1,144 Kurdish Politicians were Arrested in 2009

This post makes use of data appeared in Özgür Gündem which used the data from the Diyarbakır (Amed) branch of the İHD's report on the arrests in Kurdistan. In 2009, a total of 1444 Kurdish politicians were arrested. I went ahead and tabulated the data so we can do some analysis.

Month	Detained	Arrested
January-March	1118	302
April	539	265
May	184	67
June	362	129
July	66	18
August	110	34
September	182	35
October	358	90
November	190	13
December	1366	491
Apr-Dec Total	3357	1142
Grand Total	4475	1444

Let's state some facts now so we can examine the data and draw some meaningful conclusions.

It is usually a trend to have a high number Kurds getting arrested during every February and March. This is because February is the month Mr. Öcalan was kidnapped and brought to Turkey and March is the month Kurds remember Halabca Massacre. 21st of March is Newroz and the reaction of Turkish security forces to Kurds have been violent and oppressive. Countless videos on YouTube shows police beating up defenseless kids and women during Newroz celebrations. So, since we established that the January-March quarter seems to be fitting the old trend and can be considered "normal" by the thugs of the fascist regime. The experience also suggests that after Newroz things usually "calm" down and the arrests/detainments usually slow down until the next cycle. Well, obviously 2009 was different.

What was so different about April-December, the three remaining quarters of 2009? 3357 Kurds active in politics were detained and 1142 of them were arrested in this 9-months period. Well, the Kurdish party Democratic Society Party (DTP) won a major victory in local elections in Kurdistan and the local elections were held on March 29, 2009. Of course, it took sometime for the official results to be announced. Despite all the state (including military and police) support the AK Party had in the region, including giving away washing machines and food in combination with advice from security and state officers about for whom the Kurds should vote, sprinkled with Kurdish votes being stolen and burned here and there, DTP accomplished a major victory in Kurdistan. AKP and the Generals were furious. One of AK Party's major figures, Chicken Little Çiçek, has basically said that "They [Kurds] are now at the gates of Armenia and we have to assess this situation very carefully and act accordingly". This statement was in effect the same with what the Generals said: "We are assessing the outcome of local elections carefully".

So the arrests of Kurdish politicians begun on April 14 and continued. DTP was closed on 11 December 2009 and even some shepherd was banned from participating in politics with the allegation of being a DTP politician.

The arrest wave in December of 2009 was the last major blow by the AK Party government and state to Kurdish politicians so that the AK Party may get some votes in Kurdistan when elections come up in 2011 or should AK Party decides to hold early elections.


Recently Kurdish politicians were lined up and handcuffed. The picture was widely circulated on the Turkish media to make sure Kurds get the message of what can happen to them if they ask for their rights. These politicians have had nothing to do with any kind of violence. What they did was to greet their people in Kurdish at political meetings but their main crime was to speak for Kurds and defend their rights under a legal political party. The arrests of Kurdish politicians have continued in January. I will incorporate that data when I get my hands on it.

I never trusted the AK Party and the state about the so called "Kurdish Initiative" which was later renamed as "Democratic Initiative" and now renamed as "National Unity Initiative". I am sure the AK Party and the state are proud of themselves as they can do all these things to Kurds and still be referred as "an advanced democracy" by their masters.

Highest Turkish Court Closes DTP

Democratic Society Party, the voice of Kurdish people in North Kurdistan was closed and banned on Friday 11 December 2009. The state basically told it's Kurdish citizens that democratic means will not bear fruit. The AKP and its supporters as well as the intelligentsia in Turkey were constantly talking about how things were going to be different this time and Kurds should stop being paranoid and trust the state and the AKP.

To date, Kurds have not had ONE single reason to trust the Turkish state. Closure of DTP has just confirmed Kurds' suspicions. So, how is this different? Where are those who were trying to get Kurds trust the oppressor? I hope closure of DTP has also served as a gentle reminder to Kurds in South Kurdistan.

Zaroken Roj must unite and rely on themselves and themselves alone. If there is to be peace, it has to be on Kurds' terms. Oppressors' compassion only dictates slavery.

More DTP Members Detained

While the Terrorist Turkish State and its supporters keep insisting the PKK should lay down arms and Kurds should "seek for their rights in parliament" the party of Kurds is under constant attack. I suppose what the fascist state and its supporters are saying to Kurds is "seek for your rights from the prisons". 19 More DTP members were detained on 18 June 2009. The full story is in Bianet:

On 14 April, members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were taken into custody. Since then, around 500 party members have been taken into custody and 267 have been arrested.

During operations in the provinces of Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Bitlis, Batman and Mardin, all in the southeast of Turkey on 17 June, 19 people were taken into police custody. Among them are municipal officials and academics.

The AKPasha Inc (which is having yet another crisis these says) is keeping on detaining key DTP figures. They are going to have to build more prisons because the ranks are being filled as we speak. Each time pashas and mullahs have a problem in their marriage, they attack Kurds. I say it's enough, Kurds shouldn't save the day for these thugs anymore.

Main Characteristics of the Regime --III

Dr. İsmail Beşikçi has written a nice article at Kurdistan Post which analyzes the double standard put in place against the Children of the Sun. The article makes good points on Fethullah Gülen's role in assimilating Kurdish children and how state supports his activities. Here is the relevant parts of the article translated for your pleasure:

Main Characteristics of the Regime --III

"The twelfth wave"

As part of the Ergenekon investigations, on 13 April 2009, some individuals were detained. The detained included some university presidents (current and retired) and some NGO workers. Some professors' homes were searched. Home of Prof. Dr.Türkan Saylan, the president of Association in Support of Modern Living (ASML), was searched and some documents were confiscated. Tijen Mergen, who administers "Father, Send me to School" campaign in Milliyet daily, was detained. Tijen Mergen, who is on the Board of Management for Dogan Holding, was released a few days later. ASML was searched, some documents were confiscated. CEO Gülseven Yaşar was nowhere to be found.

When we look at the Turkish press after 12 April, we see a great deal of support for those detained as part of the Ergenekon investigations. Starting 14 April 2009, there have been systematic detentions and arrests of Democratic Society Party (DTP) managers, members, and sympathizers. With raids in different cities, over 300 people associated with or sympathizing with DTP were detained, over 150 were arrested [the number of people detained so far is over 400]. While Turkish press showed great interest in those arrested for Ergenekon investigation, it didn't show any interest in DTP. It was stressed in the press that the Ergenekon detainees were under pressure and the operation unfair. The injustice done to DTP was overlooked, nobody spoke of it. It's clear that there is discrimination among the two cases [Ergenekon and the recent detainment and arrest of DTP-related individuals].

Articles praising President of ASML Dr. Türkan Saylan, "Father, Send me to School" campaign manager Tijen Mergen, and Gülseven Yaşar. The articles described how these individuals helped the needy families and provided scholarships for students. It was told "Ms. Türkan didn't deserve this". Dr. Saylan's poor health was brought up to discredit detainment of these ladies further.

In this article, I would like to touch on a subject the Turkish press didn't mention and tried to hide with diligence. The real intention of ASML, "Father, Send me to School" and "Girls Let's Go to School" campaigns, Multi Purpose Community Centre (MPCC), and Modern Education Association (MEA) can only be understood when these organizations and activities are considered within the context of the Kurdish Question. The Turkish press, Turkish intelligentsia mentions of people who work at such organizations as "modern" and "humane". The main purpose of these organizations and activities is to assimilate Kurdish girls into Turkishness. The understanding is that 'mother tongue is learnt from the mother. Therefore it's more important to assimilate the Kurdish girls who are future mothers'. This is the main reason why these organizations focus more on Kurdish girls. Assimilation is the main reason for the dormitories built for girls at Regional Boarding Primary Schools (RBPS) located in Kurdish regions.

It is a known fact that these efforts have support and collaboration from militarist organizations and entities and Turkish Industry and Businessmen Association (TIBA). There is no collaboration with Human rights' organizations or entities. These issues were analysed in an article titled "What is ASML Giving to Kurds?", which appeared in Kurdistan-post on 19 March 2008.

During the last 25 years, one of the important realities of Kurdish geography has been involving burning of houses, razing of villages, and destruction of sources of income [by the state]. People have been forced to leave their home and made homeless.

[Similar events have been at play for the border villages of South Kurdistan. Iran and Turkey have been constantly bombing the border villages and destroying livestock, farms, and infrastructure.]

The "unsolved homicides" have been an important and continuous phenomenon as well. The Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror Unit (JITEM) has kidnapped and killed young Kurdish people, Kurdish villagers, traders, business men, etc. JITEM killed Kurds with torture, put their bodies in mass graves, throw into wells, destroyed in acid wells or incinerated them. It's stressed that number of such murders is over 17,000.

Neither any of the organizations like ASML, MPCC, MEA, etc. nor any of their workers has had the smallest criticism of state forces for the atrocities being committed against Kurds. They won't let such news [news related to persecution of Kurds by state forces] appear on their Internet sites or in the press. The systematic persecution of Kurds is ignored. The attention is given to the children of the families who are made homeless, poor, and in need of help. This attention is a requirement for applicability of assimilation policies; it's a necessity of the assimilation policies.

In the last few years, 7 & 8-year-old Kurdish children have been detained, tortured, arrested, and put into prisons because they throw stones at the police and armoured vehicles. They are tried for 25-year sentences. They are not tried at the children's court; with a modification in the anti-terror law, it is made possible to try the children who throw stones at police or armoured vehicles as adults. These children are placed into adult prisons. Even 6-year-old Kurdish children are detained and tortured. In Diyarbakir [Amed], Van [Wan], Batman [Êlih], Adana, and Mersin there are close to 300 children ages 8-15 who are already in prison and being tried. None of the organizations like ASML, MPCC, MEA, etc. has said anything about children being detained, tortured, put in prison, or tried [as adults]. These organizations [ASML etc] and people who work for them find the persecution policies against children as positive.

Considering the environment in which these children live, these actions [throwing stones at the police and armoured vehicles] could be considered as freedom of expression. These children's family homes have been incinerated and villages destroyed. They don't have a healthy life in the suburbs of cities where they live. No job, no food, no health services, no education... Security forces constantly curse at these children's parents and belittle them. Children's homes are raided often, mother, father, older brother, grandfather, etc, are harassed. Under these conditions, it should be accepted as natural that these children are angry at the police and express their anger by throw stones at the police.

[...]

Humanization

To be human, humanization, is an important goal for every individual, every society. How does one become human? How is humanization achieved? The basic indication of humanization, the main criteria of a human, is the way he treats others. Let's remember Bulgaria in 1985-1988. Bulgaria was pressuring its Turks to change their names. Turks were being told "if you change your name and get a Bulgarian name, you will have a chance to advance in Bulgarian Communist Part and in Bulgarian government. Otherwise you will face heavy difficulties...". Bulgaria's actions faced heavy criticism and blame in Turkey from the state, government, press, universities, and NGOs. Bulgarian authorities were blamed with being imperialist, colonialist, primitive, assimilating, backwards and fascist. Of course, the policy Bulgaria had in place for Turks was to assimilate Turks into being Bulgarians. This was causing big reactions in Turkey. Humanization shows itself right at this point. Organizations like ASML, "Father, Send me to School" and "Girls Let's Go to School" campaigns, MPCC, MEA, and people who work for them were forcefully against the process of assimilating Turks in Bulgaria but they voluntarily implement Turkish state's assimilation policies against Kurds. That's why, here, a process against humanization exists. It's obvious that this is a primitive and backwards process.

[...]

Destroying villages and sources of income, "unsolved" murders, hundreds of thousands of people being forced to leave their homes, denial of Kurdish identity, and assimilation policies, without a doubt, aim to destroy the Kurdish community and Kurdish national values. It goes without a doubt that these actions and policies have made life difficult for Kurds and hurt the Kurdish nation. However, it has to be stressed that these practices have been hurting Turkish society and Turkish community values as well. Propositions planned and put in place to destroy the Kurdish community are in fact destroying the Turkish communal values. Turkish universities and press are mouldering away. Hiding and twisting the facts about Kurdish question becomes academia's main purpose. Hiding the facts and events has turned into being main function of the press. JITEM bombed a book store on 9 November 2005. The perpetrators were caught at the scene. We know how the events developed after that. [the military made sure the bombers are set free.]

Firing the prosecutor who filed charges against these bombing suspects who were members of JITEM, Van [Wan] Court sentencing each of these perpetrators to 39 years in prison... Supreme court's voiding of these sentences and the case being forwarded to the military court... Military supreme court's letting these suspects walk away in one sitting...

What do such opposite interpretations of law between military and civilian courts show? It shows rotting of judicial organizations. Yasin Hayal, the person who had a major role in murder of Hirat Dink, was sentenced to three years in Trabzon because he bombed a work place. In Diyarbajir [Amed], the children who throw stones to police and armoured vehicles are being tried for 25 year sentences. These are indications of a rotten judicial system. It's known that the Turkish press generously praises the Palestinian children who throw stones at Israeli soldiers and tanks. Those children and their parents are praised constantly. When Kurdish children do the same, then it becomes "who is turning these children against us?". Having such double standard in thinking is nothing but a rotting of the conscience.

Kurdish Renaissance

The Turkish state, for the sake of destroying and assimilating the Kurds, is letting the main organizations of the state such as judiciary, education, and press go rotten. However, despite all these persecutions, the Kurds are still standing. In fact, Kurds are living a Renaissance today.

How is it that Kurds are living a Renaissance? There has been some criticism directed to Prof. Türkan Saylan from some right wing individuals who are close to Fethullah Gülen. These individuals blame Prof. Saylan with being a missionary and providing scholarship to PKK members. The perspective of these right wing individuals on the Kurdish question is similar to that of state's. Especially, Gülen's followers are trying to promote and spread Turkishness in Kurdish regions under the disguise of "religious and spiritual values". Just like how Kurdish is forbidden to children who are taken away from their families and sent to RBPS, Kurdish is forbidden in the Kur'an schools organized by Fethullah Gülen's followers. Spreading Kur'an schools in the region [Kurdish] is state's policy. Children who attend to these Kur'an schools stay at dormitories. While the state objects Kur'an schools and Islamic movements in the west [of Turkey], it encourages both in the Kurdish regions. State's policy is "to leave Kurds behind, to melt Kurdish demands within religious movements". That's why as far as Kurdish question is concerned, there is a great deal of similarity between Kemalism's Turkishness, which is disguised in 'education' and the Turkishness disguised in 'religious and spiritual values'. However, one can say that Fethullah Gülen's followers have a relatively more humane approach to the Kurdish question than Kemalists.

Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, published an article titled “Fethullah Gülen and Abdullah Öcalan” in Taraf daily on 22 April 2009. The author says that both Fethullah Gülen and Abdullah Öcalan have support of masses in Turkey and the state and the public need to get used to the fact. This is not a complete view, however. Fethullah Gülen and Abdullah Öcalan are not in the same situation. The line Fethullah Gülen represents against Kurds and the Kurdish question is the line mobilized by the state and the deep state. The state is able to use anyone, any organization, any opportunity, and any means to weaken Kurds, Kurdish movement, and PKK. Left wing, right wing, liberals, religious movements, etc. It's a known fact that Hizbullah [in Turkey] was established by the state to fight PKK, in fact, the patriotic Kurds in the cities. [it seems now the state has openly assumed the role Turkish Hizbullah assumed in the past]. It's also a known fact that Fethullah Gülen's followers have distorted and published incomplete versions of Said-i Kurdi's writings about Kurds. [Said-i Kurdi, also known as Said-i Nursi was a Kurdish Imam who authored the books which Gülen movement republished distorted versions (all references to Kurds and Kurdishness have been removed or altered into Turks and Turkishness). These distorted books are used by the Gülen's movement for religious education]. No doubt, there are Kurds who publish Said-i Kurdi's writings without distortions and criticize the Gülen movement for their anti-Kurd stand.

I have stated above that Gülen's followers take advantage of Kurds' situation and accumulate Kurdish children into Kur'an schools and forbid them Kurdish language, make an effort to raise these children in an environment with Turkish language and culture. The clergy against these impositions are defending Kurdish language and culture. Despite all oppression, great interest in Kurdish language and culture is building among workers, traders, young people, students, clergy, women, and villagers. This can be considered as a Renaissance. There is no way this process can be stopped either. In this context, for sure there will be efforts to develop a consciousness of homeland.

[...]

İsmail Beşikçi

Amazed?

Ill Treatment of Children (of Sun) in Turkey

Children are beloved beings and should be treated as such. As their name indicates, they are children, future adults in the making. Most cultures and governments have implemented this simple and universal truth into their laws. You shall not apply the punishment you used for adults to children. It doesn't work. One "advanced democracy" has been practicing the complete opposite of this universal truth. It has been harsh to its child citizens who are Kurdish. Yes, children Zarokên Roj are persecuted in Turkey. We are talking about a democracy in which children are detained because:

"they had had been sweating or were breathing fast, and this had made them suspicious."

[...]

"In our country, a police officer killing a civilian by kicking him and a murderer bombing a McDonald's are released after six years, but children throwing stones are handed 38-year prison sentences. Children will spend their lives in prison for throwing stones, but people who kill others or murderers who throw bombs get away will light punishments and re-enter society."

Full story.

Just a few days ago, a child died because he fell into the river while running away from the police. This child was running so he wouldn't get beaten mercilessly. Another child, who was caught by the police was beaten severely by stock of a rifle. His skull is fractured. The child may die. You can read more on this particular event here and if you choose so, you can watch the video posted. I need to warn you that the video is graphic.

On 22 April 2009, four children were each sentenced to 6 years 11 months in prison. Their crime was to participate in a demonstration organized by the Democratic Society Party (DTP). The court decided these children Zarokên Roj were guilty of "opposing the police" and "acted against the demonstration's law" DTP is effectively the only party that represents Kurds in Turkey and demands Kurds' basic rights. Full story here.

Two children Zarokên Roj performing folk dance in Lice, Amed (Diyarbakir) allegedly carried a portrait of Ocalan. Each child received 6 months 20 days prison sentence. (news on 6 March 2009)

These were all recent events. Just to show you that these practices are not new, I will present two other random examples. The first one is from 2006:

After the funerals in Diyarbakir on 28 March [2006] of four members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who had been killed by the security forces, demonstrations escalated into violent protests during which demonstrators threw stones and Molotov cocktails, and damaged property. Four individuals were shot dead by the security forces. In subsequent days, during further violent demonstrations in Diyarbakir and other towns in the region including Batman, Kiziltepe, Siirt and Nusaybin, the number of civilians killed rose to 13, at least four of them children. According to the available autopsy reports most of them died as a result of gunshot wounds. Many demonstrators and law enforcement officials were injured. On 2 April, in Istanbul, three women were crushed to death by a bus which was set alight following a Molotov cocktail attack allegedly perpetrated by demonstrators. During these incidents, hundreds of demonstrators, including children, were detained. The majority of detainees in Diyarbakir alleged that they were subjected to ill-treatment on apprehension, and torture or other ill-treatment once in custody.

The last one is from 2001.

Twenty-eight children aged from 9 to 18 were arrested on 9 January, accused of chanting slogans for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). They were allegedly beaten and ill-treated, and detained in cruel, inhuman or degrading conditions. Six of them, aged 14 to 16, remain in an adult prison.

And it goes on...

Do you get the point? Zaroken Roj need to free their children, their future!

DTP are Children of the Sun!

They are children of the sun

They won't give into oppression

No... They won't


No, they won't

They won't...

Won't happen

...


Zaroken roj will never give in!!!




Bijî DTP!