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It has been suggested that this article be merged into Human rights in Turkey. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2006.

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Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey is the analysis of the human rights of Kurds in Turkey.

History

The Background

Forced migration of Kurds in Turkey has a long history. Following the Young Turk revolution at the beginning of this century and the flowering of Turkish nationalism, the destruction or assimilation of minority populations (particularly Armenians and Kurds) has been a recurring pattern. The stage for later treatment of the Kurds may well have been set in 1915 when combined Turkish and Kurdish forces wiped out the Armenian presence in eastern Anatolia.

Individual rights

There have been no applications of capital punishment in Turkey since 1984 and the practice was formally abolished for offences during peacetime in 2002, and for offences during wartime in 2004.

In the 1930s, Turkey became one of the first countries in the world to give full political rights to women, including the right to elect (in 1930) and to be elected (in 1934), to every political office.

Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution bans any discrimination, state or private, on the grounds of sex. Turkey was one of the first countries to elect a female prime minister, Tansu Çiller in 1995. It is also the first country which had a woman as the President of its Constitutional Court, Tülay Tuğcu, who is still in office. In addition, Turkish Council of State, the court of last resort for administrative cases, also has a woman judge Sumru Çörtoğlu as its President. Since 1985, Turkish women have the right to freely exercise abortions in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and the right to contraceptive medicine paid for by the Social Security. This is in contrast with the policies of certain EU countries, such as Poland and Ireland, where abortions are illegal. Modifications to the Civil Code in 1926 gave the right to women to initiate and obtain a divorce, a right still not recognized in Malta, a EU country.

Nevertheless, in remote parts of the country, such as Southeastern Anatolia, patriarchal traditions of namus (family honor) prevail amongs the Kurdish and Turkish population, and women still face domestic violence, forced marriages, and so-called honor killings. State authorities engaged in stamping out such practices are often accused of racism and of trying to suppress Kurdish culture. To combat this, the government and various other foundations are engaged in education campaigns in Southeastern Anatolia to improve the rate of literacy and education levels of women.

In Turkey, the literacy rate is 95.3% for men and 79.6% for women, for an overall average of 87.4%. The Turkish state is actively trying to put an end to these feudal practices by a variety of educational and political campaigns, along with nation-wide television campaigns and the personal involvement of the prime minister. It has been estimated that thanks to these determined campaigns, hundreds of thousands of girls in all around Turkey are now going to school for the very first time.

Group rights

Educational and cultural rights

There have been certain calls by certain NGOs that Turkey should adopt the definitions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. If Turkey were to become a signatory to this treaty, it would have to accept and subsidise the education of minorities in their own first languages, and that for at least all the period of mandatory education. However, it must be noted that, even France, a founding member of the European Union, has refused to apply this treaty within its territory following a ruling by its own Constitutional Court that has affirmed that doing so would be contrary to the principle of the indivisibility of the Republic and the nation affirmed in the First Article of the French Constitution. In addition to France, many other EU countries, namely Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Portugal have also refused to ratify this treaty. To this day only 21 member states of the Council of Europe out of 49 have proceeded with ratification.

Claims of forced assimilation

According to Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, a Dutch linguist, for many years the Turkish government had denied the existence of a Kurdish identity. Skutnabb-Kangas argues that for decades "Kurds have experienced both linguistic and cultural persecution". In her book, she also talks about an interview of Aliser Cengaver (a Kurdish woman) by Shelley K. Taylor. Aliser Cengaver stressed that her own educational experience "attested to Turkey's denial of the Kurdish identity and persecution of the Kurds". Cengaver also argue that there was a strong assimilation policy in schools in southeastern Turkey and that "the goal of residential schooling is to make Kurdish children's mother tongue and home culture foreign to them".

Due to the large size of Turkish Kurds, sucessive governemnts have viewed the expression of a Kurdish identity as a potential threat to Turkish unity, a feeling that has been compounded since the armed rebellion initiated by the PKK in 1984. One of the main accusations of culutral assimilation comes from the state's historic suppresion of the Kurdish language. Kurdish publications created throughout the 1960's and 1970's were shut down under various legal pretexts . Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited from government institutions. Since 2002, as part of its reforms aimed at European Union integration and under pressure to further the rights of Kurds, Turkey passed laws allowing Kurdish radio and television broadcasts as well the option of private Kurdish education..

Progress of Reforms

The recent Turkey 2006 Progress Report issued by the European Commission contains certain comments concerning the cultural and educational rights of Kurdish people in Turkey. The report states that: "As regards cultural rights, permission was granted to two local TV channels in Diyarbakır and to one radio in Şanlıurfa to broadcast in Kurdish. However, time restrictions apply, with the exception of films and music programmes. All broadcasts, except songs, must be subtitled or translated in Turkish, which makes live broadcasts technically cumbersome. Educational programs teaching the Kurdish language are not allowed. The Turkish Public Television (TRT) has continued broadcasting five languages including Kurdish, however the duration and scope of TRT's national broadcasts in five languages is very limited. No private broadcaster at national level has applied for broadcasting in languages other than Turkish since the enactment of the 2004 legislation."

The only language of instruction in the education system is Turkish and people who desire to learn other languages can do so through private courses. As concerns the Kurdish language, all such courses were closed down in 2004 by the owners. It must be noted, however, that those courses were shut down because of a grave lack of attendance and interest, and thus making the observers wonder the true extent of the demand for a separate Kurdish ethnic identity, rather than a Turkish one. Many buildings were rented for such courses by activists "in anticipation of a flood of students that never came." Kurdish language activists counter that the desire to learn Kurdish is there, but it must be taught in public schools.

Therefore, there are no possibilities to learn Kurdish nowadays in the public or private schooling system. Furthermore, there are no measures taken to facilitate access to public services for those who do not speak Turkish. The Report underscores that, according to the Law on Political Parties, the use of languages other than Turkish is illegal in political life. The Commission concludes that "overall Turkey made little progress on ensuring cultural diversity and promoting respect for and protection of minorities in accordance with international standards". The Economist also asserts that "reforms have slowed, prosecutions of writers for insulting Turkishness have continued, renewed fighting has broken out with Kurds and a new mood of nationalism has taken hold", but it is also stressed that "in the past four years the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ... improved rights for Kurds".

Contemporary issues

Recent events in Diyarbakır

Violent disturbances took place in several cities in the Southeast in March and April of 2006. Over 550 people were detained as a result of these events, including over 200 children. The Diyarbakır Bar Association submitted more than 70 complaints of ill-treatment to the authorities. Subsequently, investigations were launched into 39 of these claims. During the events in Diyarbakır, forensic examinations of detaineed were carried out in places of detention. According to the Report of the Commission, "this contravenes the rules and the circulars issued by the Minisries of Justice and Health as well as the independence of the medical profession". The Commission also believes that "the new provisions introduced in June 2006 to amend the anti-terror law could undermine the fight against torture and ill-treatment". The Commission also stresses that "a return to normality in Southeast can only be achieved be opening dialogue with local counterparts". "A comprehensive strategy should be pursued to achieve the socio-economic development of the region and the establishment of conditions for the Kurdish population to enjoy full rights and freedoms. Issues that need to be addressed include the return of internally displaced persons, compensation for losses incurred by victims of terrorism, landmined as well as the issue of village giards".

Notes

1. David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3384667.stm Abolishment of the capital punishment in Turkey, 2002 for peacetime offences, 2004 for wartime offences
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1452467,00.html
4. ^ "Turkish girls in literacy battle". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2004-10-18. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
5. Turkish Statistical Institute (2004-10-18). "Population and Development Indicators - Population and education". Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
6. "Ratifications of European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the members of the Council of Europe".
7. ^ Skutnabb-Kangas, 323-324
8. http://countrystudies.us/turkey/28.htm
9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2168563.stm
10. ^ Turkey 2006 Progress Report, European Commission
11. Turkey's Kurdish-language schools fold, The Christian Science Monitor
12. The Economist, 10-11

References

Printed sources

• de Baets, Antoon (2001). "Turkey". Censorship of Historical Thought: a World Guide, 1945-2000. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31193-5.
• van Bruinessen, Martin (1997). "Genocide in Kurdistan?". Genocide:Conceptual and Historical Dimensions edited by George J. Andreopoulos. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-812-21616-4.
• Manas, Jean E. (1996). "Council of Europe and Ethno-National Strife". Preventing Conflict in the Post-Communist World: Mobilizing International and Regional Organizations by Abram Chayes. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-815-71385-1.
• Fernandes, Desmond (Winter 1998–1999). "The Kurdish Genocide in Turkey, 1924–1998". Armenian Forum. 1 (No.4): 57–107. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
• Filner, Bob (2004). "Congressional Record". The Kurdish Question in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary Sourcebook by Lokman I. Meho. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-31435-7.
• Gilbert, Martin (2004). "Genocide in Kurdistan?". America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 edited by Jay Murrey Winter. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82958-5.
• Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove (2000). "The Relation between Oppression and Education: The Case of the Kurdish Minority in Turkey". Linguistic Genocide in Education - or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights?. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-805-83467-2.
• "The Blackballers' Club". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited: 10–11. December 16-22 2006. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Winrow Gareth M., Kiriøski Kemal (1997). "International Dimension of the Kurdish Question". The Kurdish Question and Turkey: an Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-714-64746-2.
• "Üniversite ve Toplum". Alpaslan Işıklı - Noam Chomsky E-mail Discussions. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Online sources

• Encyclopædia Britannica. "Persecution of the Kurds in Turkey". Retrieved 2007-03-31.
• European Commission. "Turkey 2006 Progress Report" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• European Court of Human Rights. "Case Of Arslan v. Turkey". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• European Court of Human Rights. "Case Of Okçuoğlu v. Turkey". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• European Court of Human Rights. "Case Of Polat v. Turkey". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• Fernandes, Desmond. "Kurdish and Armenian Genocides". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• Human Rights Watch. "Backgrounder on Repression of the Kurds in Turkey". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• Human Rights Watch. "Ethnically Kurdish Villages and Hamlets Forcibly Depopulated by Turkish Security Forces in Southeastern Turkey (press release)". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
• International PEN. "Newsletter of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN" (PDF). Retrieved August 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Opened with a flourish, Turkey's Kurdish-language schools fold". The Christian Science Monitor. 2005-5-12. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• O'Toole, Pamauthorlink (2003-03-26). "Turkey's fears of Kurdish resurgence". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
• "PKK 'behind' Turkey resort bomb". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-07-17. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
• Rojhilat, Parast. "Ismail Besikci". Retrieved 2006-12-29.

• Articles to be merged from December 2006
• Human rights by country
• Turkish society
• Kurdish people