Turkey's been working hard for many years to convince many countries in Europe to enter the EU. One of the issues that concern the EU, is the basic democratic right of the minority, including Kurdish people, in south west Turkey. Turkey is trying too hard to prove to the EU that their government has improved it's relationship with the Kurds and has been dealing with the Kurdish issue in a democratic way; when the reality is, there is still ethnic conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurds. There are still laws in the Turkish constitutions that deny the basic democratic rights of the Kurdish people. Which is denying Kurds the right to show or prove themselves as an independent nation across the world. The constitution de-means them.
Because of this, there is still an enormous amount of anger and high disappointments amongst the Kurdish population towards this corrupted political system, totalitarian regime, and it's laws. Along with those who are in power. There are still many Kurds in the Kurdistan region of Turkey who feel the need to go out and demonstrate their hostility on the streets of their cities. They want their voices can be heard, so they find themselves angrily chanting on and on about their terrible life condition. Their rights have been denied for centuries, and their environment that has been controlled and governed by figureheads rather than themselves. And instead of listening to their demands and compromising or having an open dialog with the people, this totalitarian government immediately calls in a Turkish army, the police, and the state's secret securities which carrying the best weapons, and are ready to shoot. They'll compare it to a game. Betting on which department would hit, wound, catch, and kill the highest amount of the demonstrators. In respond to this harsh, inhuman, abusive nature, the demonstrators begin to throw small rocks at what can only be described as well, monsters. Monsters who enjoy watching the beating, abuse, and even killing of other human beings.
Recently, the Turkish government, under the anti-terrorist act, introduced a new law that sentences minors and even youngsters as old as 14 or 15 years, who are involved in the throwing of rocks at any government officer to 12 years or more. This new system treats these kids like adults, which they are obviously not, during both their hearing and their sentencing; showing no mercy.
Lately, in the southern part of the Kurdistan region in Turkey, there have been a numerous amount of people, including both women and young children joining protests. Usually, kids around the world, especially in poorer countries, find themselves joining these demonstrations, not because they either know the cause or reason for a specific demonstration, or have an understanding of what is is right- but they involve themselves because they just enjoy the togetherness of the people. And they enjoy being treated like adults and being able to think that their opinions or thoughts count. But what none of these kids counted on was having to see their parents, their relatives, their neighbors, or their friends being taking away by a uniformed figure. They never thought they'd never saw them again. They probably couldn't even imagine the prisons and the inhuman conditions they had to try to live though. When they came back, if they did come back, they'd be back with broken skulls, jaws, fingers, wrists, legs; anything that could've been broken, probably was. If their physical pain wasn't enough, these people have to suffer emotionally every day. These people, because of the cruel psychological treatments they received, will never be the same.
A few days ago, Hassan; a 16 year old teenager, was arrested by Turkish Police in Kurdistan Turkey for what was the participation in a protest. For throwing a stone, he was beaten and wounded, and then arrested.
Hassan told his interview that even after he was arrested, the police continued to beat him. He was jailed for four days without any human contact. During this time, his tooth began to ache, but before the prison doctor even asked him about his condition, he too beat him. I ask what was the point of this?
In my opinion, Turkey hasn't really improved anything regarding it's relations with the Kurdish people which is why I believe that this ethnic conflict has continued, and will continue until the exploitation and oppression of the people is brought to an end. Both issues and anger will continue to rise until all democratic rights of the Kurdish people is recognized by the Turkish government and the global community.
