Kurds in Turkey

The Kurds in Turkey (Kurdish: Kurdên li Tirkiye, Turkish: Türkiye'de Kürtler) who are an Indo-European people and their name first mentioned around 3000 BC by Sumerians [8] are remnants of ancient Iranians who resided in Anatolia before the expansion of the Median Empire, 600 BC or even earlier that date to the Hurrian period. About half of all Kurds live in Turkey, where they comprise an estimated 15,-20%. of its total population. Today, most Kurds in Turkey live in big cities (like Istanbul, İzmir, Mersin and Adana) or in the Southeastern Turkey (which is sometimes also referred to as the Turkish Kurdistan). There are also Kurdish people living in the Tunceli Province and in the Central Anatolia Region, concentrated to the west of Lake Tuz (Haymana, Cihanbeyli, Kulu, Yunak) and also scattered in districts like Alaca, Çiçekdağı, Yerköy, Emirdağ, Çankırı and Zile. According to a March 2007 survey, Kurds and Zazas together comprise an estimated 13.4% of the adult population, and 15.68% of the whole population.

Due to the size of the Kurdish population and the existence of separatist movements, the Kurdish political movements are perceived as a threat to the country's national unity. The government has been suppressing Kurdish language in order to assimilate Kurds, however government efforts at linguistic assimilation over several decades have largely failed and majority of Kurds have retained their native language . Until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language in public — although widespread — was illegal. Turkey's treatment of its citizens of Kurdish origin has been a frequent subject of international criticism .

Language

The Kurdish language belongs to the western sub-group of the Iranian languages which belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.

Many Kurds in Turkey speak only Turkish, but about 5 million people speak a Kurdish language (7-8% of the total population). There are 3,950,000 people speaking Northern Kurdish (1980 estimate), 1 million people speaking Dimli (1999 estimate) and 140,000 people speaking Kirmanjki. Speakers of Kirmanjki and Dimli are also known as Zaza; not all authorities would classify these as Kurdish. The two Zaza languages have a 70% lexical similarity to each other, about the same as is found between Spanish and Romanian.

History

See also: History of the Kurdish people

Kurdish people have lived in Anatolia since millennia ago. Some earlier Kurdish nations are Medes, Mitanni, and Ayyubids. After the establishment of Turkish republic, after the abolishment of caliphacy and sultanate in Turkey, there had been some Kurdish rebellions in 1920s and 1930s.

Kurdish Rebellions in Turkey

The Koçkiri Rebellion, 1920

Main article: Koçkiri Rebellion

The Koçkiri rebellion occurred in 1920, in the overwhelmingly Shi'ite militant Kizilbash Dersim region, while waged by the Kizilbash Koçkiri tribe, was masterminded by members of an organisation known as the Kürdistan Taâlî Cemiyeti (KTC). This particular rebellion failed for several reasons, most of which have something to do with its Kizilbash character. To most Kurmancî Kurds at the time, the uprising appeared to be merely an Alevi uprising - and thus not in their own interests.

In the aftermath of the Koçkiri rebellion there was talk in the new Grand National Assembly of Turkey of some very limited forms of Autonomous Administration by the Kurds in a Kurdish region centred on Kurdistan. However, all this disappeared in the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923.

The Sheikh Said Piran's Rebellion, 1925

Main article: Sheikh Said Rebellion

Sheikh Said Rebellion is Sheikh Said Piran and a group of Hamidieh soldiers (Azadî group) beginning in 1924 and escalating until 1927.

This rebellion diminished the negotiating power of Turkey and the Ottoman province of Musul was assigned to British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The final conclusion of the rebellion from existent powers were the British have the control of Mosul and Turkey and Kurds were the chance of uniting Mosul Province, Ottoman Empire to Turkey.

Rebellion of Shaikh Abdurrahman

In the Fall 1927, Shaikh Abdurrahman (brother of Sheikh Said) began a series of attacks on Turkish garrisons in Palu and Malatya. Districts of Lice, Bingöl were captured by the rebels. They also occupied the heights south of Erzurum. Turkish military used air force against the rebels using five airplanes in Mardin. In October 1927, Kurdish rebels attacked and occupied Bayazid. However they were driven out after Turkish reinforcements arrived in the area.

The Agiri (Ağrı, Ararat) Rebellion, 1927-1930

Main article: Republic of Ararat

The Kurds declared independence in 1927 (Republic of Ararat). The commander of Kurdish forces in this rebellion was general İhsan Nuri Pasha. General Ihsan Nuri Pasha was from the famous Kurdish warrior tribe Celali. On June 11, 1930, armed hostilities were initiated by the Turkish military against the Ağrı insurgents.

During the rebellion, Turkish Air Force bombed several Kurdish tribes and villagers. By July 21st, bombardment had destroyed many Kurdish forts. During these operations, Turkish military mobilized 66,000 soldiers and 100 aircraft. The campaign against the Kurds was over by September 17th, 1930.

The Dersim Rebellion, 1937

Main article: Dersim Rebellion

Dersim Rebellion is the unsuccessful rebellion of Seyid Riza of Kizilbash elites who was chief of the Abbasuşağı tribe against Turkey led by Kemal Atatürk. Turkey managed to suppress the rebellion mobilizing 50,000 troops and effectively using the Turkish Air Force.

Culture

The Kurdish culture in Turkey is close to culture of Kurdish people in other regions and it has contributed greatly to the culture in Turkey.

Cuisine

Kurdish people in Turkey have contributed a lot to the cuisine in Turkey. Many foods in Turkey have southeastern origin, like lahmacun, Urfa kebab, Antep kebab.

Music

For most of the 20th century, songs in Kurdish Language were banned in Turkey. Some singers, like İbrahim Tatlıses and Ahmet Kaya, sang in Turkish, while others like Group Yorum violated the ban and were imprisoned or fled to various countries, especially Germany. A black market, however, has long existed in Turkey, and pirate radio stations and underground recordings have always been available.

Some of the foremost figures in Kurdish classical music of the past century from Anatolia include Mihemed 'Arif Cizrawî (1912 - 1986), who is considered the greatest Kurdish classical composer and vocalist, Hesen Cizrawî, Şeroyê Biro, 'Evdalê Zeynikê, Si'îd Axayê Cizîrî and the female singers Miryem Xanê and Eyşe Şan.

Şivan Perwer, possibly the most famous Kurdish musician of all time, came from the Kurds of Turkey. Şivan Perwer is a composer, vocalist and tembûr player. He concentrates mainly on political and nationalistic music - of which he is considered the founder in Kurdish music - as well as classical and folk music.

Another important Kurdish musician from Turkey is Nizamettin Arıç - also known as "Feqiyê Teyra". He began with singing in Turkish, but rejected becoming a star at the cost of debasing his language and culture. As a result of singing in Kurdish, he was imprisoned, and then obliged to flee to Syria and eventually to Germany. Arıç, also a film director and actor, is greatly talented in performing Kurdish classical music and folk songs with brilliant mastery, dynamism and taste. He also has a unique and elegant style in musical composition.

Literature

There is no existing evidence of Kurdish literature of pre-Islamic period. Some sources consider Ali Hariri(1425-1495) as the first well-known poet who wrote in Kurdish. He was from the Hakkari region [9].

Since 1970s, there has been a massive effort on the part of Kurds in Turkey to write and to create literary works in Kurdish. The amount of printed material during the last three decades has increased enormously. Many of these activities were centered in Europe particularly Sweden and Germany where many of the immigrant Kurds are living. There are a number of Kurdish publishers in Sweden, partly supported by the Swedish Government. More than two hundred Kurdish titles have appeared in the 1990s.

Some of the well known contemporary Kurdish writers from Turkey are Mehmed Uzun, Mehmed Emin Bozarslan, Mahmud Baksi, Hesenê Metê and Rojen Barnas.

Arts

Yılmaz Güney was a famous film director, scenarist, novelist and actor. He directed and starred in the film Umut (1970) (Turkish for Hope), and his most famous movie is 1982 film Yol (Turkish for "The Road" or "The Way") that won Palme d'Or in Cannes Film Festival in 1982.

Some other films by Kurdish people in Turkey are Big Man, Little Love by Handan İpekçi and Klamek ji bo Beko by Nizamettin Arıç.

Yılmaz Erdoğan is another famous film director, scenarist, poet and actor from Turkey of Kurdish ethnicity.

Dance

See also: Halay

Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey

Main article: Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey

Turkey's treatment of its citizens of Kurdish origin has been a frequent subject of international criticism.

Since 1984 Kurds have resisted the assimilation and Turkification policies of the Turkey's government. These resistance movements included both peaceful political activities for basic civil rights for Kurds within Turkey and also a violent armed rebellion for a separate Kurdistan state.

Due to the size of the Kurdish population and the existence of separatist movements, the Kurds are perceived as the only minority that could pose a threat to the country's national unity; the government's main strategy for assimilating the Kurds has been language suppression, yet a majority of Kurds have retained their native language.

Use of Kurdish language in public was banned in 1983, during Kenan Evren's presidency in Turkey. The ban was lifted in 1991 during the presidency of Turgut Özal who was of partial Kurdish descent. Turkish remains as the only official language of Turkey, and use of any other language as a first language is not allowed in schools.

On March 8th 2006, Supreme Board of Radio and Television of Turkey allowed two TV channels (Gün TV and Söz TV) and one radio channel (Medya FM) to broadcast in the Kurdish language. Radio and TV broadcasts, and education in Kurdish are now allowed under limited circumstances (as is the case in many other countries with large minorities such as Greece and France).

The Turkish Constitution bans the formation of political parties on an ethnical basis. Several Kurdish political parties were shut down by the Turkish Constitutional Court for links to the PKK, and some party members were imprisoned. PKK is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations, including the USA, NATO and the EU.

Kurdish internally displaced people (IDP) in Turkey

Between 1984 and 1999 the PKK and the Turkish military engaged in open war, and much of the countryside in the southeast was depopulated, with Kurdish civilians moving to local defensible centers such as Diyarbakır, Van, and Şırnak, as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe. The causes of the depopulation included PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans they could not control, the poverty of the southeast, and the Turkish state's military operations. Human Rights Watch has documented many instances where the Turkish military forcibly evacuated villages, destroying houses and equipment to prevent the return of the inhabitants. An estimated 3,000 Kurdish villages in Turkey were virtually wiped from the map, representing the displacement of more than 378,000 people.

Leyla Zana

Main article: Leyla Zana

In 1994 Leyla Zana—who, three years prior, had been the first Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish parliament—was sentenced to 15 years for "separatist speech". At her inauguration as an MP, she reportedly identified herself as a Kurd. Amnesty International reported "She took the oath of loyalty in Turkish, as required by law, then added in Kurdish, 'I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework.' Parliament erupted with shouts of 'Separatist', 'Terrorist', and 'Arrest her'".

Village guards

Main article: Village guards

Village guards militia was set up and armed by the Turkish state around 1984 to combat PKK insurgency. The militia is comprised of local Kurds and it has around 58,000 members. Some of the village guards are fiercely loyal to the Turkish state. The European Commission has described Village Guards as one of the major obstacles to the return of displaced Kurds to their villages. They are despised by many Kurds as traitors. Human rights organizations have also criticized the village guard system for its negative effects in creating an atmosphere of mistrust.

PKK

Main article: Kurdistan Workers Party

The Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), also known as KADEK and Kongra-Gel, is a militant organization, dedicated to creating an independent Kurdish state in a territory (sometimes referenced as Kurdistan) that consists of parts of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran. Its original ideology was based on revolutionary Marxism-Leninism and Kurdish nationalism ( it has since then dropped the Marxist-Leninist ideology ). It is an ethnic secessionist organization using force and threat of force against both civilian and military targets for the purpose of achieving its political goal. The organization was founded in 1973 by Abdullah Öcalan. United States, European Union, and NATO consider PKK and related groups to be terrorist organizations.

Famous Kurds from Anatolia

Main article: List of Kurdish people

• Jaladat Ali Badirkhan
• Malaye Jaziri
• Yılmaz Güney
• Ahmet Kaya
• Yaşar Kemal
• Ahmad Khani
• İbrahim Tatlıses
• Faqi Tayran
• Mehmed Uzun
• Leyla Zana

Further reading

• Ihsan Nuri Pasha, La Révolte de L'Agridagh, with a preface by Ismet Cheriff Vanly, Éditions Kurdes, Geneva, 1985. (translated into Turkish: Ağrı Dağı İsyanı, Med Publications, Istanbul, 1992.)
• Olson, R., The Kurdish Rebellions of Sheikh Said (1925), Mt. Ararat (1930), and Dersim (1937-8): Their Impact on the Development of the Turkish Air Force and on Kurdish and Turkish Nationalism, Die Welt des Islam, New Ser., Vol.40, Issue 1, March 2000, pp.67-94.
• Olson, R., The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp.229, 1989.

See also

• Kurds
• Kurdistan
• Roj TV

External links

• Ethnic Differentiation among the Kurds: Kurmancî, Kizilbash and Zaza, By Paul White, Centre for the Study of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Deakin University.
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Persecution of Kurds in Turkey
• The Invisible War in North Kurdistan, Kristiina Koivunen, PhD Thesis, University of Helsinki, ISBN 952-10-0644-7.

Leyla Zana related links:

• [10]
• [11]
• [12]
• [13]