PKK Terrorists

The editorial “Even Allies Must Be Accountable”(Sept. 30) seems, first and foremost, to have confused the term “terrorist” and “civilian.” It is true that there is a widespread disturbance in the southeastern part of Turkey. However, it is equally true that this situation of warfare is created and instigated not by the Turkish civilians of Kurdish origin but by the highly organized armed guerrillas of the PKK.

PKK is a Marxist terrorist organization that began operating in 1974 with the admitted aim of destabilizing and dismembering Turkey. PKK’s struggle is for separatism and secession through terror. It terrorizes the civilian population of the region to recruit new members, get provisions and secure shelter. The majority of its victims are local civilians who refuse to cooperate.

Since the beginning of the PKK bloodshed in Turkey, thousands of Turks have lost their lives.

The Turkish government--encouraged by the fact that Turkey is one of the Western countries where citizens are not registered by ethnicity and are all equal before the law--recently broadened the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Kurdish origin to preserve and develop their ethnic and cultural identity. However, considering these radical reforms and economic investments undertaken by the government as the main obstacle to its strategy of shaking confidence in democracy and weakening the state authority on the way to its secessionist aims, PKK stepped up its campaign of terror in the past few months.

It is quite difficult to understand the reasons behind PKK’s sudden assumption of a mandate to speak on behalf of the Kurds who have had a common life with their Turkish brethren for about 1,000 years, shared the same values and fought against same enemies. This being the case, facts and figures would make it clear that it is rather a very small, violent and equally shortsighted minority that call or respond to calls for Kurdish separatism or so-called “Kurdistan” to be established on the territories carved out from Turkey.

It is imperative that the international community and the media recognize the clear distinction between the Kurdish issue and international terrorism, of which PKK is a part.

MEHMET EMRE

Consul General of Turkey

Los Angeles