprising Kurdistan.