Kurdish question stems from the emergence of nationalism at the end of the Ottoman Empire times. Like Armenians and many other minorities within the empire, Kurdish people wanted their independence too. However, because the Kurds and the Turks were all Muslim and under the umbrella of the caliphate, they strived together for the victory against the Allies for saving the caliphate. However, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed Kurds were divided by the national borders; some of them were in the Iran borders, some of them were in the Iraq borders and some of them were in the newly established Turkish Republic borders. Therefore, the identity of Kurds was fragmented. They were the only ethnic group or nation which did not end up by their nation state and it seemed difficult to have one anymore because they were all scattered around the states. Furthermore, even they supported Independence War against the Allies; Turkish Republic did not recognize them after foundation and established the nation state for only Turks. Moreover, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk also abolished the caliphate in 1924 which was the common ground for Kurds and Turks.  However, Ataturk promoted the motto of ‘Ne mutlu Türk’üm Diyene!’ best translated as ‘Happy is whoever says I am a Turk’ not whoever is a Turk. To be Turk meant to live within the boundaries of the republic and thereby to be its citizen (Radu, 2003). However, Kurds felt betrayed. With the political student movements in the 1960s and the Barzani’s revolt in 1961-1975 in Iraq, Kurdish opposition movement were also able to organize itself with the establishment of PKK in 1974(Roy, 2005).

Kurdish insurgency in Turkey actually gets supports both from the West and Third World countries. The West sees these problems as a matter of oppression or denial of rights by a majority of group, Turks, of an ethnic minority, Kurds. However, when you ask any of Turkish people, they would deny oppression of Kurds. Especially, Turkish elites argue that there is no problem of oppression but socioeconomic problem in the southeastern part of the state where many Kurds inhabit. Many of the elites also believe that terrorist groups within this minority group are strongly supported by the foreign states aiming at weakening Turkey.

In fact, what those people think is not just a conspiracy theory. PKK was always seen as an opportunity by the neighbor states to weaken Turkey. Greece, Syria, The Republic of Cyprus and Iran supported the existence of PKK in Turkey by both supplying them financial aid and also hosting them in their territories. Specifically, the reason for Syria to support PKK was manifold. The first reason; there was a conflict between Turkey and Syria over Hatay after French colonization in the region. Secondly, Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (GAP) was a huge project which was planned to use water from Euphrates and Tigris Rivers to irrigate large tracts of the arid region. With this project the Southern part of Turkey was aimed to be developed and increased the amount of harvest even 6 times. However, Syria perceived this as a treat to itself fearing it would affect the amount of water Syria could get from these rivers.  Therefore, it supported both Kurdish terrorist group PKK and Armenian terrorist groups like ASALA against Turkish Republic. Other states generally, like Greece and Iran, did not want to have a strong Turkey just next to them and supported PKK against Turkish Republic. It is doubtful whether PKK could have attained anything close to the position it did without foreign support (Radu, 2005).

We should keep in mind that Kurdish problem in Turkey is distinct from the problem of PKK terrorism. Not every Kurdish people support what PKK does. Only 29% of the Kurdish population viewed PKK as the best representative of Kurdish people. Moreover, majority of Kurdish people want to remain within Turkish state (Milliyet Gazetesi, 1992). Originally, PKK was established based on Marxist- Leninist ideology in 1973 by Abdullah Öcalan. It was to advocate the creation of a Marxist-Kurdish state. PKK agenda described Kurdistan area under a colonial rule and the tribal leaders are the comprador colluded to help the state exploit the lower classes. This Marxist approach was the basic reason for Soviet help to PKK during Cold War. However, in 1990s we see a shift in PKK politics from Marxist to nationalist. This is basically because the region people were not interested in ideologies and were wary of them. Nationalism, on the other hand, was familiar to them and in accordance with their actual aim: independent Kurdish State. Therefore, with nationalist approach PKK was able to attract more people from Kurdish grassroots.

Even Kurdish minority is a hot topic in Turkish politics; Turkey is neither a bipolar nor a deeply divided society like Rwanda or Sri Lanka. Open tensions in society between Turks and Kurds remain minimal. Kurdish people is the most populous minority in Turkey and they are the only one Ataturk’s nation building did not succeed. There is irrefutable ethnic aspect but the core in Kurdish problem is oft-neglected social, economic, political and ideological dimensions, which makes it different from ethnic conflicts in Kosovo, Chechnya, Rwanda and Liberia too. The Kurdish areas have consistently lagged behind the rest of Turkey in terms of economic development due largely to the preservation of the tribal structures and the neglect of central government. Tribal leaders of course have an interest in preventing rapid modernization which would inevitably weaken the traditional social structures that perpetuate their power. As a result, they have in all likelihood encouraged a certain lack of attention to their region on the part of central authorities (p.130, Radu, 2005).  This lack of state investment later caused lack of education, infrastructure and resulted in underdevelopment in the region, which will eventually cause emergence of terrorist groups in the name of ‘freedom fighter’. Basically, the reason for this underdevelopment in the region is seen as an economic racism done by the government against Kurdish people and a ground for the rebellion.

With the coup d’état in 1980 in Turkey, government’s approach toward PKK and Kurdish people had an extreme condition. There was more repressive and ignorant approach. Military government leader Evren even rejected the existence of the Kurdish and said there is nothing like Kurds but a sound when you walk on the snow similar to ‘Kurd’ sound and the people who name themselves as Kurds are the people who lived in snowy places most of the time and got this nickname. This became a government policy and many generations grew up assuming that Kurdish people actually belonged to Turkish origins but somehow they were rebellion (Radikal Gazetesi, 2007). By this way Kurdish people compelled either to be a member of PKK to have a voice or either got assimilated in Turkish culture. Any peaceful advocacy of Kurdish rights would attract the wrath of both the state and the PKK (Radu, 2005).

Turkey lost so much energy on this issue. The allocation of military spending is even higher than national education spending. Turkey wants to be an EU member and a strong state in the region. Some negotiations between EU and Turkey were just about minority problems in Turkey. It is essential to solve this issue by peaceful manners and please the Kurdish people without preventing Turkey from being a strong state. This ‘Kurdish Problem’ hunch is always emerging especially in critical times, like EU negotiations. This Kurd-Turk distinction is so unnecessary and damaging Turkey’s developmental state aims.

Solutions to this conflict lie in the democratization process. Turkish government should abolish any law restricting cultural rights .However; Ankara still sometimes refrains from letting Kurdish legal and political representation. It perceives them as a menace to national security and as a separatist terrorism. However, it is known by experience in the past that preventing them participating from politics is much more destructive. Additionally, some scholars argue that government should allow education in the mother language for the Kurds claiming it will enable them to learn their identity and be a part of the society at the same time. However, government is afraid of that it may cause a fragmentation in the society and secession of the state. That seems reasonable because by this way you may create a society even cannot speak the same language. Turkish government right now does not recognize any diploma taught in any ethnic language but allows opening Kurdish courses and Kurdish departments in the universities.

Furthermore, the Southeastern part of Turkey needs to be developed by being industrialized. However, government should pay attention to the distribution of wealth over there because in the past the gain was just for the landlord but not the peasants. Actually over the years, governors and NGOs try to resolve this issue by implementing new projects in the region. ’Kardelen’ project, for example, was aiming bringing girls to the school in the region and was quite successful.

Populated mostly by Kurdish people the Southeastern part of Turley has been witnessing state-oriented investments nowadays. Most recently, Kurdish people have a state-controlled TV channel which is broadcasting in Kurdish. Even some universities are arguing opening a department of Kurdish language and literature and they are allowed to do so by the law anymore. Other than cultural investments, state tries to make the region more attractive to the private investment by lowering the tax here. It is believed that if the unemployment rates decrease, there would be less people who will be willing to a part of PKK. These progresses are more than welcome by the Kurdish society. Turkish people are also hopeful that maybe these new rights and developments will satisfy the Kurds and this conflict will reach to an end. Neither Kurdish mother nor Turkish mother wants to sacrifice their sons in the battle for this endless conflict anymore.  Turkey has won the war against PKK in 1999 and right now it needs to win the peace (Radu, 2005).

Melike Baştürk

References

1. Berkan, I. (2007). The Problem of Terror and Kurds. Radikal Newspaper. (6^th of November)

2. Roy O., the editor (2005). Turkey Today: A European Country?.

3. Radu S. Michael, the editor (2003). Dangerous Neighborhood: Contemporary Issues in Turkey’s Foreign Relations. The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics by Svante E. Cornell, 126-140.

4. The Survey Results Published in Milliyet Newspaper, 6^th September 1992.

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Today, roughly half of the population is female. Despite this mass and much of the world economy driven by women, they have just 10% of the world’s income. The gender gap became clearer especially after World Economic Forum 2010 released its worldwide report results. According to Global Gender Gap Index, Iceland is the country where there is the smallest gender gap and Yemen is the biggest. While US is the 31st, Turkey is the 129th out of 134 country (Switzerland, 2010).

To begin with, gender equality is a really complex phenomenon; therefore what exactly ‘equality’ means needs to be answered .It does not necessarily mean always fifty-fifty, rather it is giving the right to women to do whatever they want:work outside home, study at school or even stay at home. What is indispensable is civil justice that guarantees woman rights. Respected and protected rights, economical and political participation, sanitation, education and being free from violence bring along woman emancipation. Unfortunately, one of the major problems that women get face to face is usually lack of opportunity to fulfill their objectives. Statistics about women participation in business is important; because it gives us whether they are given the same opportunity to participate in as much as men or not. Majority of female population wants to be involved in business arena, if they are endowed. However, according to the some, attempts to achieve equality between men and women often result in tokenism, which means a symbolic gesture.

Does equality means women at work or just fundamental respect for woman in the society? The answer is both of them. It is essential to change the way people behave against women especially in their basic units of society, which is in fact home. By dealing with literacy and neglect, it is achievable to reach respect for women. Educated women have more chance to be a part of the economic life; because, economic sufficiency brings in dignity in the society. Those women who are capable of affording their needs are less inclined to be under pressure on their own situations and political decisions. Therefore, respect for women in the society and economic, political participation go hand-in-hand.

Since women are replete with different talents and capabilities, unemployed women are waste of talents. Whether you see women as potential consumers or potential talent pool, you need to see them as a work pool in the end. They needs to be brought to the market, which is an economic imperative. It is another question that whether women behave in a more responsible or a less risky way. It is a natural faith that women are better to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and their employers’ shoes. Furthermore; greater balance, greater representation of experiences and differences of talents lead to better production in the end, actually it is what we should strive for.

British businesswoman Nichola Pease recently told a UK parliamentary committee that some employers believe hiring women is ‘a nightmare’ because of maternity leave and fears of discrimination action. It is true that maternity leave is a burden for small entrepreneurs, but the cost is relatively less for the big ones. When we think about 30 years of business life and approximately one or two children per woman, two or three months of maternity leave should not be a concern of any employers. It is necessary to consider about woman’s contribution to the business first. And also, in the changing world,paternity leave is also encountered any more .

Melike BAŞTÜRK

China is being accused of keeping its currency undervalued in order to boost exports. US legislators and trade groups say the yuan is kept up to 40% below what its value should be against dollar. US President Barack Obama urged China to adopt a ‘more market-oriented exchange rate’, a day after that a deputy governor of the Chinese Central Bank said that US should not politicise Chinese currency policy. When we look at this issue from Chinese perspective,  US and EU force China to solve their own problem, which is not acceptable for them.However, EU does think adversely. According to them the global economy should be dealt with all together. Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission said, China is in front of a choice whether to be a giant alone or to grow co-operatively. He also warns that all the countries that try to grow alone in a global world is bound to fail.

The yuan was tied to dollar until 2005 when it was allowed to rise in value by 20%. The peg was reinstated in 2008 when the global economic crisis at demand for Chinese products and factories began closing. China PM Wen pronounces himself as a staunch supporter of free trade warning against protectionism and currency devaluations to boost exports as harmful to economic recovery. He says keeping yuan stable was an important contribution to global recovery from the economic downturn. He claims that yuan, or renminbi, is not undervalued; not in that even as global trade plummeted last year, US and EU exports to China shrank at lower rate. With more than 800 billion of dollars its foreign exchange reserves invested in US Treasury Securities Wen says the value of the US dollar was a big concern and asked to take unspecified steps to reassure investors.

However, some experts argue that markets are overestimating the potential impact of an appreciation of Chinese renminbi aganist the US dollar on other currencies. Riaefcke from Commerzbank states that fears of reduction in China’s trade surplus with the US due to falling exports are not borne out by history.Between 2005-2009 when the trade-weighted renminbi appreciated notably, China’s surplus rose immediately. The direct effects of renminbi appreciation are not to be discernible. Only secondary effects which will be mainly of market psychological nature will have some limited effects on the G10 currencies.

If China did not start to appreciate the renminbi over a few weeks, economist Stephen Green urges that there would be a good chance for the US to label China as a currency manipulator. That could pave the way for the US to levy new duties on Chinese products. The respond coming from China will set the agenda for the global trade and exchange markets.

US is the strongest economy of the world now and China seems to be the one in the future.1890-1910 period was the time for US to boost as a super power. The time is ticking for China now, but the efforts of China to sustain its military capability and statistics about its developments make it dependant on US support, unfortunately. Any idea  about  a boycott on China  from US will have hazardous impacts on China; because of this China is behaving in a way that the relation between them will not be damaged. Everybody and of course China also know that one swallow does not make a summer. The recorded economical developments does not mean everything, unless it is handled very carefully to maintain it.

Melike BAŞTÜRK