Interview with DTP parliamentarian Sebahat Tuncel

Ms. Sebahat Tuncel's interview with Kurdish Herald. You can read the full version here.

Kurdish Herald: How would you characterize the reaction of the Turkish government and military to the DTP’s recent successes in the March 2009 Turkish municipal elections?

Sebahat Tuncel: The [Turkish] state employed all its branch and organs with the expectation of defeating DTP in the Kurdish region in the March 2009 elections. Different groups, such as soldiers, governors, even some members of the other Turkish parties, worked with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) aiming to meet this expectation. All of these actors worked very hard against DTP. For instance, they gave free food, donated laundry machines, and gave money to people. It was important for the AKP to win the Kurdish provinces. If they succeeded, the Turkish government could tell everyone (inside Turkey and throughout the world) that AKP represents the Kurds, and the Kurds do not have the problems and grievances that DTP always brings to the table.

Of course, the reaction of the government and the military to the results of the elections has been, indeed, negative. State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, stated that the results demonstrated that the DTP has “pushed to the border of Armenia.” Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug said that “the votes that DTP received should be read correctly.” The AKP, similarly, claimed that DTP got the victory by using violence against people. So, generally, we witnessed intolerance of the DTP’s success from the [Turkish] state.

[...]

Kurdish Herald: What is the status of recent court cases pending against you and other DTP parliamentarians? Who is behind allegations against you and your colleagues? And to what extent do these court cases interfere with your work as a parliamentarian?

Sebahat Tuncel: Cases attempting to close the DTP continue. It is like the Sword of Damocles on our neck – the Turkish state has continuously been trying to suppress us by using these cases.

There are currently about 380 cases in Turkey calling for the revoking of immunity of MPs. Of these cases, 286 are against DTP MPs. The cases against the others are mostly based on charges for corruption, bribery, or even murder, while for us the cases are based only on the expression of our political ideas. These cases have deepened the Kurdish problem and have revealed the double standard and unjust manipulation in the interpretation of the Turkish law when it comes to Kurdish rights.

Kurdish Herald: What role is the DTP currently playing in the organization of a pan-Kurdish conference in Erbil, and what would its aims be?

Sebahat Tuncel: There has been a long discussion over this conference in Turkey, with a plan to disqualify the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from the conference. Nevertheless, the March 2009 elections dismissed such plans. We hoped that that this conference would highlight the unity of the Kurds and call for a project for the freedom and democratization of the countries where Kurds live.

At this moment, it seems that the conference has been delayed. However, we think that this conference should take a place and many Kurds from the four parts should attend it. It is exciting to have this first Kurdish conference. With this conference we can send a message to the world as a united Kurdish people.

[...]

Kurdish Herald: What are your views on Turkey’s European Union accession efforts? Do you believe that the current government is focused on achieving EU membership?

Sebahat Tuncel: We, the DTP, are a determined supporter of the European Union membership process of Turkey because social and political reforms and changes in Turkey have not occurred easily and the implementation of reforms for the membership of the EU may help bring about positive change in Turkey. As it is known, Turkey is still administrated by a military coup Constitution. For instance, there is a law, the Law of Struggle Against Terror and it has been affecting the lives of all the Kurds, young and old alike. With the membership of the EU, this law can be reformed. Today, there are many Kurdish children are standing trial, facing a possible 25 year prison sentence, because they threw stones at Turkish police. There are almost 3,000 children who are standing trial for such accusations.

[...]

I have this feeling that the Turkish state doesn't want to come to terms with the reality... Denial is addictive, isn't it?

Wrath of Losers: AKPasha Inc

Update: As of now, there are 187 DTP officials and party members taken into custody. On 17 April 2009 alone 46 people were taken into custody. The AKPasha Inc has been raiding DTP offices everywhere and conducting searches. Conducting searches basically means break and take whatever you can so they cannot operate.

The AKPasha Inc keeps screaming with their actions that they don't want peace. On Tuesday 14 April 2009, the police raided residences and offices in 15 provinces and detained 53 people. Leading members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were among those detained. Gun TV was one of the places raided. Police confiscated Gun TV's equipments and the tv station was unable to broadcast anything. Now, court has shut down Gun TV for a month.

DTP vice chair Kamuran Yüksek, DTP vice chair Bayram Altun, DTP vice chair Selma Irmak, Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers Seracettin Irmak, Ebru Günay and Şinasi Tur, and Batman municipality building director Heval Erdemli are among those taken into custody.

Oh, but did you think the AKPasha Inc would be content with this much of human rights violations? Read on... Azadiya Welat and Özgür Mezopotamya Newspapers have been shut down for a month as well:

In the 11 April 2009 issue of Azadiya Welat, articles on the pages 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 8 were considered as part of organisational propaganda.
An interview with Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers, commemoration adverts, another article on Obama and "thank you" advertisements by winning mayoral candidates of the DTP were all put into the indictment.

Here comes the real gem from the AKPasha Inc:

It has been said that a news item on the 8th page which discussed the results of a survey on Barack Obama in the USA, entitled “Wind of Socialism in the USA” (Bayê sosyalîzmê li Amerîkayê gur dibe) was also considered part of the “organisational propaganda.”

Full story on this gem is here.

Make sure you check out Rastî's excellent post.

Denial and Destruction

Nusret Demiral recently spoke to Turkish media (see Sabah daily, April 10, 2009) recently and stated his regrets that he wasn't successful in having Kurdish parliamentarians executed. Demiral was referring to Leyla Zana and her colleagues who took their parliamentarian oath in Kurdish. Leyla Zana served a ten year prison sentence for that oath alone. Mr. Demiral goes on denying existence of Kurds and Kurdish language. He says Kurds are Turks. Same old military propaganda. Remember the post on if you tell a lie often enough you will end up believing in it yourself? The delusional ex-chief prosecutor of High Tribunal Court has certainly got his brain washed clean with fascist lies. This is the man who ordered the police to surround the Turkish Parliament for 18 hours in 1991. He goes on saying he wanted to protect the lives of Kurdish Parliamentarians (so why in the earth he would say they should have been executed, it beats me) but he makes sure they serve ten years in the prison. How sad is that such an old man expresses "his regrets" so bitterly. Nusret Demiral belongs to an interesting species. If you were to amputate his index fingers, he would go mute.
This old crook has directed torture too. Below is an excerpt from Erol Ozbolat's statements published in Kurtulus, Issue: 29, May 7, 1999. Mr. Ozbolat was detained in Ankara on February 11, 1991.

During the late days of my custody, I was taken to a lonely field and asked to run away. They were aiming to murder me and later claim that I was shot while escaping. During these tortures, the conspiracy was tried to be supported piece by piece by the testimonies taken torture. From the beginning, the torture interrogations were directed by the DGM prosecutors who, themselves, came to the torture center. The DGM prosecutors who came to the torture center and joined the interrogations were Nusret Demiral, Talat Salk, Nuh Mete Yuksel. I was subjected to torture every time they wanted to make me sign the scenarios prepared by the DGM prosecutors. In the last 9- 10 days of the 1-month-custody, I was not tortured. They waited for the wounds of torture to heal. On the 30th day, I was taken to DGM and arrested on March 11, 1991, depending on the testimonies, which I was made sign by torture. Directing the tortures were not the only little masterpieces of the DGM prosecutors, they prepared fake documents as well. These documents are available in the trial file. As a result of this conspiracy I have been sentenced to death penalty.

So, another example of denial, which more subtle. Well, look at the picture below. It shows Beşir Atalay, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey, who recently made racist remarks against Kurds due to DTP's victory in North Kurdistan, and his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bulani after signing an agreement against Kurds. They shake hands on drinking Kurdish blood. How ironic is that the folders are colored red??

Beşir Atalay said "We expect both the central Iraqi government and the regional administration in the north to undertake concrete steps". This man would rather choke than use the term Kurdistan Regional Government. He is in Iraq and KRG is clearly spelled out in the constitution. He is not respecting Iraq's constitution and shaking hands on it. Well, Arabs love it as long as something is against Kurds. Good luck to KRG in pleasing their Arab and Turkish and Persian brothers.

Kurds have no right to protest against unfair election practices

The local elections were held on March 29. DTP (a party representing Kurds and Kurdish Cause) gained majority of provinces in the Kurdish regions with a few exceptions. Agri (Agirî) was one of those. It turns out over three thousand DTP votes were not counted. People discovered half burnt ballots in the trash. According to official counts, AKP received 13,884 and DTP received 11,347 votes. Another 3,000 plus votes would bump DTP up to 14347 plus votes, which means DTP was the actual winner. People have been protesting in Agirî but they have faced severe attacks from the police. 79 people have been arrested. European observers were arrested and released after their cameras were wiped clean. A lot of people were injured. Here is an article from mideastyouth.com describing what happened in more detail. The article also includes a video showing how police corners and beats up people. The video is also on youtube. In another gathering in Amara, soldiers attacked the crowd and killed two people. Close to a hundred people were injured. DTP parliamentarian Ayla Akat Ata was attacked and hit by police when she went to visit the injured at the hospital. The AKP police is known to attack women when they get a chance. Here is documentation on beating of women from last year's Newroz celebrations. You can watch and see the women and children beaters in action on youtube as well.

The unfair elections practices in Turkey are not new. DTP's predecessor, DEHAP had actually won in Mersin in 1999 and even the state tv announced DEHAP's victory. But then, magically, a bomb threat was issued for the building where ballots were kept, the minister of internal affairs of the time wwas the hero who walked into the building. No bomb experts were needed to discard DEHAP votes. A count after the threat, of course, made sure DEHAP lost. Before and during the local elections this year, dirty tricks continued to play out. State officials prevented DTP observers from watching the elections in some places or took in observers of every other party but made DTP observers wait outside for some two or three hours while their rivals were inside. The spectrum of unfair practices include threatening locals through government funded drug trading terrorists called korîcî or jash.

AKP and the state has more elusive elections tactics too. They make sure their people start parties with names similar to that of DTP (such as BTP) or find candidates with similar names to their adversaries. The decoy parties and last minute candidates are decoys to steal votes from parties such as DTP or any other rival. When names are close, some people get confused and stamp on the wrong person/party. This dirty tactic has been in place for quite some time now.

Turkey's Minister of Internal Affairs Cemil Cicek made some racist and facist comments on DTP's success in the Kurdish regions. Although Mr. Erdogan said they don't endorse what Mr. Cicek said, AKP didn't condemn him either. A military general basically endorsed what Mr. Cicek said by saying the military is thinking about the election results in the Kurdish regions. In a true democracy, a politician like Mr. Cicek and General Gurak would have to resign. The AKP acronym stands for "Justice and Development Party". If this is the justice AKP and the state stand for, Turkey and its peoples are doomed.

You tell a lie often enough, you end up believing it

Turkey's president Mr. Gul was recently interviewed by Euronews. Here is the full interview. I will be touching on a segment of the interview, which of course happens to be related to the Kurdish issue.

euronews: “One new question is the Kurdish issue in the north of Iraq. Is Turkey prepared to give any ground over that?”

Abdullah Gul: “To be able eradicate terrorist organisations you have to apply sophisticated programmes and plans ..and Turkey does that.

Sometimes we do it in a public way.. sometimes behind the scenes. Those who want to fight to death and not give up their weapons, then our military must tackle that and fight these people to the end. I must say this.

But there are people on the fringes of terrorist organisations without knowing why they are part of them. It is important to try to get these people back on the normal path.

Until now the Kurdish Regional Government in the north of Iraq has refused to do what is necessary but I am pleased to say during our meetings with them over the last few months they realise that these terror groups are bad news for them as well.”

Yeah, the KRG is so bad that she doesn't help Turkey wipe off Kurds from the face of the earth. Only a messed up and insecure bully who wants to deny people their very basic rights and expects them to help with their destruction can say such a ridiculous thing. What exactly does Turkey want from the KRG? To fight against PKK so that Turkey can persecute Kurds more?? The KRG is smart enough to know that after Turkey is done with "her own Kurds" she will move down to neutralize the KRG.

euronews: “As far as international relations go you are very close to Israel. They consider Hamas a terrorist organisation. But your relations with Hamas are very different to Israel’s. Shouldn’t Hamas be considered terrorists, the same as the PKK?”

Abdullah Gul: “The PKK, Hamas and the Palestinians…they have no links with each other.
There are many groups linked with the Palestinians
in The Middle East. In respect of the Palestinians we would never support suicide bombers. I must tell you that.

But one group, the PKK, is using military means to
create a something outside its own territory and they attack Turkey.

This is where the famous Turkish saying "if you repeat something 40 times, it will come true" plays. The Euronews speaker couldn't just say "wake up, Mr. President, the PKK is in Kurdistan!". What territory is Mr. Gul talking about?? Turkish military is conducting military operations inside the borders of Turkey all the time! Is Mount Ararat in Iraq too? Seriously, if there is no PKK inside Turkey then against whom is Turkey conducting those military operations within its borders??? Civilians (let's remember 4000+ villages Turkey razed) or the PKK? Perhaps both?

On the relationship between Israel and Turkey, it's a co-dependent relationship no different than the one between a drug dealer and an addict.

But the Palestinians on the other hand are trying to defend themselves in their own country.

Kurds ARE defending themselves inside their own country, Kurdistan. They have lived there for over 4000 years (yes LONG before they let his ancestors enter Anatolia. He needs to go read some true history!

There is no discrimination in Turkey against the Kurds. Ethnic indentity doesn’t interest us.”

Whoa! Did he just say that pigs fly? Or did I just hear Ahmedinejad saying there are no gays in Iran?? So, why is that Turkey still denies Kurds their very basic rights?? Record speaks for itself. It's enough to look at the court cases against Kurds' use of letters q, w, x, and other letters. When stupid thugs use those letters it's all fine but when it's Kurds, security forces don't waste a minute. When did President Gul ever speak against such practices??

euronews: “Mr President. The question wasn’t about the moral value of the PKK and Hamas movements. The question is simply that Turkey has a bad relationship with the PKK and yet has a good relationship with Israel which in turn considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. This is a little contradicatory isn’t it? They are, after all, two movements which are struggling over territory.”

Abdullah Gul: “Palestine is a state under occupation and the Palestinians are using military means to end the occupation. Even after United Nations rulings, Palestine is still under occupation.”

Kurdistan has been under occupation by Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. Despite all the resistance. Mr. Gul needs to go and check Ottoman archives and see "Kurdistan" state on Ottoman maps!

euronews: “ No, excuse me, because, perhaps…

Abdullah Gul: “Wait a minute. I must explain this important question. When Hamas carries out a terrorist attack, we condemn it. But don’t forget what Israel has done in Gaza.

They killed between 1,300 and 1,800 people ..this is something we can never accept. So if you are comparing Hamas and the PKK you are making a big mistake.”

So, what would Mr. President say about over 17,000 individuals, including women and children who were detained by Turkish security forces and never heard from again? Children and older women included. This figure is aside from civilians, including children killed by Turkish police and military. It's true one shouldn't compare Hamas with PKK as Hamas receives a lot of external support while PKK is supported by the Kurdish people alone.