KEVIN COSTNER’S ADVERTISEMENT AND TURKEY’S INVOLVEMENT IN GENOCIDE
By Dr Hoshiar Molod (Saudi Arabia)

Kurdish Aspect
ml
Kurdishaspect.com
June 1 2009

"In the morning, in the evening, whenever you need me I got time
…… I don’t mind, I am Pisces, you are a Cancer, better believe
that is a sign…" These are the lyrics of the new Turkish airline
advertisement featuring the American movie star Kevin Costner.

Kevin Costner, in the morning or in the evening, whenever you have
time, you should read about the Turkish involvement in the Armenian
genocide, and about the suffering of the Kurds. Just feel like a star
and read about the everyday slaughtering of the Kurds by the brutal
Turkish government. You are a star and don’t need an advertisement
to tell you that. But don’t undermine our intelligence, and insult
both history and the present, by advertising Turkish products.

In the morning or in the evening, whenever you have time, check
out the news about the bombardment being carried out by the Turkish
fighting machine in Kurdistan. You will realize that the Kurds are
people like any other, who deserve to live a dignified life.

You may be Pisces, but the Turkish government is worse than a
cancer that is eating the Kurdish lives. Many superstars like you
are concerned about human rights, the rights of minorities and the
sufferings of people. Superstars support human rights not only in
their own country, but all over the world. It is a given that movie
stars are like any other person, wanting freedom, safety and security
all over the world. You do realize that in this life you are either
Bud or you’re a participant [1]. Who are you in this democracy?

It is obvious that Kevin Costner, like any other American, has a view
on the Iraq war. But if you look more closely in to the Middle East,
you will see that Turkey is not much different from Iran in the way
that it treats the minorities. Barack Obama marked "the Armenian
tragedy" in his speech in April [2]. And the Turkish government
didn’t even like Obama’s sugarcoated phrase, the Armenian tragedy —
even though the European parliament has recognized it as genocide.

The Armenian genocide was a crime against humanity and the world
is no longer ignoring that illegal and immoral act by the Turkish
government. It is frustrating that in the beginning of the American
election, Barack Obama’s opinion on the issue of the Turkish government
recognizing the Armenian genocide was clear [3]. The fact of the matter
is that Turkey has never recognized the Armenian genocide it committed
and it is not very far from committing another massacre in Kurdistan.

My plea to Mr. Costner is to boycott Turkish products and to demand
that the American government recognize the Armenian genocide and the
suffering of the Kurdish nation. The positive effect of the boycott
will be to start to move Turkish public opinion towards putting
pressure on their government to treat their minorities according to
human rights law.

Turkey is the country that does not allow over 25 million Kurds
in Turkey to speak their native language, Kurdish. The Turkish
parliament member, Layla Zana, of Kurdish origin, was sentenced to
prison for speaking in Kurdish in parliament. Is this the country
that Mr. Costner wants to be associated with?

What I don’t understand is the way that an actor would ignore all the
problems that Turkey is causing in the region. Can you imagine someone
ignoring the holocaust and acting in an advertisement insulting the
Jewish nation? I don’t think that is imaginable, especially in the USA.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurds are not only rejected by Turkey as a
nation, but are also suffering missiles and bullets. Let it rain,
let it snow and let Turkey stop the bombardment of the villagers in
the Qandil Mountain in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Every intellectual Kurd in the world was under a misconception that
the USA was on the Kurds’ side and they would not let the Kurds
down. The Kurd intellectuals were correct for a while; however things
have changed. The situation changed when the USA took Turkey’s side
over Kurdistan when kept silent over the Turkish daily bombardments;
even though Kurdistan has been America’s only ally inside Iraq in
this last war.

Kurds feel like that they have been let down not only by the American
government, but also by a part of the American nation, represented
by Kevin Costner, even though record shows that the Kurds are one of
the only true allies of the USA in Iraq. It is also worth mentioning
that not a single American life has been lost in the Kurdistan region
despite the troubles facing them in the rest of Iraq.

It is clear that the Kurds have been laboring under a serious
misapprehension!

______________

1. Huffington Post, Adam Rose, 31st July 2008, interview about
the movie

"Swing Vote" played by Kevin Costner.

2. The Miami Herald, 24/04/2009, "Obama marks Armenian tragedy
but doesn’t

say genocide".

3. , Thursday, 17th January 2008,
Hillary wins

White House (In dreams of Turkish officials).

Author Biography:

Dr Hoshiar Molod is Kurdish freelance writer and university lecturer
in Saudi Arabia, with hands on experience on the Middle East issues.