2011 Kurdish protests in Turkey
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Kurdish protests in Turkey are ongoing protests by members of Turkey's Kurdish
minority to demonstrate against restrictions of their rights by the Turkish authorities. Although they are the latest in a long series
of protest actions
by Kurds in Turkey
, they are strongly influenced by the concurrent popular protests throughout the Middle East
and North Africa
, and the Turkish publication Hürriyet Daily News has suggested that the popularly dubbed "Arab Spring" that has seen revolutions in Egypt
and Tunisia
may lead to a "Kurdish Summer" in the northern reaches of the Middle East. Protesters have taken to the streets both in İstanbul
and in southeast Turkey, with some demonstrations also reported as far west in Anatolia
as İzmir
.
From March 24 and May 10, a total of 2 protesters were killed, 308 injured and 2,506 detained by Turkish authorities.
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There are currently 14 to 20 million Kurds in Turkey
, living predominantly in the southeast of the country. The Kurdish people are a unique ethnic group with their own language and customs. In Turkey, the Kurdish uprising dates back to at least 1925, but the most recent major rebellion started in 1978 and has crossed the border into adjacent Iraqi Kurdistan
on a number of occasions. Over 3,000 Kurdish villages have been "evacuated" by the Turkish armed forces since the conflict began.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), a Kurdish separatist group listed as a terrorist organization by the governments of Turkey and the United States
, demands autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan
. It has also called upon Turkish authorities to release Kurdish prisoners and detainees, overturn a ban on Kurdish-language
education, and cease military action against Kurdish groups. In 2009, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
launched a "Kurdish initative" aiming to broaden cultural rights for Kurds, but many Kurdish protesters have said this does not go far enough.
On 28 February 2011, the PKK announced an end to a unilateral ceasefire it had declared in August 2010, prompting Erdoğan to comment on the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP) over its alleged collusion with the militant group. "A political party that is in Parliament hurling out threats ... during every election period puts pressure on people who want to exercise their democratic will and serves no other purpose," the prime minister said.
censorship
is practiced by the government of Turkey. A number of websites, including those of pro-Kurdish and alternative news outlets such as Voice of America
, Bianet, and Azadiya Welat
, are subject to a filter imposed by the Turkish Council of State
. Bianet reported that according to new regulations adopted by the government in late February, this filter will be expanded from blocking access to certain websites from Internet café
s to affect all Internet access points and ISP
s in Turkey sometime in the near future.
On 13 March 2011, The New York Times
reported a turnout of "thousands" for a march in İstanbul
protesting censorship
of the press and the arrest of over a dozen journalists by Turkish authorities since the start of the month. The Turkish media advocacy group Freedom to Journalists Platform said Turkey held 68 journalists as of mid-March, including many on charges of "inciting public hatred" and similar offenses, though the government maintains only 27 journalists are incarcerated on unrelated charges.
(BDP) announced the immediate beginning of a civil disobedience
campaign, beginning with a strike and sit-in
in Diyarbakır
, the largest city in the Kurdish region. The government responded by deploying soldiers and Army
vehicles to break up the unsanctioned demonstration, which drew about 3,000 participants. Just a fraction of these participants—a few dozen MP
s and Kurdish city officials, including the mayor of Diyarbakır—were permitted to proceed to the sit-in venue, while thousands more demonstrators thronged outside and shouted angry slogans. Police clashed with demonstrators, some of whom attempted to attack officers with fireworks, and detained five. A similar scene erupted in Batman
, where a larger number of protesters were reportedly detained and protest tents were forcibly taken down.
, İzmir
, Silopi
, and Antalya
by 27 March. Protest camps also sprang up in Dersim, Muş
, Van
, and Ağrı
. Several dozen protesters were arrested.
Protest leader and MP Selahattin Demirtaş
said that the Peace and Democracy Party
was determined to carry out civil disobedience actions across the Kurdish region and condemned the governor of Diyarbakır Province
for declaring the protests unlawful. Fellow Kurdish leader Ahmet Türk
said they will continue the sit-in action despite the pressure from the Turkish authorities. "The prime minister who sends greetings to Tahrir Square while sending tanks and gas bombs at us should know that the [Kurdish] people have been seeking their freedom in their [own] Tahrir Squares," said Demirtaş, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
and his favorable stance
toward Egypt
ian revolutionaries
.
s of Kurds in Siirt Province
on 28 March. The protest march spun off into riot
ing in the province. In Batman and Diyarbakır, two of the original sites of protests as part of the civil disobedience campaign, media reported Turkish security forces detained several more protesters.
and urging Kurds not to pray behind them. Demirtaş also said that sermons in Kurdish parts of the country should only be given in Kurdish
, a policy Erdoğan opposes.
intend to promote terrorism
among Kurds by portraying PKK fighters killed in clashes with government forces as martyr
s. According to the report, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
devised the plan from behind bars. It also alleged that the banned PKK is using the BDP as a political front.
. The politicians included Leyla Zana
, who has spent ten years in prison for alleged PKK membership despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights
that her imprisonment violated freedom of speech
.
Kurds angry over the ban rallied in Hakkâri
, Şırnak
, İstanbul, Van, and Diyarbakır. More than 2,000 protesters gathered in Taksim Square
on the Europe
an side of İstanbul, Turkey's largest city. Police used tear gas to disperse the protest, which reportedly injured several, including at least one police officer. Shopkeepers and workers went on strike in Hakkâri and Van. Van also saw clashes between protesters and Turkish gendarmes, with its Kurdish mayor being among the demonstrators injured in the fighting, and scuffles were also reported in Diyarbakır, where a 15-year-old boy was reportedly hospitalized after being shot and injured by police. The semi-official Anatolian Agency claimed significant property damage in the city of Diyarbakır and said police confiscated several Molotov cocktail
s brought to the demonstration by Kurdish protesters.
. One protester was killed, four were injured, and at least 16 were arrested. The incident drew outrage from the Kurdish community, with Selahattin Demirtaş canceling a planned meeting with President Abdullah Gül
in Ankara
over the shooting.
after Kurdish demonstrators set fire to a bank with a Molotov cocktail. Police reportedly employed tear gas and water cannon
s to disperse the riot.
, alleged PKK supporters threw Molotov cocktails at a house in suburban Şanlıurfa
while a family was sleeping there on the night of 23 April, seriously damaging the property but causing only minor injuries. Police detained two in connection with the incident.
protesters in Ergani
attacked buildings and gendarmes with Molotov cocktails and firecracker
s. It also reported that 32 rioters in Batman were detained after a crowd of demonstrators pelted police with stones and tried to set fire to shops. These demonstrations came just days after international media reported an easing of tensions in southeast Turkey following the reversal of a ban on several Kurdish parliamentary candidates. The Anatolian Agency reported that two off-duty soldiers, wearing civilian clothes, were shot from behind in Yüksekova
, leaving both injured. It also claimed rioting, including stone- and firebomb-throwing, in Bismil, which police reportedly used tear gas and water cannon to disperse.
BDP supporters protested violently in the Aksaray neighborhood of İstanbul, attacking police, vehicles, and shops, Zaman alleged. Turkish authorities also arrested 35 in Hakkâri on alleged PKK ties. In response, more than 20,000 Kurds living near the international border with Iraq
marched to a border crossing and threatened to enter Iraqi Kurdistan
in a show of defiance unless the 35 were released, forcing Peace and Democracy Party officials to intervene. The protesters eventually returned to their homes.
Police detained 17 in Manisa
's Kurdish quarter and tore down BDP-backed "democratic solution" tents and protest camps in Tunceli, Manisa, İzmir, Mardin, and Şırnak. Authorities said they were searching for Molotov cocktails and took down tents where they purportedly found the makeshift firebombs.
, the jailed PKK leader, called for a violent rebellion against the Turkish government on 29 April at a meeting with his lawyers, Turkish daily Vatan
reported.
In Muş, Prime Minister Erdoğan said, "There is no longer a Kurdish question in this country." He said Turkey only has to address the needs of individual Kurds as ordinary citizens of the republic. He called Kurds and Turks
"brothers" and attacked both the PKK and the BDP, saying, "We can’t get anywhere with those who try to set one brother against another. We can’t get anywhere with those who are trying to divide this country."
demonstrations on 1 May in İstanbul
's Taksim Square
and elsewhere throughout Turkey, along with several other minority and advocacy groups. Several speakers called upon authorities to release jailed journalists, MPs
, and city officials, including those arrested in Turkish Kurdistan
during the previous months' protests, eliciting applause from the crowds in Taksim Square.
turned out on 4 May for the funeral of alleged Kurdistan Workers' Party
fighters killed the previous week as part of the Turkey – Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, Reuters
reported.
) into Turkey, while losing one of their own soldiers to an exploding mine. The next day, thousands of protesters turned out in Diyarbakir
, and several hundred staged sit-ins and various other protests in Istanbul
. Around 100 people, some allegedly from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
contesting the upcoming Turkish elections, crossed the border to retrieve two bodies who were left at the site of the ambush. Demonstrations in Diyarbakir
turned violent.
, marching to a major mosque to protest a ruling by the Turkish board of elections disqualifying Hatip Dicle
of BDP from his seat in Parliament. Several candidates elected on the BDP slate were stripped of office over the weekend, some of them because the board determined that they could not hold office while imprisoned. Protesters claim the removed MPs are political prisoner
s and that Turkish authorities are denying Kurds their elected representation. The ruling AK Party picked up several additional seats in Parliament due to the disqualifications, compounding Kurdish anger. Riot police assembled in Istanbul to block the protest march, firing tear gas. Al Jazeera
reported that only after the tear gas was deployed did protesters become violent, assaulting officers with stones and metal poles, but police succeeded in dispersing the demonstration. No serious injuries were reported.
staged a week-long protest camp and marched through Haringey
to show solidarity with Kurds from Turkey.
by PKK
militants. Riot police endeavored to keep protesters away from an ethnically Kurdish neighborhood, fearing clashes might erupt.
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
minority to demonstrate against restrictions of their rights by the Turkish authorities. Although they are the latest in a long series
Kurdish rebellions
According to Turkish military records, Kurdish rebellions have been taking place in Anatolia for over two centuries.-Koçkiri rebellion, 1920:...
of protest actions
Serhildan
Serhildan designate several Kurdish public rebellions since the 1990s with the slogan "Êdî Bese" against Turkey. The protestors use mainly stones, concrete paving stones, Molotov cocktails, slingshots and other materials as throwing objects and since the end of November 2009 also skyrockets...
by Kurds in Turkey
Kurds in Turkey
Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...
, they are strongly influenced by the concurrent popular protests throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, and the Turkish publication Hürriyet Daily News has suggested that the popularly dubbed "Arab Spring" that has seen revolutions in Egypt
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
and Tunisia
Tunisian revolution
The Tunisian Revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011...
may lead to a "Kurdish Summer" in the northern reaches of the Middle East. Protesters have taken to the streets both in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and in southeast Turkey, with some demonstrations also reported as far west in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
as İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
.
From March 24 and May 10, a total of 2 protesters were killed, 308 injured and 2,506 detained by Turkish authorities.
Background
Kurds in Turkey
Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...
, living predominantly in the southeast of the country. The Kurdish people are a unique ethnic group with their own language and customs. In Turkey, the Kurdish uprising dates back to at least 1925, but the most recent major rebellion started in 1978 and has crossed the border into adjacent Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
on a number of occasions. Over 3,000 Kurdish villages have been "evacuated" by the Turkish armed forces since the conflict began.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
(PKK), a Kurdish separatist group listed as a terrorist organization by the governments of Turkey and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, demands autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² , or nearly a third of Turkey...
. It has also called upon Turkish authorities to release Kurdish prisoners and detainees, overturn a ban on Kurdish-language
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
education, and cease military action against Kurdish groups. In 2009, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
launched a "Kurdish initative" aiming to broaden cultural rights for Kurds, but many Kurdish protesters have said this does not go far enough.
On 28 February 2011, the PKK announced an end to a unilateral ceasefire it had declared in August 2010, prompting Erdoğan to comment on the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
(BDP) over its alleged collusion with the militant group. "A political party that is in Parliament hurling out threats ... during every election period puts pressure on people who want to exercise their democratic will and serves no other purpose," the prime minister said.
Censorship
InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
censorship
Internet censorship
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
is practiced by the government of Turkey. A number of websites, including those of pro-Kurdish and alternative news outlets such as Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
, Bianet, and Azadiya Welat
Azadiya Welat
Azadiya Welat is a daily Kurdish newspaper that is published in Turkey. Internet access to this newspaper's website is currently blocked in Turkey....
, are subject to a filter imposed by the Turkish Council of State
Turkish Council of State
The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....
. Bianet reported that according to new regulations adopted by the government in late February, this filter will be expanded from blocking access to certain websites from Internet café
Internet cafe
An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...
s to affect all Internet access points and ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s in Turkey sometime in the near future.
On 13 March 2011, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported a turnout of "thousands" for a march in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
protesting censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of the press and the arrest of over a dozen journalists by Turkish authorities since the start of the month. The Turkish media advocacy group Freedom to Journalists Platform said Turkey held 68 journalists as of mid-March, including many on charges of "inciting public hatred" and similar offenses, though the government maintains only 27 journalists are incarcerated on unrelated charges.
Timeline
24 March
In a statement published online on 24 March, the Peace and Democracy PartyPeace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
(BDP) announced the immediate beginning of a civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
campaign, beginning with a strike and sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
in Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, the largest city in the Kurdish region. The government responded by deploying soldiers and Army
Turkish Army
The Turkish Army or Turkish Land Forces is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...
vehicles to break up the unsanctioned demonstration, which drew about 3,000 participants. Just a fraction of these participants—a few dozen MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s and Kurdish city officials, including the mayor of Diyarbakır—were permitted to proceed to the sit-in venue, while thousands more demonstrators thronged outside and shouted angry slogans. Police clashed with demonstrators, some of whom attempted to attack officers with fireworks, and detained five. A similar scene erupted in Batman
Batman, Turkey
Batman is a city in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey and the capital of Batman Province. It lies on a plateau, 540 meters above sea level, near the confluence of the Batman River and the Tigris. The Batı Raman oil field, which is the largest oil field in Turkey, is located just outside...
, where a larger number of protesters were reportedly detained and protest tents were forcibly taken down.
27 March
Demonstrations spread to İstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Silopi
Silopi
Silopi is a district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the border with Iraq. The district, composed of Silopi center, 3 depending townships with own municipalities and 23 villages has an urban population of 73,400 .The Habur frontier gate, the only major...
, and Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
by 27 March. Protest camps also sprang up in Dersim, Muş
Mus
-Computing:* Mus, a file extension used by Finale * MUS, the internal music format used in Doom -Three-letter acronyms:* Mitsubishi UFJ Securities * MUS, the NATO country code for Mauritius...
, Van
Van, Turkey
Van is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of the Kurdish-majority Van Province, and is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. The city's official population in 2010 was 367,419, but many estimates put this as much higher with a 1996 estimate stating 500,000 and former Mayor Burhan...
, and Ağrı
Agri
Agri may refer to:* As shorthand or prefix referring to agriculture* Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development * Azerbaijan–Georgia–Romania Interconnector * Ağrı, a city in eastern Turkey* the Agri in southern Italy...
. Several dozen protesters were arrested.
Protest leader and MP Selahattin Demirtaş
Selahattin Demirtaş
Selahattin Demirtaş is a Turkish-speaking pro-Kurdish politician whose parent speak Zazaki language. He became the chairman of Peace and Democracy Party in January 2010....
said that the Peace and Democracy Party
Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
was determined to carry out civil disobedience actions across the Kurdish region and condemned the governor of Diyarbakır Province
Diyarbakir Province
Diyarbakır Province is a province in eastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km² and the population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is Diyarbakir...
for declaring the protests unlawful. Fellow Kurdish leader Ahmet Türk
Ahmet Türk
Ahmet Türk is a Kurdish politician in Turkey. He was the chairman of the former pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in Turkey and was a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. On December 11, 2009, the Constitutional Court of Turkey voted to ban the DTP, accusing it of connection with PKK...
said they will continue the sit-in action despite the pressure from the Turkish authorities. "The prime minister who sends greetings to Tahrir Square while sending tanks and gas bombs at us should know that the [Kurdish] people have been seeking their freedom in their [own] Tahrir Squares," said Demirtaş, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
and his favorable stance
International reactions to the 2011 Egyptian revolution
International reactions to the 2011 Egyptian revolution refer to external responses to the events that took place in Egypt between 25 January and 10 February 2011, as well as some of the events after the collapse of the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, such as Mubarak's trial...
toward Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian revolutionaries
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
.
28 March
About 40,000 people marched to the alleged site of mass graveMass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s of Kurds in Siirt Province
Siirt Province
Siirt Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an area of 5,406 km² and a total population of 300,695...
on 28 March. The protest march spun off into riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
ing in the province. In Batman and Diyarbakır, two of the original sites of protests as part of the civil disobedience campaign, media reported Turkish security forces detained several more protesters.
6 April
Demirtaş ratcheted up the civil disobedience campaign by Kurdish protesters on 6 April by accusing imams sent by the government to lead prayers in Turkey's southeast of supporting and spying for the ruling Justice and Development PartyJustice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
and urging Kurds not to pray behind them. Demirtaş also said that sermons in Kurdish parts of the country should only be given in Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, a policy Erdoğan opposes.
8 April
At Friday prayers in Diyarbakır on 8 April, a number of Kurds boycotted in solidarity with the BDP, with many holding signs and banners supporting Demirtaş and the protests as others prayed. At least one newspaper ran photographs of the boycott.11 April
On 11 April, the conservative Turkish weekly Aksiyon published allegations that "militant imams" loyal to the PKKKurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
intend to promote terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
among Kurds by portraying PKK fighters killed in clashes with government forces as martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s. According to the report, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
devised the plan from behind bars. It also alleged that the banned PKK is using the BDP as a political front.
19 April
On 19 April, Turkey’s elections board ruled that 12 Kurdish politicians who had registered as independent candidates were barred from running in the June parliamentary electionsTurkish general election, 2011
Turkey's 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. They were Turkey's first non-early elections in 34 years.-Background:...
. The politicians included Leyla Zana
Leyla Zana
Leyla Zana , is a Kurdish politician, who was imprisoned for 10 years for her political actions which were claimed to be against the unity of Turkey. When she was a member of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, she was banned from joining any political party for five years with the Constitutional...
, who has spent ten years in prison for alleged PKK membership despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
that her imprisonment violated freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
.
Kurds angry over the ban rallied in Hakkâri
Hakkari
Hakkâri , is a city and the capital of the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The name Hakkâri is derived from the Syriac word, Akkare, meaning farmers...
, Şırnak
Sirnak
Şırnak is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Hakkari province...
, İstanbul, Van, and Diyarbakır. More than 2,000 protesters gathered in Taksim Square
Taksim Square
Taksim Square situated in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network...
on the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an side of İstanbul, Turkey's largest city. Police used tear gas to disperse the protest, which reportedly injured several, including at least one police officer. Shopkeepers and workers went on strike in Hakkâri and Van. Van also saw clashes between protesters and Turkish gendarmes, with its Kurdish mayor being among the demonstrators injured in the fighting, and scuffles were also reported in Diyarbakır, where a 15-year-old boy was reportedly hospitalized after being shot and injured by police. The semi-official Anatolian Agency claimed significant property damage in the city of Diyarbakır and said police confiscated several Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s brought to the demonstration by Kurdish protesters.
20 April
On 20 April, police fired live rounds at protesters in BismilBismil
Bismil is a district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. The population is 56,887 . The mayor is Cemile Eminoğlu .-Brief History:...
. One protester was killed, four were injured, and at least 16 were arrested. The incident drew outrage from the Kurdish community, with Selahattin Demirtaş canceling a planned meeting with President Abdullah Gül
Abdullah Gül
Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
over the shooting.
21 April
The elections board reversed its decision to bar several Kurdish political candidates on 21 April after facing massive outcry. Some journalists expected this to be the end of intensified protests and rioting. Nonetheless, the Anatolian Agency reported that one police officer and two civilians were injured in rioting in Batman on the same day. The semi-official news agency alleged that Kurdish protesters attacked police with rocks, firebombs, and gunfire. It also said three people were hospitalized in Van ProvinceVan Province
Van Province is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at the end of 2010....
after Kurdish demonstrators set fire to a bank with a Molotov cocktail. Police reportedly employed tear gas and water cannon
Water cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-pressure stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of metres / hundreds of feet. They are used in firefighting and riot control. Most water cannon fall under the category of a fire...
s to disperse the riot.
23 April
According to a report in the pro-government daily ZamanZaman
Zaman may refer to:*Zaman A large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and sweet-pulp seed pods eaten by cattle ....
, alleged PKK supporters threw Molotov cocktails at a house in suburban Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
while a family was sleeping there on the night of 23 April, seriously damaging the property but causing only minor injuries. Police detained two in connection with the incident.
24 April
Zaman claimed pro-BDPPeace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
protesters in Ergani
Ergani
Ergani, formerly known as Arghni or Arghana, is a district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. The mayor is Fesih Yalçın .-Çayönü:Near the village of Sesverenpınar, among the Hilar rocks Çayönü hill was first settled in c. 7500 BC, and was continuously inhabited until 5000 BC...
attacked buildings and gendarmes with Molotov cocktails and firecracker
Firecracker
A firecracker is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang; any visual effect is incidental to this goal. They have fuses, and are wrapped in a heavy paper casing to contain the explosive compound...
s. It also reported that 32 rioters in Batman were detained after a crowd of demonstrators pelted police with stones and tried to set fire to shops. These demonstrations came just days after international media reported an easing of tensions in southeast Turkey following the reversal of a ban on several Kurdish parliamentary candidates. The Anatolian Agency reported that two off-duty soldiers, wearing civilian clothes, were shot from behind in Yüksekova
Yüksekova
Yüksekova is a district of Hakkari Province of Turkey, situated close to the border with Iran. Its location on the trade route between Iranian Azarbaijan and eastern Turkey made it an important juncture for travelers and the location of several ethnic groups that were active in regional trade....
, leaving both injured. It also claimed rioting, including stone- and firebomb-throwing, in Bismil, which police reportedly used tear gas and water cannon to disperse.
25 April
In the early morning of 25 April, police raided and dismantled numerous "democratic solution" tents and arrested protesters in 17 provinces across Turkey, Bianet reported. One MP was reportedly injured in a scuffle with police.BDP supporters protested violently in the Aksaray neighborhood of İstanbul, attacking police, vehicles, and shops, Zaman alleged. Turkish authorities also arrested 35 in Hakkâri on alleged PKK ties. In response, more than 20,000 Kurds living near the international border with Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
marched to a border crossing and threatened to enter Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
in a show of defiance unless the 35 were released, forcing Peace and Democracy Party officials to intervene. The protesters eventually returned to their homes.
26 April
On 26 April, about 20,000 in southeast Turkey reportedly turned out to protest the detention of alleged PKK supporters in Hakkâri, according to media. About 10,000 protesters set off on a march from Hakkâri to Van, according to Kurdish officials.Police detained 17 in Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
's Kurdish quarter and tore down BDP-backed "democratic solution" tents and protest camps in Tunceli, Manisa, İzmir, Mardin, and Şırnak. Authorities said they were searching for Molotov cocktails and took down tents where they purportedly found the makeshift firebombs.
27 April
On 27 April, demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at riot police located near Aksaray metro station, which prompted the police to use tear gas to disperse the protesters. The demonstrators were mostly dispersed, although a small group remained in Aksaray, broadcaster NTV reported.29 April
Abdullah ÖcalanAbdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
, the jailed PKK leader, called for a violent rebellion against the Turkish government on 29 April at a meeting with his lawyers, Turkish daily Vatan
Vatan
Vatan is a Turkish daily newspaper.A newspaper in Turkey founded in 2002, it is increasingly becoming one of the most popular.As of March 2011, Vatan newspaper had the 15th highest circulation in Turkey at 111,489....
reported.
30 April
Turkish police conducted raids on 30 April in Batman, İstanbul, and Mardin, among other districts, and arrested 70 "agitators" authorities said were trained by the PKK to organize demonstrations and exploit chaos created by Kurdish protests.In Muş, Prime Minister Erdoğan said, "There is no longer a Kurdish question in this country." He said Turkey only has to address the needs of individual Kurds as ordinary citizens of the republic. He called Kurds and Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
"brothers" and attacked both the PKK and the BDP, saying, "We can’t get anywhere with those who try to set one brother against another. We can’t get anywhere with those who are trying to divide this country."
1 May
Kurds had a presence at the peaceful May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
demonstrations on 1 May in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
's Taksim Square
Taksim Square
Taksim Square situated in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network...
and elsewhere throughout Turkey, along with several other minority and advocacy groups. Several speakers called upon authorities to release jailed journalists, MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, and city officials, including those arrested in Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² , or nearly a third of Turkey...
during the previous months' protests, eliciting applause from the crowds in Taksim Square.
4 May
Thousands of Kurds in DiyarbakırDiyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
turned out on 4 May for the funeral of alleged Kurdistan Workers' Party
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
fighters killed the previous week as part of the Turkey – Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported.
16 May
On May 15, Turkish military forces killed twelve PKK rebels who were crossing from northern Iraq (Kurdistan Regional GovernmentKurdistan Regional Government
The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...
) into Turkey, while losing one of their own soldiers to an exploding mine. The next day, thousands of protesters turned out in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, and several hundred staged sit-ins and various other protests in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Around 100 people, some allegedly from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
contesting the upcoming Turkish elections, crossed the border to retrieve two bodies who were left at the site of the ambush. Demonstrations in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
turned violent.
26 June
Pro-Kurdish protesters turned out in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, marching to a major mosque to protest a ruling by the Turkish board of elections disqualifying Hatip Dicle
Hatip Dicle
Hatip Dicle , full name Mehmet Hatip Dicle, is a Turkish politician, of Kurdish origin, of the Peace and Democracy Party .In 1979 he graduated in engineering from the Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi...
of BDP from his seat in Parliament. Several candidates elected on the BDP slate were stripped of office over the weekend, some of them because the board determined that they could not hold office while imprisoned. Protesters claim the removed MPs are political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s and that Turkish authorities are denying Kurds their elected representation. The ruling AK Party picked up several additional seats in Parliament due to the disqualifications, compounding Kurdish anger. Riot police assembled in Istanbul to block the protest march, firing tear gas. Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
reported that only after the tear gas was deployed did protesters become violent, assaulting officers with stones and metal poles, but police succeeded in dispersing the demonstration. No serious injuries were reported.
August
Another protest took place on Hakkâri after army's bombing of PKK camps in Qandil mountains, and a member of BDP who was protesting the air assault, was killed by police.International reaction
In April, members of the Kurdish diaspora in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
staged a week-long protest camp and marched through Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
to show solidarity with Kurds from Turkey.
17 July
Several hundred Turks marched in Istanbul to protest the killing of 13 Turkish soldiers in DiyarbakirDiyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
by PKK
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
militants. Riot police endeavored to keep protesters away from an ethnically Kurdish neighborhood, fearing clashes might erupt.
See also
- List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
- 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa protests
- Democracy in the Middle EastDemocracy in the Middle EastAccording to the "Democracy Index" , the country in the Middle East with the highest Democracy Index score is Israel, with a score of 7.48, corresponding to the status of "flawed democracy"; the only one in the region.The next highest scores of countries of in the region are held by Lebanon and...
- Democratic InitiativeDemocratic InitiativeDemocratic initiative process is the name of the process in which the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a project aiming to improve standards of democracy, freedoms and respect for human rights in Turkey. The project is called the Unity and Fraternity Project...
- Kurdistan
- Kurds in TurkeyKurds in TurkeyEthnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...
- Kurdish peopleKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...