Morton Abramowitz, the former US ambassador to Turkey from 1989 to 1991, recently published an article in The National Interest (27.12.11) praising Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan as ³the world¹s most dynamic and impressive Muslim leader,² adding that ³few international leaders covered themselves with much glory this past year.
Turkey’s prime minister did the trick. Indeed, Ambassador Abramowitz even
praises Erdogan for being “the voice of the oppressed” because of his
support for “fledgling new democracies” in the Middle East and his strong
stance against the Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad. Pardon us, but there are
many who would strongly disagree with this assessment starting with the
ethnic Kurds in Turkey who constitute approximately 20 percent of that
country¹s population.
Despite Erdogan¹s promise to oversee the writing of a new more democratic
Turkish constitution to replace the current one written by Turkey¹s military
in 1982, little progress has occurred. Accordingly the Kurds in Turkey have
not won the basic rights they seek from a democratic Constitution: 1.)
civic, rather than ethnic Turkish citizenship, 2.) broad decentralization of
government that would grant the Kurds living in southeastern Anatolia
meaningful local government, and 3.) mother-tongue (Kurdish) education.
Instead, Erdogan’s government has incarcerated more than 7,000 peaceful
demonstrators and activists (adults and children alike), politicians,
mayors, lawyers, media members, trade unionists in the last two years
because of their demands for change and a peaceful solution.
Under Erdogan’s governing the Turkish military has taken up the use of
chemical weapons against the PKK instead of solving the problems in his own
country politically and peacefully which the Kurds ask for. Would any aware
and responsible political mind even dream of terming this kind of state
leader “impressive, dynamic and the voice of the oppressed?”
Thought crime and guilt by association run rampant in today¹s Turkey for any peaceful Kurd in Turkey who dares to speak to this abusive situation. A leader who ignores the most basic rights of his own citizens does not deserve the high praise Abramowitz bestowed upon him.
Kariane Westrheim Michael Gunter Hans Brancheidt Judge Essa Moosa Chair of EUTCC Secretary general Board of Directors Board of Directors
For information contact:
Kariane Westrheim, Kariane.westrheim@gmail.com
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Kariane Westrheim, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Education
Faculty of Psychology
University of Bergen
Christiesgt 13
5020 Bergen, Norway
Office +47 55 58 87 97
Mobile +47 976 42 088