Activist conveys Kurdish plight at SCSU presentation

St. Cloud Times News

30 January, 2003

Michelle Tan

Staff Writer

The way to increase happiness in the world is not by applying pain to it.

That's the message activist and peace advocate Kani Xulam presented to about 250 people Wednesday evening at St. Cloud State University. Xulam, director of the American Kurdish Information Network, was the keynote speaker brought to campus for the 21st annual Week on Nonviolence. On-campus group Nonviolent Alternatives organized the event.

Xulam, based in Washington, presented "Hidden Secrets of the 'War on Terrorism': Kurds and U.S. Policy in the Middle East."

In 40 minutes, Xulam talked about the oppression faced by Kurds, who don't have a country to call their own, and how war against Iraq and killing Saddam Hussein won't hold him accountable for his crimes.

"I consider war organized crime let loose," he said. "When you have a wound you need air, you need medication. For us, that medication is freedom."

There are about 40 million Kurds in the world; about 40,000 live in the United States, Xulam said. Kurdistan is as large as France, but it is divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, he said.

Xulam, a graduate of the University of California in Santa Barbara, said he wants to raise awareness about his people's plight.

He also said it's important to learn as much as possible about the effects of war against Iraq.

"You must do a better job of differentiating the friend from the foe," he said.

Xulam criticized the Turkish government for oppressing Kurds living in Turkey and for its shabby human rights record.

"I have more respect for Adolph Hitler than the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk," he said. "The Fuhrer, as you know, had at least the honesty to tell the Jews he despised them. ... No such luck confronts us, the Kurds, in Turkey. Twenty million of us are not even recognized as an enemy, but the same end awaits us, the eventual annihilation of our race."

Halfway through the presentation, a graduate assistant who is a native of Turkey interrupted Xulam. He demanded to defend his country and was asked to wait until the end or leave. The man left because he had to attend class. His friend Naziy Koray Dayanc, a senior from Turkey, later discussed Xulam's presentation.

Turkey isn't perfect, but conditions are improving, Dayanc said. Also, he said Xulam doesn't represent the feelings of all Kurds in Turkey.

"A lot of Kurds have businesses, they're happy. I have a lot of Kurdish friends. We live peacefully with them," Dayanc said.