Nucan Cudi,
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin words a few days ago sound particularly sinister today, as raids and arrests are taken place against Kurdish and free media in Turkey.
Ergin had questioned the veracity of the list compiled by Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) exposing the fact that 72 journalists are currently in prison in Turkey. Ergin went at length to explain the list was in fact not correct. “I personally researched this list, and I found very interesting data,” Ergin said and continued: “Let me talk about the first person on the list. That person received heavy imprisonment for murdering a person using a weapon that he or she grabbed from a police officer by force and for starting an armed fight against police and firing gun at them. That person’s file has been approved by the Court of Appeals. Now, they list this person as a journalist. The second person [has committed the crimes of] involvement in a protest where someone was kidnapped and taken to the house of a [terrorist] organization, using a gun and fake police ID during the protest, pretending to be police and being a member of the outlawed terrorist organization. The case of this person is final, and she/he has been given a life sentence.”
As if moved by the words of the minister, swiftly the judiciary acted to repair to the damage: not enough journalists in prison? Here you are. A number of raids and house searches today resulted in at least 25 (but some media say 38) journalists and media workers landing in prison.
Pointless, in all its scariness, to say that the raids were carried out within the scope of the so called KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) operation. KCK, or the leaf fig, the conveniently vague case which allows arresting virtually everyone connected with the legal and freely voted BDP (Peace and Democracy Party), mayors, municipalities, officials, politicians.
You name it. In one word, being connected with a Kurd nowadays could actually land you in jail. This is the state of terror and fear the ruling AK party is trying to establish in Turkey. As it is not achieving victory by means of war (the PKK guerrillas are far from being on the verge of being beaten militarily) the AKP has chosen to try isolating Kurds by on one hand virtually eliminating (by putting them behind bars) as many politicians, activists, opponents it can, and on the other creating a state of terror similar to that of the dark years of the ’90s when people should always look behind them in case someone, cowardly, shoot them in the back.
And cowardly like always, the Turkish establishment (today it has the face of the AKP) back stab Kurds and with Kurds any possibility of peace. Unable to confront Kurdish opposition openly, on a legal venue, the parliament, the square, the street, the council, the AKP opts for the short cut: silence them all.
Except, it won’t succeed. Let’s state this loud and clear: Kurdish people cannot be silenced. The will, right and determination of a people to exist cannot be suppressed. No matter how many jails you fill.