Washington Kurdish Institute
March 23, 2023
On March 20, the United States Department of State (DOS) released its annual 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices. Turkey’s section shed light on the numerous violations of the Turkish government against various minority groups, the lion’s share of which targeted Kurds. A non-exhaustive list of the Turkish government’s atrocities against the Kurdish population includes military operations against civilians, restrictions on freedom of speech, jailing politicians, attacks on the press, and forced displacement of civilian populations.
The use of the Kurdish language
One of the main issues that has faced the Kurds in Turkey for a century has been the use of their mother tongue. Throughout its history, Turkey regularly banned education in the Kurdish language and the population faced racially motivated attacks for speaking Kurdish. Minimal openings to Kurdish language acceptance in the early years of Erdogan’s tenure did not last as he allied with the ultra right – typified by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) – becoming the most anti-Kurdish leader in Turkish history. The DOS report notes that the Kurdish language remains a taboo in a country that does not allow any other ethnicity or nationality other than Turkish. “Although the government officially allows the use of Kurdish in private education and in public discourse, it did not extend permission for Kurdish-language instruction to public education. The constitution prohibits any language other than Turkish to be taught ‘as a mother tongue.’” Moreover, due to the government’s harsh policies, publishers are rejecting Kurdish publications to avoid fines and closures. “Publishers often exercised self-censorship, avoiding works with controversial content (including government criticism, erotic content, or pro-Kurdish content) that might draw legal action. The Turkish Publishers Association reported that publishers faced publication bans and heavy fines if they failed to comply in cases in which a court ordered the correction of offensive content. Authorities also subjected publishers to book promotion restrictions. In some cases, prosecutors considered the possession of some Kurdish-language, pro-Kurdish, or Gulen movement books to be credible evidence of membership in a terror organization,” read the report.
The Kurdish language is spoken by nearly 20 million people across Turkey, mainly in the country’s southeastern Kurdish region.
Government’s war on Kurdish culture
The Newroz Holiday is the Kurdish new year, and the nation’s most significant holiday. Despite being celebrated by other nations, the importance of Newroz for Kurds is particularly profound, as it tells a story of good triumphing over evil. Newroz also historically coincided with several Kurdish revolutions against occupying forces. However, another tool the Turkish government has used for decades involves suppressing the holiday and arresting those who celebrate it. Regimes in Iran, Iraq, and Syria have followed the same path of persecution. The DOS report acknowledged the arrest of Kurds ahead of the holiday. The authors state, “Ahead of March 20-21 Newroz celebrations in the southeast, authorities detained 24 women’s rights activists in Diyarbakir. Among those detained were former elected mayors dismissed by the government and replaced with trustees.” The detainees were “involved in organizing March 8 International Women Worker’s Day rallies in the region.” In other words, the government’s crackdown aimed to hit two targets with one stone: Kurds and women under the pretext of political affiliation or membership with an armed group. To make the matter worse for minorities, the trustees and pro-Erdogan governors imposed all sorts of bans on public events and rallies in the Kurdish provinces.
“Throughout the year the governors of Van, Tunceli, Mus, Hakkari, and several other provinces banned public protests, demonstrations, gatherings of any kind, and the distribution of brochures. Bans on assembly and expression first introduced in 2016 with the initiation of the state of emergency were still effective in Hakkari, Van, Artvin and Eskisehir provinces, despite the state of emergency having ended in 2018.” noted the report. The bans on public events were solely to target Kurdish culture and were politically motivated. The report’s authors also criticize government officials’ censorship of Kurdish musicians and any criticism of their actions, continuing, “The government continued selectively to ban demonstrations outright if they were critical of the government or deemed politically sensitive.”
Kurdish journalists and media outlets
The report also highlights the harassment and detention of Kurdish journalists, including members of the press who reported on military operations against Kurdish civilians. One such example is the case of journalist Beritan Canözer, who was arrested and charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda” for her coverage of Turkish military operations in northern Syria. Another One example of violations against Kurdish journalists highlighted in the report, is the government’s prosecution of imprisoning “journalists, particularly those reporting on the conflict in the southeast, and restricted access to websites and social media platforms.” The report also notes that the government uses anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent and restrict free speech. For example, twenty two Kurdish journalists were arrested by the government in Diyarbakir (Amed), of whom sixteen were subsequently charged with “membership in an armed organization.”
Erdogan’s authoritarian government have legislated what’s so-called “anti-terror laws” to jail journalists
“The law provides for punishment of up to three years in prison for conviction of “hate speech” or injurious acts related to language, race, nationality, color, gender, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion, or sectarian differences. Human rights groups noted the law was used more to restrict freedom of expression than to protect members of minority groups,” according to the report.
Dozens of journalists, mainly Kurds or pro-HDP remain behind bars for fake charges made up by the government and its main oppression tool, the intelligence.
Erdogan doubles-down on his crackdown on the HDP
“Human rights groups alleged many detainees had no substantial link to terrorism and were detained to silence critical voices or weaken political opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), particularly the HDP or its partner party, the Democratic Regions Party.” The report highlights the Turkish government’s actions against the pro-Kurdish HDP, including the arrest and detention of 5,000 of its leaders, lawmakers, and members. In 2022, seven former HDP lawmakers and six elected mayors in the Kurdish region were jailed on various charges. “Since 2019, the Ministry of Interior suspended 48 of 65 elected HDP mayors in the southeast based on allegations of support for terrorism related to the PKK; six additional HDP mayors were not permitted to assume office following the 2019 elections on the grounds that they had been dismissed from their public jobs by governmental decrees, despite being cleared for candidacy in elections. Because the mayors were suspended but not removed, local residents did not have the opportunity to elect other representatives. The government appointed officials to govern these 48 municipalities in lieu of the removed elected mayors.” For example, the former HDP lawmaker Gulser Yildirim completed her unjust sentence of seven years and six months, but the authorities refused to release her, “despite completing her seven years and six months prison sentence in June.” The report continues, “Her appeal had yet to be heard before the Court of Cassation as of year’s end. After a four-month delay in her release, she was placed directly into house arrest in October for a home detention sentence related to separate charges under the Kobani case. The Court of Cassation responsible for the case did not provide a response to her four petitions to be released from prison.” Further highlighting the difficulties the party faces, they note, “HDP representatives faced significant legal challenges to their ability to campaign, express opinions, and retain their mandate. The party faced a closure suit brought by the government.”
At the same time, the closure case against the party remains active in the constitutional court. The case threatens to ban 108 senior Kurdish politicians from electoral activities and from holding office. These politicians and many other Kurds are faced with constant harassment by the government and its backed groups such as the Grey Wolves – a far-right racist group, listed as a terrorist group in many countries.
Alevi Kurds and religious minorities
The Turkish government’s actions against religious minorities are also included in the report. The Alevi community, a minority branch of Islam, faces discrimination in education and employment. Many Alevs are Kurds, which makes them a double minority, facing harsher persecution. The Alevi Kurds faced several attacks by nationalist Turks, including vandalization of their tombs and threats on their homes which the report does not mention. Moreover, Christians, including Arementians have been victims of the government’s policies and faced many hate crimes. “Furthermore, the report highlights the persecution of Christians in Turkey, including the confiscation of church property and restrictions on the construction of new churches.”
The seizure of properties
“A 2020 NGO report estimated that 302 billion lira ($32.2 billion) in businesses and business assets, including from media outlets, schools, universities, hospitals, banks, private companies, and other holdings, were confiscated since the 2016 coup attempt in breach of domestic regulations.” Noted the report. Many of the properties are owned by the Kurdish population in the southwest, occupied by the government after years of battles against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish population.
Deaths and torture in detention
The Turkish government maintains that it has a zero tolerance policy for torture, but, “according to Ministry of Justice statistics from September, the government opened 2,190 investigations into allegations of torture and mistreatment. Of those, 953 resulted in no action being taken by prosecutors, 866 resulted in criminal cases, and 317 in other decisions, with the remaining still under investigation.” No details into these investigations have been made public. Also hidden from the public are records of inmate deaths due to actions of prison staff and the physical condition of inmates who died in Turkish state custody. According to the Human Rights Association of Turkey, “as of December between 61 and 73 prisoners died in prisons since December 2021. The HDP report found 39 died due to illness and 34 due to suicide. HRA noted various causes including sickness, suicide, violence, and negligence.” And, “According to data from Civil Society in the Penal System, from January to August there were 42 suspicious deaths.”
The Turkish government’s violations against the Kurdish nation – and its language and culture – are well-documented. The human rights abuses detailed in the report highlight the need for continued international attention to and pressure on the Turkish government to respect the basic rights and freedoms of its citizens.