By Kani Xulam January 28, 1996 Just a few weeks ago, “The European”, a weekly newspaper published in London, England, had a picture with a warning on its front page. It showed a Turkish soldier holding the decapitated heads of two Kurds. The caption read: “Pictures that will shock the world.” A closer look at… Continue reading
Commentary
For a Kurd, Turkish Democracy Means Terrorism – Interview with an ARGK Commander, Cemil Bayik
By Sheri Laizer Cemil Bayik was born in Elazig, north Kurdistan in 1955, the eldest of four children. A brilliant student, he was sent on a state scholarship to study at Teacher Training College in Malatya and then continued on to university in Ankara. It was there that he became acquainted with a Turkish classmate,… Continue reading
Turkey’s Kurdish Policy in the Nineties
By Eric Avebury Parliamentary Human Rights Group Chairman This paper was presented at the Middle East Studies Association in Washington, DC December 1995 When the Ottoman Empire finally disintegrated, following the allied victory in the war of 1914-18, and the birth of Armenian and Kurdish states appeared at first to be inevitable, Ataturk’s response was… Continue reading
The PKK: Freedom Fighters or Terrorists?
By Ismet G. Imset Thursday, December 7, 1995 The Crisis A burning war: When in 1984 Turkey found itself faced with a series of armed attacks on military installations in the dominantly Kurdish-populated rural Southeast region, it immediately resolved on a traditional policy, to deal with these so- called “handful of bandits” in style, with… Continue reading
Campaign Of Lies
By Yasar Kemal “Increase your cruelty and thereby hasten your decline.” – Anatolian proverb Perhaps for the first time in history, a century has acquired a name before it has even begun: the 21st century will be called the “century of human rights”. In our century, we have made no progress in this… Continue reading
Dr. Haluk Gerger Interview with CBC
By Joan Melancon July 30, 1995 [Editor’s note: This interview was broadcast on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), on July 30, 1995. Joan Melancon, a radio journalist, spoke with Mr. Gerger in his jail. Mr. Gerger since then has been released. He continues to write about the folly of Turkish war against the Kurds and urges… Continue reading
The Dark Cloud Over Turkey
By Yasar Kemal From: Index on censorship No: 1-1995 One of the greatest tragedies in Turkey’s history is happening now. Apart from a couple of hesitant voices, no one is standing up and demanding to know what the Turkish goverment is doing, what this destruction means. No one is saying: “After all your signatures and… Continue reading
The Follies of the Kurds
By Kani Xulam June 17, 1995 I looked forward to reading Jonathan C. Randal’s newest book, After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? My Encounters with Kurdistan. I was curious to know how a Washington Post reporter would view my homeland. Would his projections as an outsider collide with mine or would they be similar to what… Continue reading