The continuing Kurdish problem in Turkey after Ocalan's capture

Third World Quarterly

Volumn 21, Issue 5, 2000, Pages 849-869

  Gunter, Michael M ^a  

^a TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRATIZATION; NATIONAL POLITICS;

TURKEY;

EID: 0033673141     PISSN: 01436597     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/713701074     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. For background, see Henri J Barkey & Graham E Fuller, Turkey's Kurdish Question, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998; Michael M Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey, New York: St Martin's Press, 1997; and Kemal Kirisci & Gareth M Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict, London: Frank Cass, 1997. See also Ismet G Imset, The PKK: A Report on Separatist Violence in Turkey (1973-1992), Istanbul: Turkish Daily News Publications, 1992; and Imset. 'The PKK: terrorists or freedom fighters?', International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 10 (1 & 2), 1996, pp 45-100.
2. For background, see Henri J Barkey & Graham E Fuller, Turkey's Kurdish Question, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998; Michael M Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey, New York: St Martin's Press, 1997; and Kemal Kirisci & Gareth M Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict, London: Frank Cass, 1997. See also Ismet G Imset, The PKK: A Report on Separatist Violence in Turkey (1973-1992), Istanbul: Turkish Daily News Publications, 1992; and Imset. 'The PKK: terrorists or freedom fighters?', International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 10 (1 & 2), 1996, pp 45-100.
3. For background, see Henri J Barkey & Graham E Fuller, Turkey's Kurdish Question, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998; Michael M Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey, New York: St Martin's Press, 1997; and Kemal Kirisci & Gareth M Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict, London: Frank Cass, 1997. See also Ismet G Imset, The PKK: A Report on Separatist Violence in Turkey (1973-1992), Istanbul: Turkish Daily News Publications, 1992; and Imset. 'The PKK: terrorists or freedom fighters?', International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 10 (1 & 2), 1996, pp 45-100.
4. For background, see Henri J Barkey & Graham E Fuller, Turkey's Kurdish Question, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998; Michael M Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey, New York: St Martin's Press, 1997; and Kemal Kirisci & Gareth M Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict, London: Frank Cass, 1997. See also Ismet G Imset, The PKK: A Report on Separatist Violence in Turkey (1973-1992), Istanbul: Turkish Daily News Publications, 1992; and Imset. 'The PKK: terrorists or freedom fighters?', International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 10 (1 & 2), 1996, pp 45-100.
5. For background, see Henri J Barkey & Graham E Fuller, Turkey's Kurdish Question, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998; Michael M Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey, New York: St Martin's Press, 1997; and Kemal Kirisci & Gareth M Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-state Ethnic Conflict, London: Frank Cass, 1997. See also Ismet G Imset, The PKK: A Report on Separatist Violence in Turkey (1973-1992), Istanbul: Turkish Daily News Publications, 1992; and Imset. 'The PKK: terrorists or freedom fighters?', International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 10 (1 & 2), 1996, pp 45-100.
6. For details, see the statement by Dylan Semsi Kilic - a close associate of Öcalan's and an eyewitness to his capture - broadcast over the PKK'S MED-TV and accessed over the Internet, 21 February 1999; Tim Weiner, 'US helped Turkey find and capture Kurd rebel', New York Times, 20 February 1999; Marcus Gee, 'The odyssey of a Kurdish hot potato', Globe and Mail (Toronto), 24 February, 1999; Helena Smith, Chris Morris & Ed Vulliamy, 'Global plot that lured Kurds' hero into trap', Observer (London), 21 February 1999; and Ismet Berkan, 'The story of Apo's capture', Radikal (Istanbul), 17 February 1999. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit declined to elaborate on any of the details, and merely cited a Turkish proverb: 'Let us eat the grape and not ask where it came from.'
7. For details, see the statement by Dylan Semsi Kilic - a close associate of Öcalan's and an eyewitness to his capture - broadcast over the PKK'S MED-TV and accessed over the Internet, 21 February 1999; Tim Weiner, 'US helped Turkey find and capture Kurd rebel', New York Times, 20 February 1999; Marcus Gee, 'The odyssey of a Kurdish hot potato', Globe and Mail (Toronto), 24 February, 1999; Helena Smith, Chris Morris & Ed Vulliamy, 'Global plot that lured Kurds' hero into trap', Observer (London), 21 February 1999; and Ismet Berkan, 'The story of Apo's capture', Radikal (Istanbul), 17 February 1999. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit declined to elaborate on any of the details, and merely cited a Turkish proverb: 'Let us eat the grape and not ask where it came from.'
8. For details, see the statement by Dylan Semsi Kilic - a close associate of Öcalan's and an eyewitness to his capture - broadcast over the PKK'S MED-TV and accessed over the Internet, 21 February 1999; Tim Weiner, 'US helped Turkey find and capture Kurd rebel', New York Times, 20 February 1999; Marcus Gee, 'The odyssey of a Kurdish hot potato', Globe and Mail (Toronto), 24 February, 1999; Helena Smith, Chris Morris & Ed Vulliamy, 'Global plot that lured Kurds' hero into trap', Observer (London), 21 February 1999; and Ismet Berkan, 'The story of Apo's capture', Radikal (Istanbul), 17 February 1999. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit declined to elaborate on any of the details, and merely cited a Turkish proverb: 'Let us eat the grape and not ask where it came from.'
9. For details, see the statement by Dylan Semsi Kilic - a close associate of Öcalan's and an eyewitness to his capture - broadcast over the PKK'S MED-TV and accessed over the Internet, 21 February 1999; Tim Weiner, 'US helped Turkey find and capture Kurd rebel', New York Times, 20 February 1999; Marcus Gee, 'The odyssey of a Kurdish hot potato', Globe and Mail (Toronto), 24 February, 1999; Helena Smith, Chris Morris & Ed Vulliamy, 'Global plot that lured Kurds' hero into trap', Observer (London), 21 February 1999; and Ismet Berkan, 'The story of Apo's capture', Radikal (Istanbul), 17 February 1999. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit declined to elaborate on any of the details, and merely cited a Turkish proverb: 'Let us eat the grape and not ask where it came from.'
10. 'Osman Öcalan's statement about the arrest', 18 February 1999, accessed over the Internet.
11. 'MED TV reports more on PKK statement on congress results', London MED TV Television in Turkish, 1900 GMT, 4 March 1999, as cited in Foreign Broadcast Information Service - Near East/South Asia (FBIS-WEU-1999-0304), hereafter cited as FBIS-WEU.
12. 'PKK members on mountains pitted against those in Europe', Hurriyet (Istanbul), 14 March 1999, as cited in FBIS-WEU.
13. 'Experts: execution possible in PKK member's disappearance', Ankara Anatolia in Turkish, 0826 GMT, 18 March, 1999, as cited in FBIS-WEU. Yet another report claimed that Cemil Bayik had been named the 'highest authority in the organization'. 'Öcalan removed, Bayik Tasked', Hurriyet, 3 March, 1999, p 14, as cited in FBIS-WEU.
14. 'Experts: execution possible in PKK member's disappearance', Ankara Anatolia in Turkish, 0826 GMT, 18 March, 1999, as cited in FBIS-WEU. Yet another report claimed that Cemil Bayik had been named the 'highest authority in the organization'. 'Öcalan removed, Bayik Tasked', Hurriyet, 3 March, 1999, p 14, as cited in FBIS-WEU.
15. 'Presidency council replaces Apo', Milliyet (Istanbul), 27 February 1999, as cited in FBIS-WEU.
16. FBIS-WEU. See note 6 for the full citation.
17. 'Turks vs Kurds: turning paint?', New York Times, 21 February, 1999, p 8.
18. 'Statement from PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan', released via his lawyers, 18 March 1999, accessed over the Internet.
19. 'Sezer: "thought crimes" have no place in a democracy', Briefing (Ankara), 3 May 1999, pp 10-12. For further comments on these problems in Turkey, see 'Human rights in the Republic of Turkey: testimony of the Honorable Harold Hongju Koh Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe', mimeo 18 March 1999.
20. 'Sezer: "thought crimes" have no place in a democracy', Briefing (Ankara), 3 May 1999, pp 10-12. For further comments on these problems in Turkey, see 'Human rights in the Republic of Turkey: testimony of the Honorable Harold Hongju Koh Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe', mimeo 18 March 1999.
21. 'They called it another earthquake', Briefing, 13 September 1999, pp 9-12.
22. Pelin Turgut, 'Kurd rebels see Turkish change of tack', Reuters, 7 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
23. Michael M Gunter, 'Interview: Abdullah Öcalan, head of the PKK', Middle East Quarterly, 5, 1988, pp 79-85. In this interview, Öcalan broached in embryonic form many of the ideas he more fully developed during his trial in June 1999 and analysed below.
24. Derk Kinnane, The Kurds and Kurdistan, London: Oxford University Press, 1964, pp 32-33; and Ismail Besikci, Kurdistan & Turkish Colonialism: Selected Writings, London: Kurdistan Solidarity Committee and Kurdistan Information Centre, 1991, p 34.
25. Derk Kinnane, The Kurds and Kurdistan, London: Oxford University Press, 1964, pp 32-33; and Ismail Besikci, Kurdistan & Turkish Colonialism: Selected Writings, London: Kurdistan Solidarity Committee and Kurdistan Information Centre, 1991, p 34.
26. 'For background, see Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London: Oxford University Press, 1968, and Stanford Shaw & Ezel Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol 11: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1805-1917, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
27. 'For background, see Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London: Oxford University Press, 1968, and Stanford Shaw & Ezel Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol 11: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1805-1917, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
28. This and the following citation were taken from Kamran Qurrah Daghi, 'Öcalan explains peace overtures'. Al-Hayah, 17 March 1993, pp 1, 4, as cited in FBIS-WEU, 22 March 1993, p 42.
29. This and the following citation were taken from Kamran Qurrah Daghi, 'Öcalan explains peace overtures'. Hayah, 17 March 1993, pp 1, 4, as cited in FBIS-WEU, 22 March 1993, p 42.
30. Michael M Gunter, 'Susurluk: the connection between Turkey's intelligence community and organized crime', International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, 11, 1998, pp 119-141.
31. Abdullah Öcalan, Declaration on the Democratic Solution of the Kurdish Question, trans from the Turkish original by the Kurdistan Information Centre, London: Mesopotamian Publishers, 1999, p 85. The following citations are also taken from this source. Their page references are listed in the text above.
32. Stephen Kinzer, 'Turkish premier hints at new approach if rebel Kurds end violence', New York Times. 22 February 1999, accessed over the Internet.
33. Kurdistan Information Centre (London), 'Press Statement issued by the PKK Presidential Council on 2 June 1999 on the Trial of Kurdish National Leader Abdullah Öcalan'.
34. PKK Executive [Presidential] Council, 'Statement to the Press and General Public, 29 June 1999', accessed over the Internet.
35. 'PKK Presidential Council Statement', 6 July 1999, accessed over the Internet.
36. 'Interview with PKK Commander Duran Kalkan', Kurdish Media, 19 July 1999, accessed over the Internet.
37. This and the following citations were taken from Mehmet Alt Birand, 'Turkish public opinion is softening toward the Kurds', International Herald Tribune. 8 July 1999.
38. 'Öcalan urges Kurd rebel peace as clashes rage', Reuters, 4 August 1999, accessed over the Internet. 1 September is observed as World Peace Day in many places around the world.
39. Elif Unal, 'Turk PM says "Time will tell" on Öcalan call'. Reuters, 4 August 1999, accessed over the Internet.
40. 'PKK: defeat and retreat or master stroke?', Briefing, 9 August 1999, p 11.
41. The following citations were taken from 'Opening Statement of Harold Hongju Koh', Press conference at US Embassy, Ankara, Turkey, 5 August 1999, accessed over the Internet.
42. 'PKK: defeat and retreat or master stroke?', p 12.
43. For background on the trials and tribulations of recent legal Kurdish parties in Turkey, see Nicole F Watts, 'Allies and enemies: pro-Kurdish parties in Turkish polities, 1990-94'. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 31, 1999, pp 631-656.
44. The following citations were taken from Ilnur Cevik, 'Military not mellowing on Kurdish rights', Turkish Daily News, 10 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
45. Turgut, 'Kurd rebels see Turkish chance of tack'.
46. This and the following citation were taken from 'Kurdish rebels hail Turkish general's words as goodwill gesture', Agence France-Presse 6 September 1999.
47. This and the following citation were taken from 'Top general's remarks misinterpreted, General Staff says', Agence France-Presse, 11 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
48. 'PKK rejects Turkish call for surrender, rules out further concessions', Agence Franee-Presse, 29 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
49. PKK Presidential Council, 'Press Release'. 26 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
50. 'Rights - Turkey: media is latest venue for talks on the Kurds', Inter-Press Service. 13 September 1999, accessed over the Internet.
51. 'Army launches cross border operation and rejects PKK peace call', Turkey Update. 1 October 1999, accessed over the Internet.
52. The following citations were taken from the 'Letter from the PKK Central Committee to the President of the Republic of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel on 1 October 1999', accessed over the Internet. The letter was dated '20 September 1999'.
53. The following citations were taken from PKK Presidential Council. 'Letter to the OSCE and the International Public', 15 November 1999, accessed over the Internet.
54. Abdullah Öcalan, 'Letter to the Presidency of the OSCE', 18 November 1999, accessed over the Internet.
55. 'No plans to execute Öcalan, but still trying to come out on top in the situation', Brefing, 6 December 1999, p 8.
56. This and she following citation were taken from '11 December 1999 PKK Presidential Council Statement', accessed over the Internet.
57. This and the following citations were taken from 'Yilmaz: road to EU passes through Diyarbakir', Turkish Daily News, 17 December 1999, accessed over the Internet. Diyarbakir is the largest city in Turkey's southeast and has long been considered the unofficial capital of the Kurdish provinces in Turkey.
58. 'The road to the EU', Briefing, 20 December 1999, p 11.
59. This and the following citation were taken from 'Interview with PKK'S Murat Karayilan', Kurdish Observer/Ozgur Politika, 11 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
60. Ertugrul Ozkok, 'Let us try not hanging', Hurriyet, 11 January 2000. accessed over the Internet.
61. Amberin Zaman, 'Turks lind it in nation's interest to befriend foe', Los Angeles Times, 14 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
62. This and the following citations were taken from Ismet Berkan, 'Peace would be threatened', Radikal, 11 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
63. Stephen Kinzer, 'Turkey delays the execution of rebel Kurd', New York Times, 13 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
64. 'Kurdish rebel leader Öcalan at the mercy of the PKK', Agence France-Presse, 13 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
65. This and the following citations were taken from 'Abdullah Öcalan's public statement: Press Release 16 January 2000', accessed over the Internet.
66. This and the following citations were taken from 'PKK Central Committee pledges support', 14 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
67. Stephen Kinzer, 'Government refuses to deal with Öcalan on Kurdish issue', New York Times. 18 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
68. Cited in Steve Bryant, 'Turkey's Demirel hails Ocalan decision', Reuters, 13 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
69. This and the following citations were taken from 'Do not create chaos', Kurdish Observer/Ozgur Politika, 11 January 2000, accessed over the Internet.
70. 'Brief statement on PKK "Peace Project" ', released by the Kurdish Information Centre, London, 4 April 2000, accessed over the Internet.
71. The phrase is Jannin Sakellariou's, a Greek-German deputy of the European Parliament Socialist Group which monitors the developing situation in Turkey. 'Dialogue limps along with EU visitors', Briefing, 10 April 2000, p 12.