Erdoðan denies Kurdish Question hoping to survive
Erdoðan denies Kurdish Question hoping to survive
He said it again and again. Indeed this has been his constant remark at every public occasion: Turkey no longer has a Kurdish problem, and what currently remains to be addressed are the problems of individual Kurdish citizens. For Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan it is as simple as this. He repeated these words on Saturday during a rally in Muþ.
Erdoðan has been holding rallies in various cities of the East and the Southeast as part of his election campaign. During his speech the Prime Minister harshly criticized the BDP (Peace and Peace and Democracy Party) and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), included its jailed leader Abdulah Öcalan.
As to the BDP, which he labeled as 'cheaters', the Prime Minister said: “We will be together with you, people, against those who cheat my Kurdish brothers and sisters. We will give them the appropriate response at the ballot box.”
Referring to both the BDP and PKK Erdoðan said: “We can’t get anywhere with those who try to set one brother against another. We can’t get anywhere with those who are trying to divide this country. We can’t get our country up on its feet with the separatist terrorist organization [PKK]. We can’t get anywhere with those who try to undermine the democratic will of the people."
The Prime Minister deliberately ignored the military operations which are going on forcing young people to kill other young people. In the words of the Prime Minister there was, scary enough, not a single hint that indeed peace is his final aim. On the contrary Erdoðan's words are of war. A call for war.
Carrying on with his hypocritical speech Erdoðan then said: “This land is our land. This is our motherland. There is no discrimination, no separatism. We are one, and we are together. We will be one, we will be united, we will be big and fresh. We are like the teeth of a comb. We are like nail and cuticle. We are not friends or relatives; we are eternal brothers. We are as much as brothers as the Euphrates and the Tigris. We are as brothers as the Süphan and Aðrý [Mountains] are. We are as inseparable as the sky and the earth. Whoever says the opposite, you should know, denies history, murders truth and denies himself.”
And he added: “There is no longer a Kurdish question in this country. I do not accept this. There are problems of my Kurdish brothers, but no longer a Kurdish question. Tayyip Erdoðan is not your master, he is your servant.”
Empty words pronounced in an area which has seen in the past weeks over 1000 arrests. Two people have died during demonstration against the exclusion of legitimate candidates from the general elections and the ongoing trial of Kurdish politicians.
The Prime Minister had something to say about the Friday Civil Prayers as well: “Now they are saying, ‘Don’t pray behind a state imam.’ There are people praying here, and then those who listen to the terrorist organization [PKK] go to pray somewhere else. This is separatism. We have nothing to do with those who declare Apo a prophet. We will stand together against those who try to deceive my Kurdish brothers.”
It is clear that Erdoðan has no intention to listen to the Kurdish people demands. His speech in these past days said it all: there is no Kurdish problem simply means there is nothing to talk about. Or in other words: you are with me or against me. And this is clearly a recipe for war, not certainly for peace. The Kurds are reiterating their demands in peaceful ways, by civil disobedience actions, by contesting elections in order to represent the people who have chosen them. But they are being prevented from doing that in the most violent ways. Erdoðan presents himself as a "warrior" not a peacemaker in his own country. While he is playing the role of the mediator in all the conflicts around the world, from Syria to Libya and Palestine, he is using the iron fist in his own country. But how far can the bluff go?
Erdoðan has been holding rallies in various cities of the East and the Southeast as part of his election campaign. During his speech the Prime Minister harshly criticized the BDP (Peace and Peace and Democracy Party) and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), included its jailed leader Abdulah Öcalan.
As to the BDP, which he labeled as 'cheaters', the Prime Minister said: “We will be together with you, people, against those who cheat my Kurdish brothers and sisters. We will give them the appropriate response at the ballot box.”
Referring to both the BDP and PKK Erdoðan said: “We can’t get anywhere with those who try to set one brother against another. We can’t get anywhere with those who are trying to divide this country. We can’t get our country up on its feet with the separatist terrorist organization [PKK]. We can’t get anywhere with those who try to undermine the democratic will of the people."
The Prime Minister deliberately ignored the military operations which are going on forcing young people to kill other young people. In the words of the Prime Minister there was, scary enough, not a single hint that indeed peace is his final aim. On the contrary Erdoðan's words are of war. A call for war.
Carrying on with his hypocritical speech Erdoðan then said: “This land is our land. This is our motherland. There is no discrimination, no separatism. We are one, and we are together. We will be one, we will be united, we will be big and fresh. We are like the teeth of a comb. We are like nail and cuticle. We are not friends or relatives; we are eternal brothers. We are as much as brothers as the Euphrates and the Tigris. We are as brothers as the Süphan and Aðrý [Mountains] are. We are as inseparable as the sky and the earth. Whoever says the opposite, you should know, denies history, murders truth and denies himself.”
And he added: “There is no longer a Kurdish question in this country. I do not accept this. There are problems of my Kurdish brothers, but no longer a Kurdish question. Tayyip Erdoðan is not your master, he is your servant.”
Empty words pronounced in an area which has seen in the past weeks over 1000 arrests. Two people have died during demonstration against the exclusion of legitimate candidates from the general elections and the ongoing trial of Kurdish politicians.
The Prime Minister had something to say about the Friday Civil Prayers as well: “Now they are saying, ‘Don’t pray behind a state imam.’ There are people praying here, and then those who listen to the terrorist organization [PKK] go to pray somewhere else. This is separatism. We have nothing to do with those who declare Apo a prophet. We will stand together against those who try to deceive my Kurdish brothers.”
It is clear that Erdoðan has no intention to listen to the Kurdish people demands. His speech in these past days said it all: there is no Kurdish problem simply means there is nothing to talk about. Or in other words: you are with me or against me. And this is clearly a recipe for war, not certainly for peace. The Kurds are reiterating their demands in peaceful ways, by civil disobedience actions, by contesting elections in order to represent the people who have chosen them. But they are being prevented from doing that in the most violent ways. Erdoðan presents himself as a "warrior" not a peacemaker in his own country. While he is playing the role of the mediator in all the conflicts around the world, from Syria to Libya and Palestine, he is using the iron fist in his own country. But how far can the bluff go?
