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YEGPARIAN: FREUDIAN CONFESSION
By: Garen Yegparian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/11/04/yegparian-freudian-confession/
Fri, Nov 4 2011
Gotta love, Freud, Gul, and the PKK! These three have cooperated,
albeit unwittingly, to elicit a telling comment reported in the
LATimes in "Turkey forces push into Iraq after raids by Kurd militants"
(p. 6, Oct. 20, 2011).
Abdullah Gul declared, "These terrorist acts will be reciprocated." So
the president of that democratic-ideal-of-a-state Turkey is promising
terrorist action. What a surprise! This confession is such a whopper
that it doesn't even merit the fig leaf/euphemism of calling it a
Freudian slip.
The country that brought us genocide in the 20th century (of Armenians,
Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds), invasion and occupation of Cyprus,
incursions into Iraq (and now possibly Syria), massive repression of
its own population, and miscellaneous other human rights violations
that would get any other entity labeled "terrorist," is promising
still more terrorism. Hardly newsworthy, but it is interesting in
the current context.
Gul's comment came on the heels of PKK (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan,
or Kurdish Workers Party) attacks on Turkish military targets this
month that killed two dozen soldiers. This might be understandable
as a presidential reaction to being caught unprepared and losing some
of your troops. But the question is why promise terrorism, under the
false premise that the attackers are terrorists?
I write this despite the fact that Turkey, the EU, and the U.S. have
all labeled the PKK as "terrorist." But are they really? They are a
group that is fighting for their people's, nation's, and homeland's
liberation against an occupying power (which is legal under the UN's
rules, as I recall).
What the labelers really don't like is that the PKK is struggling
to change the established order, and resorting to military means
because other, civil-democratic, means are unavailable to it. What
more proof is needed than the recent invasion of Turkey's primarily
Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party's headquarters by the authorities?
But, wait, isn't deposing an unjust regime a legitimate end? Didn't
NATO just provide bombing cover to Libya's rebels? Weren't those
rebels fighting the legally established regime in Libya, much as the
PKK has done on and off for three decades? How come Libya's rebels
aren't terrorists?
But the most delicious irony is that after initially hesitating, Turkey
sided with Libya's rebels! Such grand heights of hypocrisy might be
hard to imagine, except when it comes from the likes of Turkey and
its current leaders who defended Somalia's genocidal president Omar
al-Bashir (I suppose misery loves company so genocidal leaders have
to stick together).
The next time someone starts to sing Turkey's praises, remind them
of these perversions of decency that are part of that country's
daily routine.
By: Garen Yegparian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/11/04/yegparian-freudian-confession/
Fri, Nov 4 2011
Gotta love, Freud, Gul, and the PKK! These three have cooperated,
albeit unwittingly, to elicit a telling comment reported in the
LATimes in "Turkey forces push into Iraq after raids by Kurd militants"
(p. 6, Oct. 20, 2011).
Abdullah Gul declared, "These terrorist acts will be reciprocated." So
the president of that democratic-ideal-of-a-state Turkey is promising
terrorist action. What a surprise! This confession is such a whopper
that it doesn't even merit the fig leaf/euphemism of calling it a
Freudian slip.
The country that brought us genocide in the 20th century (of Armenians,
Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds), invasion and occupation of Cyprus,
incursions into Iraq (and now possibly Syria), massive repression of
its own population, and miscellaneous other human rights violations
that would get any other entity labeled "terrorist," is promising
still more terrorism. Hardly newsworthy, but it is interesting in
the current context.
Gul's comment came on the heels of PKK (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan,
or Kurdish Workers Party) attacks on Turkish military targets this
month that killed two dozen soldiers. This might be understandable
as a presidential reaction to being caught unprepared and losing some
of your troops. But the question is why promise terrorism, under the
false premise that the attackers are terrorists?
I write this despite the fact that Turkey, the EU, and the U.S. have
all labeled the PKK as "terrorist." But are they really? They are a
group that is fighting for their people's, nation's, and homeland's
liberation against an occupying power (which is legal under the UN's
rules, as I recall).
What the labelers really don't like is that the PKK is struggling
to change the established order, and resorting to military means
because other, civil-democratic, means are unavailable to it. What
more proof is needed than the recent invasion of Turkey's primarily
Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party's headquarters by the authorities?
But, wait, isn't deposing an unjust regime a legitimate end? Didn't
NATO just provide bombing cover to Libya's rebels? Weren't those
rebels fighting the legally established regime in Libya, much as the
PKK has done on and off for three decades? How come Libya's rebels
aren't terrorists?
But the most delicious irony is that after initially hesitating, Turkey
sided with Libya's rebels! Such grand heights of hypocrisy might be
hard to imagine, except when it comes from the likes of Turkey and
its current leaders who defended Somalia's genocidal president Omar
al-Bashir (I suppose misery loves company so genocidal leaders have
to stick together).
The next time someone starts to sing Turkey's praises, remind them
of these perversions of decency that are part of that country's
daily routine.