Choose Truth Over Propaganda

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As for Dr. Polya’s claim that: 
 
“Turkey has been involved in genocidal violence and discrimination against its Kurdish minority, is party to the US Iraqi Genocide and is now threatening to bring the carnage of war to relatively peaceful Northern Iraq.”  
 
Being a person with Kurdish ancestry and residing in Turkey for 16 years and having worked in Turkey, I TOTALLY REJECT this proclamation and I question Dr. Polya’s sources and motives.  
 
Dr. Polya seems to believe that the PKK (Internationally recognised TERRORISTS) represents the ethnic Kurds of Turkey. I can assure you that nothing is further from the truth. The PKK does NOT represent the Kurds. The citizens of Turkey have enough commonsense and are broad-minded enough to recognise this and to not fall prey to the PKK’s efforts to try to make them believe otherwise. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many in the west who have become pawns in their game. 
 
In my life here in Turkey, I have often openly stated my Kurdish ancestry and never have I been discriminated against because of it. I have worked with doctors and other professionals and non-professionals of Kurdish origin. I did not witness any discrimination against them.  
 
I have often been surprised at how minimal the prejudice and negative reactions against Kurds in general has been, particularly after a PKK terrorist attack. My surprise is due to the fact that I have experienced prejudice in Australia for years as a migrant muslim, which was much exacerbated post 9/11.  
 
In Australia, whenever a Turk did anything criminal or offensive, all Turks were generally blamed. The same went for people of other nationalities. On my visit to Australia a couple of years ago, I witnessed first hand the negative impact of 9/11 and Bush’s and Howard’s ‘war on terror’, on members of the muslim population of Australia. The fear and discomfort I was made to feel for being a migrant/ muslim in Australia, far outways any fear and discomfort I might feel for being of Kurdish origin in Turkey.  
 
Turks in general see the difference between the TERRORIST PKK and Kurds. Westerners appear not to see the difference between TERRORISTS CLAIMING TO REPRESENT ISLAM and the people who believe in Islam. 
 
In fact, there are many Kurdish citizens of Turkey, in many walks of life, living and working freely in Turkey. At least one of the President’s of Turkey, namely Turgut Özal, was of Kurdish origin. There are parliamentarians, doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, nurses, teachers, clerics, clerks, actors, musicians etc. etc. etc. who are also Turks of Kurdish ancestry. There is a government channel where the language spoken is Kurdish. There is even a political party, namely DTP, which is said to be the political arm of the PKK! Now which other supposed ‘discriminatory, genocidal’ nation on earth would allow such a thing?? 
 
Here is an excerpt of a letter written by Australia\'s former ambassador to Ankara, Mr. P. F. Peters, back in 1994, in response to an anti-Turkish letter written by a Mr. George Karagiannakis, and published in the daily The Australian: 
 
 
“The PKK, like IRA, is a terrorist organization, supported materially by the Greeks and Armenians, with the stated objective of destabilizing Turkey. It has so far assassinated over 10,000 people in Turkey. It has no justifiable claim to represent the Kurdish people. 
 
Most Kurds are integrated into Turkish society. About one-third of the Turkish Parliament is of Kurdish origin. This illustrates the absence of discrimination. 
 
P. F. Peters 
 
Former Australian Ambassador to Turkey” 
(The Australian, June 9th, 1994) 
 
It must be said, that it is not only the Greeks and Armenians who have been supporting this terrorist organization. Many countries in Europe and some not in Europe, have over the years allowed PKK supporters to collect funds for the PKK, in their countries, irrespective of Turkey’s constant request that they stop. Some countries have also actively harboured known terrorists including the leader of the TERRORIST PKK, namely Abdullah Ocalan.  
 
Currently, the total deaths as a result of PKK terrorism is estimated to be over 30,000. Many men, women and children were killed and are being killed indiscriminately by the PKK. Just yesterday, the Hürriyet newspaper reported that 10 suspects (3 of whom were known bombers) were arrested, in relation to a bomb which was placed inside a thermos and left at Ko_uyolu Park in Diyarbak1r on 12.09.2006, leading to the deaths of 10 people, 7 of whom were children. (http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=11273221)  
 
This is just one of the way too many  
acts of terrorism perpetrated by PKK. It is these terrorists that Turkey attacks, not the ethnic Kurds of Turkey, or it’s neighbours.  
 
Is Turkey perfectly innocent , and commits no offence to anybody? Of course not. It is sure to have made mistakes. But it is not as ugly as it is painted to be either. 
 
Finally, ignorance breeds hate and hate breeds violence. Let’s work together in educating ourselves, and each other, on objective truths, with the aim of achieving sustainable peace. In all conscience, this should be the true aim of ‘decent folk’ not regurgitated hateful propaganda for the masses.

Guest