TURKEY: PEACE HOPES VOICED AT SPRING FESTIVAL
Nichole Sobecki
ilsociety/articles/eav032410.shtml
3/24/10
A helicopter circled over a field on the outskirts of the southeastern
Turkish city of Diyarbakir as tens of thousands of Kurds gathered for
a mass meeting to celebrate the spring festival Norouz. The center
stage featured protests and dancing, while families on the outskirts
of the gathering picnicked and caught up with friends who had traveled
far to celebrate the holiday.
Norouz, the Kurdish New Year, has long been associated with friction,
political demonstrations and even violent rallies in support of the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist movement that
is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European
Union and Turkish government.
While the festivities this year were monitored by a massive police
presence across the mainly Kurdish southeast, the celebrations passed
without any reports of significant violence. Norouz is also celebrated
throughout Central Asia and Iran.
"I hope these Norouz celebrations become a reason for peace," said
Seydi Ahmedoglu, dressed in the Kurdish colors of green, yellow and
red. "More freedom is a must for the unity of Turkey."
The Kurdish population makes up about 20 percent of Turkey’s total
population of 74 million and Kurds have been pressing for more rights
since the foundation of the Turkish state. Those efforts have often
turned violent. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
For many years, Norouz was treated with official disregard in
Turkey, mainly because the holiday was seen by Turkish leaders as
having an underlying political meaning for the country’s restive
Kurdish minority. But with the peaceful culmination of this year’s
celebrations, many in Turkey are breathing a sigh of relief.
Last August, the government embarked on a much-heralded dialogue
with the Kurds. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expanded
Kurdish cultural rights and boldly agreed to meet with members of
the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive].
The closure of the DTP by Turkey’s highest court this past December,
however, effectively slammed the door shut on this much-heralded
"acilim," or opening. Ever since, tensions have been on the rise,
as Kurds have agitated for concessions, and security conditions have
deteriorated in Kurdish-majority areas in neighboring Iran and Iraq.
While the Norouz celebrations featured children dressed up as mini-PKK
fighters, and signs of support for jailed PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan
could be seen, some of the speeches made told a different story for
the future of Kurdish-Turkish relations.
"It is now time for us to extend an olive branch to each other," said
Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, a prominent member of the pro-Kurdish
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). "It is now time not for a bullet,
but for an olive branch to bridge guerilla and soldier."
Editor’s Note: Nichole Sobecki is a freelance journalist based in
Istanbul who covers Turkish affairs for EurasiaNet.