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  • ANKARA: More Cultural Rights For Kurds Argues Think Tank

    MORE CULTURAL RIGHTS FOR KURDS ARGUES THINK TANK

    Hurriyet
    March 6 2009
    Turkey

    ISTANBUL - Former soldiers and diplomats say recognition of the Kurdish
    social and cultural identity and constructive relations with northern
    Iraq should be cornerstones of a strategy to end domestic terrorism
    and secure the unity of the Turkish state

    The genuine recognition of Kurdish cultural identity is a means to
    stop terrorism by the PKK, according to a group of former soldiers
    and diplomats. They have also called for positive engagement with
    the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq.

    Bilge Adamlar Stratejik AraÅ~_tırmalar Merkezi, or BÄ°LGESAM, (Wise
    Men's Center for Strategic Studies) a think tank formed by retired
    soldiers, ambassadors and academics, released a report yesterday on
    Turkey's current situation and future challenges.

    Penned by retired Ambassador Ä°lter Turkmen, a former minister
    of foreign affairs, the report identified the Kurdish problem as
    Turkey's main challenge. "For years, there has been an avoidance of
    a realistic prognosis to the problem and a continuing belief that
    the only problem is PKK terrorism supported from outside," read the
    report. "Total or near total elimination of terrorism necessitates
    an immediate implementation of a series of economic, social, cultural
    and psychological measures based on a political vision."

    While identifying the unity of the state as the main element of that
    vision, the report emphasized that the implementation of regional
    economic and social projects did not contradict with the unitary
    nature of the state.

    Resolution of the Kurdish problem within the unity of the state depends
    on genuine recognition of the problem, according to the report, which
    called for the elimination of the obstacles in implementing Kurdish
    language use. "Although the legal framework has changed forbidding
    the use of Kurdish, the ban continues as far as implementation is
    concerned," read the report.

    The think tank report endorsed Salim DerviÅ~_oglu, former commander of
    maritime forces, and Sönmez Köksal, former chief of Intelligence,
    who called for the following: Administrative rules preventing the
    use of Kurdish outside of official meetings or talks should end.

    Where there is such a demand there should be Kurdish language courses.

    Kurdish Institutes should be allowed to operate.

    The report also argued for the merit of having ethnic parties in the
    parliament with the implication that it will be wrong to close the
    pro Kurdish Democrtatic Society Party.

    Relations with Northern Iraq

    The report emphasized that it would be unrealistic to ignore the entity
    in northern Iraq while dealing with the domestic Kurdish problem. "It
    should not come as a surprise that the emergence near our border of a
    half-independent Kurdish administration with rich natural resources
    will have an effect on developments in Turkey," read the report,
    calling for a more constructive, rather than confrontational,
    relationship with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq.

    As long as PKK terrorism continues it will be rather difficult to
    avoid tension in relations and it would be unrealistic to expect a
    massive military intervention in the Kurdish Regional Administration
    to finish off the PKK, the report said. "For this reason, relations
    with the region should be pursued on two tracks, cooperation and
    security," read the report.

    "It is not easy to foresee whether the entity in northern Iraq will
    achieve independence. Independence looks quiet difficult. But it
    will be more autonomous," said Turkmen at the press conference to
    introduce the report. "Many countries are starting to have relations
    with northern Iraq. Several countries, Iran among them, have a
    consulate in Arbil, whereas Turkey has no diplomatic representation
    in that city. It is clear that Turkey has still not determined a
    clear strategy," he said.

    On the issue of the Armenian claims of genocide, the report calls for
    the creation of an environment in which the problem can be pushed to
    the background over time.

    Turkmen said Armenians will not stop their claims of genocide and there
    is no possibility for the Turkish side to directly or indirectly accept
    those claims. While the report called for concrete development on the
    process of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia before April,
    it also called for avoiding parallelism between history and the state,
    instead focusing on more pluralism in history.

    Ex soldiers, diplomats on board

    Although BÄ°LGESAM brings together a group of former soldiers and
    ambassadors with prominent academics, Dr. Atillan Sandıklı, the
    president of the think tank, himself a former soldier, emphasized the
    independence of the organization. Salim DerviÅ~_oglu, the president
    of the advisory board, also a former soldier, said BÄ°LGESAM was not
    close to any political party and that it did not act on the behest
    of any institution. Sandıklı said, businessmen were sponsoring the
    activities of BÄ°LGESAM.

    BÄ°LGESAM Advisory Board

    Former Commander of Maritime forces Admiral Salim DerviÅ~_oglu

    Former Foreign Minister, retired ambassador Ä°lter Turkmen

    Former Interior Minister and Governor Kutlu AktaÅ~_

    Retired Commander General Oktar Ataman

    Retired vice admiral Sabahattin Ergin

    Honorary president of Court of Appeals Professor Sami Selcuk

    Former undersecretary of the ministry of foreign affairs and retired
    ambassador Ozdem Sanberk

    Former director of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT)
    and retired ambassador Sönmez Köksal

    Former Undersectretary for State Planning Organization Professor
    Orhan Guvenen

    Retired ambassador Guner Oztek

    Retired ambassador Yaman BaÅ~_kut

    Professor Nur Vergin

    Professor Ä°lter Turan

    Professor Ersin Onulduran

    ProfessorAli Karaosmanoglu

    Professor Celik Kurdoglu
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