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Aytanri- t1_j1s5poa wrote

"People carrying the flag of the PKK – outlawed (due to being a literal terror organization) in Turkey AND in the European Union – were seen during the demonstration. The PKK has waged a four-decade armed terror campaign against the Turkish state and civilians."

There, fixed it

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TheDukeOfMars t1_j1sihdl wrote

Again, these terror organizations don’t appear in a vacuum. They are almost always a result of when an ethnic group doesn’t have representation at the international level and they view these groups as their only option. Same thing happened with Hamas.

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_CHIFFRE t1_j1skrtt wrote

i agree although wouldn't directly compare the situation of Palestinians (esp. those in Gaza) to Kurds in Turkey, Kurds can move freely, are represented in the Politics, Media, Education system and other important sectors and millions of kurds live in Western cities like Istanbul even though their historical living areas are near Syria, Iraq, Iran and Armenia. Turkey isn't an Apartheid state but some measures that are done in order to prevent further problems with separatism and violence are harmful.

But there has been progress made, in the 80s and 90s the situation was horrific.

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hhammaly t1_j1v0bzj wrote

Yea. It’s so free that the leader of the National Kurdish party (HDP) is in jail. So free that you can get killed or jailed for speaking Kurdish.

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NotsosmartamInow t1_j1v3qj4 wrote

I think this is where the exception comes in i.e politics. Even nationalist Turks question why he is in jail because there really never was a trial (I think), as we see the same thing is happening to Imamoglu right now. Once you get enough traction to make appropriate noise you become targeted by the state.

But I don't think he was arrested for speaking Kurdish, if that was the case at least 5 of my friends are running from the law right now.

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hhammaly t1_j1v4bhd wrote

A couple of years old but still...https://www.dw.com/en/kurds-in-turkey-increasingly-subject-to-violent-hate-crimes/a-50940046

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NotsosmartamInow t1_j1v59j3 wrote

I never said racism doesn't exist. I just stated how when you become a high level politician you're more likely to be jailed, hence why Demirtas being arrested for speaking Kurdish is probably not the case. You're free to speak Kurdish, that doesn't mean a psycho won't do something wild.

If speaking Kurdish was against the Law then state sponsered TRT Kurdi is just full of criminals ( I don't really think that I'm just pointing out the irony)

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abolish_the_prisons t1_j1vey1k wrote

Turkey also considers revolutionaries from Iran to be terrorists, and just arrested 94 Iranian protestors and sent them back to the Iranian regime.

You have to be willingly ignorant to not see how this is connected, and that protestors in Iran are singing kurdish chants from the Kurdish Women‘s Revolution like “Jin Jiyan Azadi!“ (women, life, freedom!)

The Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) the US is allied with against ISIS, Assad and Al Quaeda includes YPJ and YPG. The only reason Turkey wants to label every kurdish freedom fighter as a terrorist is because they have an openly genocidal agenda in northern Syria

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TheDukeOfMars t1_j1suwgc wrote

Turkey is a unitary state, rather than a federal one. That means the national government has direct authority over local politics. So even in a majority Kurd area, they may not feel equally represented at the national level. And the national government ultimately will determine policy at the local level.

Sure, they get to send representatives to the national congress, but because they are such a significant minority those representatives are pretty much powerless. “All politics is local.” We should have governments that reflect that.

Federalism is the way to go for ethnically and politically diverse countries in my opinion. It allows for national rule but local rule is also very important. But that would require changing the entire constitution.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_state

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism

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BanBreaking t1_j1tksz4 wrote

powerless? Kurdish votes WILL determine the result of the next general election. they aren't powerless. They are the most sought out party currently in Turkey and appears to stay as such in the future.

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