It is hard sometimes to stay focused, when confronted by so many issues it is easy to get swallowed up and lose your thread and so it was for me recently at the Occupy London Stock Exchange. Tensions rose following an armed police raid on a Kurdish tent after an accusation that the group were carrying guns, this turned out to be false but the damage to their reputation and presence there had already been done. The Kurdish tent pitched up at the footsteps of St Paul's Cathedral provides an uneasy sight for the UK Government as they, Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union have labelled the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) a terrorist group and the very prospect of everyday Londoners, tourists and protesters engaging in meaningful conversation in to the untold story of Kurds in Turkey proved too much.
At one of the general assemblies, where members of the Occupy Working groups stand and disseminate the latest news, a man stood and spoke out about the incident looking to encourage people to engage with the Kurds. I decided to take this opportunity and introduced myself to the gentleman at the end of his address. He told me a bit about himself (his name was Mark) and then invited me into the tent where I met four others in a picture of tranquility amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy London road just yards from them. Shy at first they each introduced themselves to me before going on to explain their history.
As with all things you have to look to the history books to fully understand a current situation or predicament, such as Tibet, Ireland and of course Palestine.
Kurdistan it seems was to be a country of its own right to self rule, along with Armenia, after the break up of the Ottoman Empire following the signing of the Treaty of Sevres. Unfortunately however it was never ratified. This meant after the area fell to the forces of Kemal Ataturk and the reconquest complete, it led to the Treaty of Lausanne and the modern borders of Turkey, leaving the Kurds with no self ruled region. Rebellion ensued between 1925 and 1965 and later from 1983 the Kurdish Workers Party was labelled a terrorist organisation due to the activities of the activist arm the PKK. The 1980's and 1990's saw much blood shed and this is where the information from this group became particularly upsetting.
I was told how their families are not allowed to give their family name to their children, how the practice of their language is restricted and how their people were slaughtered by the army. Towns razed to the ground by flame throwers, mutilation, rape and torture.
In short, ethnic cleansing.
Mark was encouraged to tell me about his own personal experiences of the Kurdish struggle and the town of Lice (pronounced Leejay) when working as a photographer and journalist in the area in 1993, he came across a scene of true horror. On October 22nd and 23rd 1993 the Turkish army went to Lice and burned it to the ground whilst shooting those people running for cover. Lice was home to 35,000 humans.
Mark has his own Twitter and blog page with information and images which I shall attach at the end for you to see and make your own mind up and I urge you to.
Eventually they went on to discuss with me their experiences at the hands of our police, it came to light that some of the police in question were in fact Turkish speaking. As I sat and listened to them all it became more apparent to me as to why there had been this alarmist raid by the police. The debacle surrounding the St Paul's Cathedral has been a media circus, particularly around the 'will they, won't they' eviction nonsense, Remembrance Sunday was fast approaching and so the sight of this political statement turning up on their corporate doorstep was a huge problem. The best way to discredit this peaceful move was to pray on the peoples fear of terror. Hitler once said "Make the lie big, make it simple. Keep repeating it and eventually they will believe it." All I can say is ask more questions, if you are in the area speak to the Kurdish people. Listen to what they have to say and make up your own mind.
At one of the general assemblies, where members of the Occupy Working groups stand and disseminate the latest news, a man stood and spoke out about the incident looking to encourage people to engage with the Kurds. I decided to take this opportunity and introduced myself to the gentleman at the end of his address. He told me a bit about himself (his name was Mark) and then invited me into the tent where I met four others in a picture of tranquility amongst the hustle and bustle of the busy London road just yards from them. Shy at first they each introduced themselves to me before going on to explain their history.
As with all things you have to look to the history books to fully understand a current situation or predicament, such as Tibet, Ireland and of course Palestine.
Kurdistan it seems was to be a country of its own right to self rule, along with Armenia, after the break up of the Ottoman Empire following the signing of the Treaty of Sevres. Unfortunately however it was never ratified. This meant after the area fell to the forces of Kemal Ataturk and the reconquest complete, it led to the Treaty of Lausanne and the modern borders of Turkey, leaving the Kurds with no self ruled region. Rebellion ensued between 1925 and 1965 and later from 1983 the Kurdish Workers Party was labelled a terrorist organisation due to the activities of the activist arm the PKK. The 1980's and 1990's saw much blood shed and this is where the information from this group became particularly upsetting.
I was told how their families are not allowed to give their family name to their children, how the practice of their language is restricted and how their people were slaughtered by the army. Towns razed to the ground by flame throwers, mutilation, rape and torture.
In short, ethnic cleansing.
Mark was encouraged to tell me about his own personal experiences of the Kurdish struggle and the town of Lice (pronounced Leejay) when working as a photographer and journalist in the area in 1993, he came across a scene of true horror. On October 22nd and 23rd 1993 the Turkish army went to Lice and burned it to the ground whilst shooting those people running for cover. Lice was home to 35,000 humans.
Mark has his own Twitter and blog page with information and images which I shall attach at the end for you to see and make your own mind up and I urge you to.
Eventually they went on to discuss with me their experiences at the hands of our police, it came to light that some of the police in question were in fact Turkish speaking. As I sat and listened to them all it became more apparent to me as to why there had been this alarmist raid by the police. The debacle surrounding the St Paul's Cathedral has been a media circus, particularly around the 'will they, won't they' eviction nonsense, Remembrance Sunday was fast approaching and so the sight of this political statement turning up on their corporate doorstep was a huge problem. The best way to discredit this peaceful move was to pray on the peoples fear of terror. Hitler once said "Make the lie big, make it simple. Keep repeating it and eventually they will believe it." All I can say is ask more questions, if you are in the area speak to the Kurdish people. Listen to what they have to say and make up your own mind.
http://www.economist.com/node/1581362
http://hevallo.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-dare-turkey-talk-about-justice.html
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