Thanksgiving with Turkey, Kurds, and Prospects for Peace

There are some incredibly violent political confrontations flaring up all over the world, but it helps to also keep in mind the relatively successful peace efforts. After tracking a number of initiatives which remain tenuous - Niger rebel groups disarmed in exchange for amnesty; Sierra Leone completed its war crimes trials without too much controversy; Northern Ireland, maybe not yet - I came upon a surprise: Turkey.

After decades of violence between the Turkish government and Kurdish rebels in the Kurdish-populated southeast of the country, it turns out that the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has finally announced efforts to treat the Kurdish minority distinctly from the rebel groups claiming to represent them. For years, the Turkish government forbid the use of the Kurdish language on television, in public forums, in schools, and - shockingly - in the naming of children. The language laws, among other measures to limit political freedoms for twenty percent of the population, unfairly punished the regular Kurdish community for the anti-government activities of Kurdish rebel groups. Obviously, the measures simply helped to push many of the population into the ranks of rebel supporters.

Now the Erdogan Administration, after already allowing slightly more flexibility on Kurdish political issues in recent years, claims it has plans to remove most if not all of the double standards which have been enforced at the cost of the political freedoms of Kurds, including the language and naming laws. So, if you have a family that likes to talk about peace and global politics over your Thanksgiving Tofurkey, you won't have to be a "downer" to bring up the Kurdish rebellion outside dusty Diyarbakir. If Erdogan follows through, then we can be thankful and applaud a huge step forward toward ending a long and bitter conflict.

[Photo: Kurdish mosque in Mardin, Eastern Turkey, Daniel J Gerstle]