which is actually great. Despite the fact that most of the content of the debates is hostile, aggressive and divisive. Still, this is how it works in Turkish politics. If it can even be debated, than we are on the right track:)
a roundup:
“Democratic Autonomy” Model Takes Shape
from Bianet :: English
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress organized a workshop with Turkish journalists, academics, politicians and rights defenders to discuss their suggestion of a “Democratic Autonomy”. Two days of discussion shed light on many aspects of the model.
Bilingual debate and mixed reactions
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
The bilingual debate which was recently sparked by pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş seems like it will remain on the country?s agenda for a long while.
Democracy and nation-state
by ERGUN BABAHAN
Turkey is now facing a set of problems that have accumulated over many years. The problems, suppressed or ignored in the past, are now screaming for attention.
The ill-intentions of the BDP
by MEHMET KAMIŞ
The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is choosing to use a provocative tone once again like they do during every democratization process.
Democratic autonomy or decentralization?
by MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE
The democratic autonomy draft, adopted by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) that convened last weekend, signals a new phase in the Kurdish issue. This is something that can easily be misunderstood by anyone who is not into the intricacies of Kurdish politics.
Democratic autonomous Kurdistan project
by DOĞU ERGİL
I paid a very educational visit to Israel last week as part of a group of European scholars. My intention was to write a series of articles this week on the Israeli spirit, the perceived nature of the Palestinian issue and the Mavi Marmara flotilla affair.
Kurdist postmodern condition
by İHSAN YILMAZ
Following terrorist Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, Kurdist politicians have recently been demanding something they call ?democratic autonomy.? Even though some details of their demand are becoming gradually clear, it is also obvious that neither their nor the public?s minds are clear.
Authority for autonomy
by AYŞE KARABAT
For years every time I return from mostly Kurdish-populated areas of Turkey, my friends, my neighbors and the people around me ask the same question: What do Kurds want? There are perceptions and many more questions behind this simple question.
A unitary or a plurinational state? A new Turkish constitution to resolve the Kurdish issue? by CAN ERİMTAN
On the symbolically charged date of Sept. 12, 2010, Turkey held a heavily contested referendum on a number of constitutional changes. The current Constitution was introduced in 1982, when the military ruled the country.
Judiciary Persecutes Different Opinions on Kurdish Question
from Bianet :: English
Six journalists are in jail because of their writings. The number of people tried under the Anti-Terror Law is on the rise. Turkey was sentenced by the European Court of Human Rights. 190 people, including 67 journalists, are prosecuted for their thoughts and writings.
Parliament President Sceptic on Kurdish Proposal
from Bianet :: English
After the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress on “Democratic Autonomy”, Parliament President Şahin emphasized, “We do not recognize any other congress or assembly. […] The parliament is to be addressed in Turkish by law”.
The General Staff?s statement
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
Turkey?s General Staff, which has a habit of intervening in politics, has drawn the ire of many by intruding in the debate about the use of Kurdish in public places.
The government and the opposition
by BERİL DEDEOĞLU
The Turkish political system?s essential problem is the political parties? unwillingness to introduce new thoughts to replace their traditional and well-memorized positions.
Two languages, multiple misunderstandings
by JOOST LAGENDIJK
It is a cliché to say that in Turkey huge differences exist between big cities in the west of the country and small villages in the east. Or to observe that in all parts of the country, the gap between the rich and the poor is enormous.
Bilingual debate and mixed reactions
FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
The bilingual debate which was recently sparked by pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş seems like it will remain on the country?s agenda for a long while.
Why is Erdoğan silent?
by NAZLI ILICAK – SABAH
The democratic autonomy proposal brought up by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) is just a draft proposal. It is a proposal that has been debated for a long while.
BDP launched election campaign
by Mustafa Ünal – ZAMAN
It is very evident that talking about issues such as autonomy, a flag and a defense force for Kurds will not make any contribution to the solution of the Kurdish problem. I think those who spark a debate on these know this well.
Kurtulmuş offers elective Kurdish courses
from Hurriyet Dailynews by ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency
The leader of the recently founded People?s Voice Party, or HSP, has said that Kurdish can be an elective course in schools ‘as long as the main education language remains Turkish.’
Bağış denies Kurds want autonomy
from Hurriyet Dailynews by ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency
Turkish State Minister and chief European Union negotiator Egemen Bağış has said that Kurds in Turkey had no expressed demand or expectation for autonomy.
The Kurdish movement should speak the same language
from Hurriyet Dailynews by HDN
It is the public?s right to know if those who raise the usual objections to the suggestion of Kurdish self-governance have any peaceful alternatives.
Kurdish representation
from Hurriyet Dailynews by HDN
This country needs organizations like the Peace and Democracy Party and the Democratic Society Congress.
Democratic autonomy debate
by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
The bilingual debate kicked off by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) suggesting the use of Kurdish along with Turkish in public places has grown further with a proposal for ?democratic autonomy? by Kurds from the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which gathered in Diyarbakır over the weekend.
Kurdish predicament
by İHSAN DAĞI
The fact that today we discuss ?democratic autonomy? and bilingual services in the Kurdish populated areas is not worrisome but promising. This means that politics is back to the Kurdish debate.
Democratic autonomy — a model for PKK tutelage
by YAVUZ BAYDAR
?Democratic autonomy offers draconian, Marxist-style rule for Kurds? was the title of a lengthy, excellent feature-analysis published in this paper yesterday.
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