April/May 1992, Page 19

Talking Turkey

Violence Between Kurds and Security Forces Escalates in Turkey

By Sami Kohen

Recent riots and bloodshed in southeastern Turkey marked the beginning of a showdown between Kurdish rebels and Turkish security forces that is likely to escalate in the coming weeks. Both the Turkish government and the separatists of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) seem prepared for the worst.

"It's war," said newly elected Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel. "This is an aggression against the state. There is no other word for it."

PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who lives in Syria and operates from a base in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, is just as confrontational. "Our plan for this year is a popular rebellion that will spread throughout Turkey," he said. "Maybe 100,000 people will be killed. But our struggle will continue."

Ocalan launched the uprising on March 21, the first day of spring and "Nawroz," the Kurdish New Year. On that day, well-equipped PKK guerrillas attacked public buildings and security force headquarters in several towns, including Cizre and Sirnak, in Turkey's southeastern provinces, where more than half of the country's 12 million Kurds live. PKK instructions, issued over several days, called on the Kurdish population to demonstrate for the Kurdish separatist cause and make Nawroz celebrations the beginning of a Kurdish "intifada."

Thousands of Kurds, mostly young people, marched in several towns and villages in southeastern Turkey with Kurdish flags and banners supporting the PKK while shouting anti-Turkish slogans. When the security forces tried to control and disperse the crowds, PKK guerrillas launched their attacks, supported also by local armed Kurds. For two days, they held positions in and around Sirnak and Cizre, until Turkish troop reinforcements arrived and restored order and authority. Many civilians were killed in clashes that resembled civil war.

"From now on, every day will be a Nawroz," Ocalan proclaimed. "We have 10,000 fighters, half of whom are in Turkey. We'll raise hell. There will be a lot of bloodshed."

The government's reaction is to meet force with force. Demirel and his coalition partner, Erdal Inonu, leader of the Social Democratic Party, made it clear that the government will not yield to "terrorist" threats and violence. They ordered all necessary measures to defeat the terrorists and prevent the spread of the uprising.

Ironically, the PKK's "declaration of war" against Turkey came after Demirel's new coalition government had recognized Kurdish identity and seemed to be seeking a peaceful solution to the problems in eastern Turkey. Under his leadership, Turkey had moved considerably from the mentality-which prevailed until last year-of ignoring completely the existence of the ethnic Kurds. Demirel has followed a much more liberal policy, granting linguistic and cultural rights and ending repression of the Kurdish population.

The PKK's campaign of violence, however, derives more from Ocalan's long-term plans and strategy than from the presence of the Demirel administration, which inherited the Kurdish issue alongn with many other serious political and economic problems.

"Turkey cannot continue to be a unitary state," the 45-year-old PKK leader has declared. "There should be a referendum that will allow the Kurds to express their will and whether they want to be independent. . . We shall soon take action to form our own Parliament and determine the future of the Kurdish region."

Although according to the Marxist-Leninist Ocalan, that region compromises most of the southeastern and eastern provinces of Turkey, no Turk is prepared to accept a secession of any part of the country. On this, there is a consensus among political parties.

The Demirel government, like previous administrations, refuses any contact or dialogue with the PKK or Ocalan. The government regards the PKK as a terrorist organization, and both officials and opposition politicians agree that "you don't negotiate with bandits."

In using troops to put down the uprising, however, the government did not declare martial law, although some of the affected provinces are under military control. Violence is likely to continue both in eastern Turkey and in other parts of the country, including big cities like Istanbul.

The possibility of fresh attacks by the PKK could force the Demirel government to take even harsher action against the terrorists and their supporters. This might motivate the army to take a more active part in policy making, just when Demirel was winning praise for keeping the military out of politics.

Another result is a resurgence of Turkish nationalism as a backlash to the growing Kurdish separatism. Most of Turkey's 57 million people still believe in the integration of the Turks and the Kurds, but extremist views are spreading. In some towns, restaurants and coffee shops have refused to serve Kurds, reversing the long-standing trend toward closer relations.

There also are negative effects on Turkey's foreign relations. Germany, for example, has reacted strongly against what it saw as the use of force against the civilian Kurds, and suspended the supply of German arms to Turkey. Turkey's measures against what it calls PKK terrorism are labeled human rights violations in some Western circles.

Thus, for Turkey, the PKK "uprising" has become a major international relations problem as well as one of internal security.

An International and Internal Problem

The PKK is using three of Turkey's neighbors, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, for its activities. Ocalan has Syria's protection in his Damascus residence, and PKK camps are in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Warning that Turkey is losing patience with Syria, Demirel threatened retaliation. He did not exclude the possibility of air strikes directly against PKK camps in the Bekaa.

Taking advantage of the present political vacuum in northern Iraq, rebellious Turkish Kurds are using it for hideouts. This is Turkey's motivation for cross-border air and land operations in northern Iraq.

To prevent infiltration of the PKK insurgents, Turkey also is establishing an electronically monitored buffer zone along its border with Iraq. "It is no use to kill mosquitos one by one," Demirel said. "The source should be eradicated. And in this case the source is the Iraqi border."

The government is aware that the problem cannot be resolved by military and security measures alone. Living conditions in Kurdish areas-Turkey's "Wild East"-must be improved. Recognizing that Kurdish citizens want to enjoy more autonomy and more ethnic identity, Turks have come a long way from a year ago, when the use of the word Kurd or Kurdish was taboo.

The government is considering political, economic and social reforms to remove the discontent that it believes turned into pro-PKK sympathy among the Kurdish population. Since such reforms take time to produce results, however, for the immediate future the military option seems inevitable.

Sami Kohen is an editor of Milliyet newspaper in Istanbul.

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