Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ.RIVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA.BASIN ÖZET;
er military coup, we want an end to democracy
in Thrkey. Then we will win:' It
is difficult to see how Kurds, as members
of a minority, could possibly benefit from
a breakdown of law and order in Turkey.
Already some Kurds have been fired
or refused jobs by Turkish employers.
Tensions between the two communities
are rising. Foreseeing an intensification
of the fighting in the southeast this winter,
Turkish journalist Ismet Imset asks,
"\\That is going to be the reaction of the
At the same time, most experts and
diplomatic observers agree that there
cannot be a purely military solution.
While Ankara's latest policy calls for
stepped-up military pressure against the
P.K.K., it also envisages generous economic
aid to the depressed southeastern
region and calls for cultural rights for
Kurds, with the aim of winning "hearts
and minds:'
As Ciller explains, "The most important
problem is to separate the terrorist
there are grounds for prudent optimism.
Evidence is mounting that the Kurds are
becoming increasingly war-weary, disinclined
to support, much less sacrifice
for, the P.K.K. Last week 12 Kurdish tribal
leaders representing a million of their
compatriots met in Ankara with Ciller
and asked for heavier weapons with
which to defend their villages against
the P.K.K.
Then there are Kurds like Isiklar,
whose courage and common sense give
A KURDISH REFUGEE CAMP ON THE TURKEY.IRAQ BORDER: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Greece and Annenia have been accused of helpingthe rebels
West if all this finally leads to a straight
Kurd-Thrk fight all over the country?"
\\!hile that prospect is unimaginable to
most Turks, the situation is precarious.
Summing up a widespread view, Birand
says he does not believe in a quick solution.
"We have a long and bloody struggle ahead
of us;' he says, "more dead and wounded,
just to see which side will blink first. Don't
forget, the Thrkish army has its reputation
to think of, above all. Ifit doesn't succeed in
crushing the P.K.K., the failure will make it
look bad:' According to Kurdish intellectuals
and parliamentarians, it is the military,
rather than government or parliament, that
is making policy toward the Kurdish insurgency
these days.
from the civilian. That is the start:' In any
case, as former Kurdish parliamentary
Deputy Fehmi Isiklar asks, "\\Thorn can
the government talk to;' without a party
in parliament that represents the Kurds?
Says a leading Thrkish businessman:
"There is no way this government, as any
previous government, can make concessions
to the Kurds until the fighting stops.
Any government that does so faces defeat
at the polls." Like her predecessors,
Ciller initially hinted at granting cultural
autonomy to the Kurds, but with elections
coming up in March and conservative
President Suleyman Demirelleaning
on her to desist, Ciller has backed off.
Although the winter will be grim,
reason for hope. He sees progress. "Already
the Turks admit that Kurds now exist;'
he says, "that we actually are a separate
race of people. I want Turkish public opinion
to bring the bloodshed to an end. I believe
in the Thrkish state. There is some
good in it and some bad. But we are trying
to democratize it:'
The problem, of course, is not with
Isiklar and Kurds like him, but with
Ocalan and his followers. As long as
they determine the course of the struggle
and as long as Ankara feels it cannot
offer concessions, peace will be a long
way off. -Reporfed by Mehmef All
Kis/ali/Ankara, Naomi Morris/Berlin and James
Wilde/Siirf
TIME, DECEMBER6. 1993
27
45