RQ2 Kurdish demands

“(S)uggesting minority rights reform in Turkey (...) is a truly difficult task. To suggest the magnitude of the demands a number of factors should be examined, in particular what the minorities' own demands are” (Karimova & Deverell 2001: 21, own emphasis). Coming back to Yildiz’ quote in the outset of the analysis, do the young Kurds feel like they do have a say in their own futures? What are their demands? EU progress reports have repeatedly called for the recognition of the Kurdish identity by Turkey, focusing on granting Kurds cultural rights (Karakoc 2010: 930). What are the views of the young Kurds?

“(...) people think that it's 40 years for example PKK established, and 40 years people dying, and now it is not enough just to say that you can speak. “Okay, you are Kurdish and can speak Kurdish”. Before 30 years or 50 years ago they also speak Kurdish, and they never stopped to speak Kurdish. It is not the point, I think. They have lots of pain and they want to, kind of, payment for that” (Dilara 2012 [interview]). This would suggest that the Kurds have broad demands. Throughout the interviews, it became clear that three core issues stood out. These were increased legal developments, stronger linguistic rights for Kurds and a focus on dialogue between Kurds and the Turkish government.

5.9.1. Increased legal developments

“I think the laws and the government should be changed so it's new (…) People follow laws. We do follow laws. And we think that it's kind of – I think that if a law is saying

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that Kurdish people are capable of, are allowed to speak and study in their own language, then the Turkish people will accept it by time” (Robar 2012 [interview]).

“It's not just cultural rights, because they saw that if you get just cultural rights, and if you don't have any effect about economy, in your district, you can't do anything. Also, if [your rights are] not mentioned in constitutional rights, it's also nothing” (Dilara 2012 [interview]). This demonstrates a desire for increased legal developments, granting the Kurds wider constitutional protections. Emphasis was also put on that such changes would have to be implemented by the government, to avoid changes being only “on the surface”.

5.9.2 Language issues

Issues regarding language came up repeatedly in the interviews. “I can understand my grandparents but my little sister cannot understand them (…) I can speak Kurdish (…) because I spent lots of time with my parents and when was I child there was no television like now. (…) Less people [are] speaking Kurdish. Because they watch TV and they don't speak, and in school they can't speak Kurdish” (Dilara 2012 [interview]).

Another respondent had recently started using his Kurdish name. “So, right now I'm in the court actually to get my real [Kurdish] name. Because they said me that, that [X][Kurdish name] was quite difficult to pronounce, and they just gave me [Z]

[Turkish name] in the registrar's office. My mother uses the name [X]. I’m having difficulties finding a job for example, because of my name. [The Turkish government]

said there is no like Kurdish language. So, it's Turkish. And they also, there is also, there was a fear. Still there is a fear. People want to call their children in Kurdish letters, it's not possible” (Efo 2012[interview]). When a group insists on keeping its own culture and language, according to Castles (2000: 198), it may in fact turn into a stigma used to justify the inferiority of the minority. However, even if leading to marginalization, giving up the original culture and language will imply losing community solidarity – a vital survival aspect for any group. Thus, the Kurds uphold their demand to use their own language.

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5.9.3. Dialogue and reconciliation

Even when the dominant group gives some privileges to the minority, it is extremely difficult to determine what would be a “fair” and sufficient price for the dominant group to pay when it should also take into account past prejudices (Varshny 2003: 93).

This can be seen in the Turkish case. It is a tough task to establish what should be fair concessions to give to the Kurds for their past suffering.

“Too many things have happened, and some sort of reconciliation also needs to happen at the societal level, not the military or political. Some sort of truth commission where these things can be accepted, acknowledged and honored. All the past experiences and some of the bitter past experiences, that need to be acknowledged. And move on. And heal. It will take time” (Banias 2012 [interview]).

According to Efo, the government “just continue saying that there is no [Kurdish].

But I was held in for 4 days when they took me to custody for throwing stones. (...) And nobody just says to you “throw stones”. For no apparent reason. If I'm throwing stones, well, there must be something wrong, why I'm doing it. So, they never asked me why I was doing it. So they can just generalize the whole situation” (Efo 2012 [interview]).This seems to be a central aspect of the problem. The Kurdish youth feel frustrated about the current situation and have lost faith in the European Union as a

“helping hand”. The sociological institutionalism point to that the Kurds might have gotten an increased sense of their own identity partly by EU pressure. The increased sense of identity amongst the Kurds has also contributed to a growing polarization in the Turkish society. The possible effects of this and further suggestions for research on the topic will be discussed in the conclusion chapter.

Ch 6 Conclusion

“Turkey is on the verge of recomposing itself, and trying to define another social contract. (…) [T]he emergence of a very strong ethnic identity and policies relating to this ethnic identity (…) they will get in conflict and violent conflict with other existing identity, that is the Turkish one (…) That means more clashes, and that needs very intelligent engineering, conflict resolution and more democracy to make sure that

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those Kurds who feel ostracized and who feel more and more Kurdish, will end up by feeling citizens of Turkey” (Aktar 2012 [interview]).