Absolutely
NOT! PKK does not represent but a small fraction of Kurds in Turkey.
PKK has never been a genuine grass-roots
type national liberation movement. Support has always been purchased
through the currency of terrorization.
PKK has waged its attacks from bases in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon with heavy
weapons supplied by foreign governments , and Apo has managed his unholy
massacres out of his comfy headquarters in Syria.
A considerable part of its mountain forces were a result of terrorization --
an easily observable fact just from the number of village guards versus pkk militants
at their peak numbers.
Many Kurdish families and villages had to give up their young children
to PKK under the threat of otherwise having the whole village massacred!
Apo has never dared to set foot in Turkey,
nor will he ever except
as a convict. Most "Kurds" in Turkey
(just like most of the Turkish citizens of ANY ethnic origin) do not support
pkk, and would probably prefer to lynch Apo the moment they get their hands
on him. Only the Turkish judiciary may be able to protect him..
| Besides, millions
of Kurds in Turkey have been prospering in Western and even central Anatolia.
According to the latest book on this, by Henry Barkey and Graham Fuller
(Which is not favorable to the Turkish government's position) one-third
of the politicians themselves are of Kurdish origin, there are countless
successful Kurdish businessmen... there is no doubt that most Kurds
just look for continued association with the Turkish state. In any
opinion poll, people will answer "Turkish" as their nationality, even where
they also claim some sort of Kurdish antecedents.
This is reflected in elections, where the political party associated with
PKK -HADEP- gets few votes outside the terrorized south-eastern regions
perhaps reaching 3-4% of the votes.
(Prof. Norman Stone) |
|