Hon. Jim Karygiannis
The Turkish government cannot afford to continue to ignore and belittle the plight of the Kurdish people living within its borders. For decades, the Kurdish people have lived under a government that has repressed cultural expression and freedom of speech and violated human rights.
I believe the international community should demonstrate a willingness to try and address this serious situation.
This past week, I visited several cities in eastern Turkey as an international observer to view the parliamentary elections. What I witnessed only reminded me of the history of oppression perpetrated by the Turkish government on minorities within their country.
During World War I, and in the months and years following its end, Turkey (known at the time as the Ottoman Empire) began the systematic execution of over one million Armenians. The Armenian Genocide is still widely considered to be the first genocide of the 20th century and, though recognized by 22 nations around the world, has never been officially acknowledged by the Turkish government.
In addition, the Ottoman Empire was also responsible for the Pontian Greek Genocide of over 350,000 persons within its borders during forced deportations.
While observing the elections in Mus, a largely Kurdish region in eastern Turkey, I saw police and military personnel numbering in the hundreds in a single town, many armed with riot gear. In addition, several troop transports sat in intersections, with water cannons and machine guns mounted to their roofs. While I was told that this immense presence was meant only to keep the peace, it seemed more like an intimidation tactic – several groups of police, each in numbers ranging from 50 to 75, patrolled the streets hours before the polls even opened.
In the past, a rule was set stating that no police or military personnel would be allowed within 100 meters of any polling station during the casting of ballots. However, this year the rule was altered to allow them to stay within 15 meters. Even with this drastic change, I still observed armed police officers standing directly outside polling stations and, in one case, even next to the ballot box itself.
Also, I received reports that Kurdish citizens were warned by military officials that their health coverage benefits would be revoked if they were caught voting against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). These reports were later confirmed by Insan Haklari Dernegi, a human rights association based in Ankara that was also observing the election process.
It would seem that such intimidation tactics worked, as cities with large military and police presences reported overwhelming votes for the ruling party, while smaller towns and villages with little to no police interaction showed an abundance of votes for independent candidates.
Turkey has a party-list proportional representation system. Under Turkish electoral law, every party must receive at least 10 percent of the vote in order to elect a member to Parliament. According to Turkey’s Supreme Election Board, 27 parties registered to participate in this most recent election, meaning that only a third of the parties involved would actually be able to elect a member. Even with this barrier, Kurdish representatives, mostly independent candidates, still managed to secure 36 seats in Parliament.
I feel that Canada can play an important role in addressing the situation faced by Kurds living in Turkey. Canadians pride themselves on living in a peaceful democracy where people from various multicultural communities exchange opinions and work together to resolve problems.
Canadian members of the Kurdish and Turkish Diasporas should develop a dialogue with respect to helping bring about a peaceful co-existence in Turkey between the two communities.
As the Liberal Critic of Multiculturalism, I look forward in working with both communities to start to the dialogue and also support them in providing sustainable for nation building.
I believe in the power and potential of the human race and that R.A.C.E. stands for Respecting our neighbours, Accepting our differences, Celebrating our rich diversity and Embracing our heritage.
Hon. Jim Karygiannis P.C., M.P.
Scarborough-Agincourt
Constituency Office
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www.karygiannismp.com