A boost for Ankara” “

“Europe represents our future; it promises a future of peace in our land, and the free cohabitation of Turks, Kurds and Armenians”. The last few weeks have been hectic for ALI DOGAN , Kurdish ethnologist at the University of Montpellier, in France. General Secretary of the Centre of Research and Action for Human Rights in the Mediterranean, he participates actively in the destiny of his people. Interviewed by Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent in Brussels, he spoke of the problems, projects and hopes of the Kurds. In recent days the EU has focused attention on the start of negotiations on Turkey’s membership. The decision taken by the European Council on 17 December will have important repercussions also for the Kurds… “To change a country, to transform its rules and to promote democracy, there may be internal and external dynamics. I believe that the prospect of membership – which is an ‘external’ condition – will represent a concrete stimulus for achieving Turkey’s progress. I have always hoped that a strong signal would arrive from the Union, and that it would give incentives to Ankara to continue along the road of reforms, even though I am convinced that our country is not in conformity with the criteria for accession to the Community and that it still presents too many violations of democratic rules, human rights and the rights of minorities”. What is the situation of human rights in Turkey today? “The realty is there for everyone to see. There are hundreds of requests for condemnation for human rights violations according to the Strasbourg Court. But, apart from that, history speaks of over 4,000 Kurdish villages destroyed, and of a situation of objective inferiority of women”. Why do you consider that the rapprochement between Turkey and the EU may help the internal situation? “Because a condition of the membership negotiations is that the candidate country should respect precise economic, social and legal criteria that move in the direction of an overall modernization of the country, aimed at greater democracy, respect for civil liberties and the rights of the person. The Copenhagen criteria mean just that. The negotiations will impose on the Turkish government the need to respect all its citizens, adjust its legislation to the standards of Western democracies, submit its army to the law… You know, I’ve got friends who have been thrown into prison for having said just these things at home. I think that if Turkey moves towards the West, the modern nation will also grow”. In the Resolution approved by the EP on Wednesday 15 December on the start of negotiations with Turkey, reference is made to the Kurdish situation, calling on Ankara to respect your people. The issue was also discussed during the last European Council in Brussels. What is the situation in this regard today? “Kurdistan is disputed, now as in the past, due to its rich natural resources: it’s enough to mention petrol and water. It’s a land that has been subjected to foreign invasions and foreign powers: the Arabs, the Turks… But the Kurds have inhabited that land for at least 4000 years and want only to live in peace, and be able to take by themselves the decisions that concern their own life. For this Leyla Zana, who was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament some years ago, is a symbol for us: because she has always called for self-determination and the freedom to express ourselves in our native language. She has paid for this courage with years of imprisonment. The right way forward is that of non-violent struggle, of unity of intentions among all those Turks, Kurds, Armenians and others who aspire to peace and reciprocal respect”. So are the Kurds the “victims of history”? “Not only victims. Of course we ourselves have made various errors – most recently the error of having played the role of gendarmes on behalf of the USA in Northern Iraq. More generally the Kurds have always been used against someone: the Kurds of Iraq against Iran, those of Turkey against Syria, the Syrian Kurds against Turkey and the Iraqis. It’s a history full of difficulties and dark pages. But now we look ahead and see that Europe is our future horizon”.