Don't even joke about it
Claire Berlinski ·
Jun 22, 2010 at 4:37am
In an earlier comment thread, a contributor made a light-hearted comment about sending a "Free Kurdistan" flotilla to Turkey. I know it was a joke. But the PKK killed four people in Istanbul this morning with a roadside bomb. Could have been me, could have been anyone. They set off a sound bomb in my neighborhood, too. The PKK are terrorists -- Maoist lunatics seeking an "ethnically pure" Kurdish state; and believe me, if they get one, the first thing they'll do is turn the place into Cambodia circa 1975. They're the scum of the earth. Helping them in any way would be exactly as funny as helping Hamas, no matter what point someone's trying to prove.
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Jun '10
Re: Don't even joke about it
Most Americans have never even heard of the PKK. Even those of us who have are probably under the mistaken impression that they are indigenous freedom fighters for an independent Kurdistan. I had no idea they were Maoist of all things. It doesn't square with the culture of eastern Turkey which is reputed to be more traditionally Muslim.
I was in Peru when the Shining Path movement was active. They were a nasty bunch of Maoists as well, responsible it's said for the deaths of many tens of thousands of innocent campesinos. Their leader was a college professor of all things. I guess only an intellectual could repeat Mao's atrocities and believe the outcome could be good.
So, Claire, what's the genesis of the PKK? From where do they draw their support? Are they ideological or just a mafia? You're better placed to enlighten us than the mainstream media.
Jun '10
Re: Don't even joke about it
I was the one who made the comment that so riled you. Thanks for informing us some about the PKK. I really have no idea who or what they are. As a matter of fact, I never even mentioned the PKK in my comment. The point of organizing "free Kurdistan flotillas" was exactly to mock the current Turkish government as it has adopted this holier than thou attitude in its support of Hamas. Would that the world join with you in being as upset about Jews being killed. Then offhanded comments would have no occasion to arise.
May '10
Re: Don't even joke about it
Claire -- Please excuse my ignorance, but does the general silence in the West around the activities of the PKK stem from the Iraq conflict and the generally expounded idea that the Kurds are the "good guys" and our friends? I may have this wrong but it seems as though the narrative in the Western press from the time of the Iraq invasion was that Turkey's interest in Kurdistan was inappropriate and the indigenous Kurds were as Paules says, "freedom fighters." Is it Iraq politics that keeps the PKK from being called out more as a terrorist organization? Or am I just uninformed? Thx.
Re: Don't even joke about it
Hi cdor, you're right, you didn't mention it ... and I'm certainly not riled at your comment; I'm riled at the PKK, which has had quite the busy morning here killing teenaged girls. Enough to get anyone riled.
It's certainly true that the Turkish government's attitude toward Israel has been absolutely hypocritical. It's astonishing that a nation that knows so well what terrorism means could truck with Hamas. But if in return the world lends its sympathies to the PKK, all that means is that two contemptible terrorist groups win instead of one.
I wrote this article about the PKK and the media's ridiculous treatment of it nearly two years ago. I think it answers most of your excellent questions. I'm actually working on another one today. I'll post it, of course. Oh, this article might also be of interest; I note that the tactics Turkey has employed to combat the PKK are strikingly similar to those used by Israel against Hamas. Has this statistic made its way into the Western press, I wonder? Any protests about it? Don't bother to answer, the question's rhetorical.
May '10
Re: Don't even joke about it
I hadn't heard of the PKK until you mentioned it. But I didn't pay much attention to Turkey until recently.
Perhaps Kurds are depicted as "good guys" because of the story of Saddam Hussein gassing them in Iraq. A favorite genre in modern news is the victim story. Perhaps Western journalists got used to thinking of the Kurds in that cartoonish way and they're reluctant to let go of it.