Kurds in Turkey - Still fighting for freedom

January 2007

By Eva Kuras

The Toronto Sun reported in June 2004, "Tens of thousands of Kurds wept and danced" when four parliamentarians were freed from prison in Turkey that month. The most well known of the parliamentarians, Leyla Zana, was the first Kurdish woman to be elected to the Turkish Parliament. At her swearing-in ceremony, she wore a headband with Kurdish colors while saying in Kurdish, "I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework." That same week, limited use of the Kurdish language in state television broadcasts was permitted by the Turkish government.

In 2002 Turkey had formally lifted the 15-year state of emergency in the country's Southeast and lessened the power of the military, bringing it under greater civilian control. The military-dominated National Security Council had traditionally held great power in Turkey so its reform constituted "a quiet revolution," according to a Financial Times editorial. Likewise the abolishing of incommunicado detention, along with the implementation of the right to legal council from the first moment of detention, were the main reasons for a decline in torture in the post-civil war years (1984-1999). The reforms that have taken place are a result of strong pressure applied by the European Union (EU) regarding Turkey's bid to become a member. full text