Country: Turkey

Group: Kurds

Date Finalized: 7/13/2020

Team: Kimberly Prete (lead), Arisha Khan, Alicia Hernandez

The Kurds are an ethnic minority group in the middle east with about half of them located in Turkey, totaling 20 percent of the Turkish population (FAS,2020). The Kurds have experienced extensive ethnocide by the government. One area where the government is actively repressing their culture is language. Up until 1991 the Turkish government categorized the Kurds as “Mountain Turks” and the words “Kurds”,”Kurdistan”, or “Kurdish” were banned (Metz, 1995).  There are also limitations placed on how and when they can use their native language, including limitations on speaking Kurdish in public (Letsch, 2017). One example of the restrictions placed on the Kurds is in naming their children (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). In 2003, common letters, like q, w, and x, in Kurdish names were finally unrestricted (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). However, it is still uncommon to see these letters used in names due to fear of discrimination. Another example of ethnocide is the Turkish government took further steps in the discrimination against the Kurds by removing them from government-held positions (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). For example, in 1994, Leyla Zana who had been the first Kurdish woman to be elected to Turkish Parliament had been sentenced to prison for her “separatist speech” (Furse 1998). This is an example of the Turkish government’s strict media regulation that has led to the imprisonment of those who are outspoken. The data quality is a 3 because there is an abundance of information on the group as well as the ethnocide they have experienced.

Sources

  1. Baydar, Y. (2019). Turkey’s Kurds are subjected to political ‘ethnic cleansing’. The Arab Weekly. Retrieved from: https://thearabweekly.com/turkeys-kurds-are-subjected-political-ethnic-cleansing
  2. Furse, Elizabeth (1998). ANKARA’S DECISION TO SENTENCE LEYLA ZANA A BLATANT VIOLATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141
  3.  Minority Rights Group (2015). Kurds. Retrieved from: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kurds-2/
  4. Metz, Helen Chapin (1995). Turkey: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, http://countrystudies.us/turkey/26.htm
  5. Wikipedia. (2020, March 29). Kurds in Turkey. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurds_in_Turkey
  6. Letsch, C. (2017, December 21). In Turkey, Repression of the Kurdish Language Is Back, With No End in Sight. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/in-turkey-repression-of-the-kurdish-language-is-back-with-no-end-in-sight/
  7. Federation of American scientists (n.d.). The Kurds in Turkey. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from  https://fas.org/asmp/profiles/turkey_background_kurds.htm