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| Europe |
| Happy is the one who calls himself a Kurd |
| 2003-04-11 |
| ISMIL, Turkey: It was not drugs, brawls or the usual teenage recklessness that landed Bayram A. in trouble, confronting him with the prospect of as many as five years in prison. It was a word. But by uttering it, when and where he did, Bayram tapped directly into some of Turkey's darkest anxieties. On a school day last November, his teachers in this remote, poor, densely Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey asked him to lead his classmates in the customary Turkish pledge of allegiance, which includes the line, "Happy is the one who calls himself a Turk." Bayram, then 15, balked. "I have a stomachache," he recalls telling the teachers. "I don't feel good." They insisted that he press ahead. So he did, and what they heard him say was this: "Happy is the one who calls himself a Kurd." The teachers not only sent him home from school for the day, but also summoned the police. Bayram now stands accused of "inciting hatred and enmity on the basis of religion, race, language or regional differences," The teacher was quoted as saying "how dare he try to incite hatred, only we are allowed to do that" according to the indictment filed against him in State Security Court in Diyarbakir, about 30 miles west of here. Human rights advocates are not really surprised. "This case is just one example of violations that have gone on for 15 years," said Muharrem Erbey, an executive with the Human Rights Association in Diyarbakir. Mr. Erbey, who is also Bayram's lawyer, requested that Bayram's last name be withheld. It has not been published in Turkey, where the law protects minors from such exposure. Bayram's case provides a glimpse into the extreme vigilance of Turkish government officials against any possible flicker of Kurdish separatism, a watchfulness that continues to shape the country's response to the war in Iraq in potentially crucial ways.... The words had always felt wrong and phony to him probably because they are and he said he realized on that day that he did not want to be the one proclaiming them from center stage. "It was a moment," he said, not elaborating on the thought. sorta like rosa parks refusing to give up her seat Classmates gaped at what came out of his mouth, then giggled. A teacher loudly berated him, he recalled, saying that he was a disgraceful ingrate, like so many Kurdish children in Turkey. Word spread fast through the village. His father rushed to the school to ask the principal to be lenient. His mother wept. |
| Posted by:----------<<<<-- |
| #9 Tj, If a teacher in the U.S. tried this crap,they would be firied.Jahova's Witness due not Pledge Alegience to the Flag,but they are not vilified,much less imprisioned. "Happy is the one who calls himself an Apache." Should my nieghbor's child have to put-up with a bigot for a teacher,should that child face 5-years in prision for being proud and happy at being an Apache.We (White America)virtually destroyed Native American culture,fortunaltly we had some wise leaders who put an end to this deplroable practice. One of my favorite fishing spots is School House Point,Roosevelt Lake,Arizona.You know one of those reservation school's where children couldn't even talk among themselves in thier native lanquage. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-04-12 07:44:26 |
| #8 We can all sympathize with the plight of the Kurds. Certainly more than the Palestinians. But they are not pure and angel-like either. There has been Kurdish terrorism too, although less recently. But I don't like the idea of balkanizing Mesopatamia and central Asia. Giving the Kurds cultural freedom and political integration into Turkey, Iraq and Iran is much more preferable. Nobody wins if the world is constantly breaking down into little Ethnic-a-stans. It's a recepie for un-ending war. |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-04-12 01:37:43 |
| #7 I am surprised by these posts regarding someone refusing to say the Turkish pledge. Suppose someone had tried the same stunt in the US. I know there wouldn't be penal time involved but wouldn't you be upset? The Turks have spent the past ten years dealing with a communist led Kurd insurgency. While I also like the Kurds, I'll have no truck with communists. If the US were dealing with the same sort insurgency would you still condemn the Turks? |
| Posted by: TJ Jackson 2003-04-12 00:06:45 |
#6 Bayram now stands accused of "inciting hatred and enmity on the basis of religion, race, language or regional differences," Hey! Only American lawmakers are allowed to ratify oppressive hate speech laws. I'm suing! |
| Posted by: Celissa 2003-04-11 15:39:58 |
| #5 Jim Crow's still alive in Turkey.I think Bush should now support the resolution in Congress acknowledging The Armenian Genocide.Clinton blocked it in 2000 so as not to annoy an important ally.Since Turkey isn't one anymore,why not go ahead? |
| Posted by: El Id 2003-04-11 13:01:16 |
| #4 I'd say Kurdistan(TM) has a new poster boy... Hey kid, want to be famous? |
| Posted by: -----------<<<<- 2003-04-11 11:58:53 |
| #3 Amazing. He says he is happy to be a Kurd. As far as I can tell, he didn't denigrate Turks by that innocuous statement. The teacher turns around, calls him an ingrate like so many other Kurds (ethnic slur), and the KID gets five years? Ok, Murat, explain this, please....he didn't call for revolution, didn't say he loves the PKK, all he did was change a word. |
| Posted by: Former Russian Major 2003-04-11 11:25:22 |
| #2 Yeah. Hey Murat! Oi, Murat! C'mover here, we want a comment please.... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-04-11 09:58:16 |
| #1 C'mon, Murat, here's a fat, juicy one for you. Let's hear it! |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-11 09:51:32 |