Kurdish identity is denied in Turkish constitution

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Kurdish identity is denied in Turkish constitution

7/3/2006   KurdishMedia.com - By Dr Rebwar Fatah

<image> Levant 1100 A.D., showing the Indo-European language areas before
arriving Turkic tribes

The first article of this series about Turkish constitution "Dont judge
Turkish constitution by its European cover", looked at the impact of the
Turkish constitution on the Kurdish people and their homeland, Kurdistan.
This article, however, looks at the deliberate denial of the Kurdish
identity by the Turkish constitution. It could be said that fundamentally
Turkey is an unstable country.  Formally the homeland of Kurds, Armenians,
Greeks and Assyrians, Turkey has been successful in establishing itself
through various forms of genocide to coerce ethnic groups in favour of
Turks. In this article, I shall deal with what might be considered as
Kurdish identity in the Turkish constitution.

A third of Turkey's population have Kurdish blood. These Kurds speak
Kurdish and occupy vast areas of Kurdistan what has always been their
homeland but cannot be found in the Turkish Constitution. The fear and
hatred of the Kurds which appears in the Turkish constitution makes it one
of the most racist official documents found anywhere in Europe. In fact,
it doesnt even reach the standard of Saddam Husseins constitution, which
clearly identified Kurds and the Kurdish language. In spite of this,
Saddam is under trial for crimes against humanity. Where does this
position the Turkish state?

Turkish fear is understandable. What is today termed Turkey covers huge
areas of Kurdistan, and Turks know very well that sooner or later this
will be challenged. No one can put the fear of Turks better than their
father, Ataturk, who realised what a Kurdish state meant. Ataturk stated:
If one wanted to draw a border separating the Kurds, one would have to
devastate Turkey. There would have to be a border that went as far as,
say, Erzurum, Erzincan, Sivas or Harput. Indeed, one must not forget the
Kurdish tribes in the deserts of Konya. At the beginning, Mustafa Kemal
was careful not to mention the Turkish state. Instead, he stressed either
the fraternity between the Kurds and Turks, or the Ottoman nation in
conflict with foreign occupational forces.  When Mustafa Kemal first began
to form the Turkish-nation state, it was not clear what constituted a
Turk. Indeed, in appealing for Islamic unity against the 'Christian
invaders', Ismet (Inonu) - Ataturks famous lieutenant and eventual
successor- initially spoke of the new state as being a homeland for Kurds
and Turks.

As Turkey's commercial and NATO partner, the USA is in full support of
Turkey and does not care for Kurdish or other ethnic groups rights. The
American leadership demonstrates trivial knowledge of Kurds, despite
partnering with or using Kurds in the past, such as during the last Gulf
War, or even working with them up to now in the Iraqi government. In his
recent visit to America, the president of Kurdistan dressed up, as is his
usual habit, in Kurdish costume. When President Bush welcomed him in the
White House, he showed his support for the Kurdish dress and stated that
the President of Kurdistan could not wear Kurdish costume during Saddams
era. The President did not know that Saddam frequently dressed in Kurdish
costume. Saddam, unlike Turkey, never denied the existence of Kurds,
Kurdish language or Kurdish homeland, Kurdistan. However, the EU accepts
the Turkish constitution and regard Turkey as a democratic state. Sadly,
when attempt to show Turkey the way, the EU does not pull Turkey's head
out of the sand to show it the light. Rather, the EU puts its head in the
sand and attempts to lead Turkey in the dark. The blind cannot lead the
blind. Turkey is blind by hatred and fear of Kurds.  What is the EUs fear?

Anything that is Kurdish in Turkey is separatist and what is separatist by
Turkish definition is terrorist. Being Kurdish means one is separatist
under Article 216 of the new Turkish Penal Code. Let us accept the
official Turkish policy on Kurds: Kurds are terrorists.  But nothing stops
Turkey in constituting a civilised constitution. But the constitution, I
suggest, is a recipe for preparing terrorism. The Turkish constitution
does not mention the Kurdish language at all.  Article 3 states:

The Turkish state, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible
entity. Its language is Turkish.

Article 42 elaborates this further:

No other language than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to
Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. Foreign
languages to be taught in institutions of training and education and the
rules to be followed by schools conducting training and education in a
foreign language shall be determined by law. The provisions of
international treaties are reserved.

By contrast, Saddam Husseins constitution (of 1990) stipulates the Kurdish
language. Article 7 [Languages] of the Iraqi constitution states:

(a) Arabic is the official language.  (b) The Kurdish language is
official, besides Arabic, in the Kurdish Region.

Article 42 of Turkish constitution ensures that Kurdish is not taught as
the mother tongue. Kurds are brought up only with the Turkish language,
ensuring linguistic genocide. Article 42 states:

No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to
Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. There are a
number of Articles in the Turkish Penal Code that undermines the Kurdish
language. For example, the use of any language but Turkish for political
speeches remains prohibited under Law No. 2820 on Political Parties. As a
result, speaking in Kurdish even a single word at an official party
functions or press conferences is illegal. The persistent denial of the
existence of Kurds, Kurdish language and Kurdish homeland Kurdistan has
been done in a very clever, subtle way, without mentioning any of these
words. Throughout the constitution, and also the penal code, the existence
of Kurds are denied. This can be seen in Article 66 (as amended on October
17, 2001):

Everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship is a
Turk. The child of a Turkish father or a Turkish mother is a Turk. This
can be defined as identity genocide: wiping Kurds from the surface of
earth. It is disturbing. No individual can be born from Kurdish parents,
even when they are born from Kurdish parents. They immediately become
Turkish by the magic of this article. This is a clear denial of the
existence of Kurds. Please note this article has been amended to meet EU
criteria, or more correctly, to fool nave EU politicians. By contrast,
Saddam Husseins constitution in Article 5 [Nationalities or ethnicities]
clearly states that Iraqi people constitutes of two ethnic (nationality ie
al-Qawmiya) Kurds and Arabs. It reads:

(b) The Iraqi People are composed of two principal ethnicities: the Arab
ethnicity and the Kurdish ethnicity.

Most importantly:

(c) This Constitution acknowledges the national rights of the Kurdish
People and the legitimate rights of all minorities within the Iraqi unity.

It must be noted that the Iraqi constitution does not regard Kurds as a
minority. Saddam recognised Kurds as the partners of Arabs in Iraq. If
Turkey wants to join the civilised nation of states, it needs to regard
Kurds equal to Turks in Turkey. It needs to change the name of the state,
establish a Kurdistan region, parliament and government in order to
develop the north of Kurdistan. The EU, also, need to promote and accept
the Kurdistan parliament as part of the EU and allow Kurdistan bloc to
join the EU parliament.

My thanks to Chris Lacey.

http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12758