The Issue of Identity in Turkey and Its Lead to Conflict - Essay Example

THE ISSUE OF IDENTITY IN TURKEY AND ITS LEAD TO CONFLICT due: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Current human right situation in Turkey 3 Religious freedom rights in Turkey 6 Identity and ethnic minority rights in Turkey 8 Conflict between these identities and the Turkish population and state 11 Why the identity issues in Turkey lead to conflict 13 Conclusion 15 Bibliography 16 Introduction Turkey is a country having various religious minority groups. They include the Kurds, Greek Orthodox, Jews, Alevi, and Armenian. All these groups have their identities. The groups have, however, faced various forms of abuse of their rights. Muslim form the majority of the religious groups in the country (Ulusoy 2011, p.407-423). The unequal treatment of the minority groups by the Turks has resulted in a conflict with the Turkish. The official nationalism in Turkey has been marked with different cultures due to the different people. Major oscillations in nationalism have coincided with aspects such as modernization, democratization, globalization and Europeanisation (Keyman & Kanci 2011, p.318-336; Kaliber 2013, p.52-73). This paper will discuss the issue of identity in Turkey, with an emphasis on how the minority groups’ human rights are violated. Current human right situation in Turkey There have been frequent cases of war on terror in Turkey. In a report submitted during the Second International Conference of the EU Turkey Civic Commission, there was an amendment providing for life imprisonment for sympathisers and supporters of terrorists. However, the amendment of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), seemed to be abused by the Government. This resulted in a lot of disappearances, arrests without trials, and cases of torture have also been witnessed. There are allegations that a six-year-old girl was once held in prison under the same Terrorism Act (Great Britain 2006, p.102; Human rights watch 2015, para 1-4; Watson, Ivan, & Gul 2013, para 1-3). Amnesty International has outlined the main issues regarding the declining human rights situation in Turkey. It seems that the judiciary has introduced new restrictions on internet freedom, a move that has curtailed the freedom of expression. Anti-terror statutes continue to be employed as a way of limiting freedom of speech. The government of Turkey has undermined the independence of the mainstream media. Most recently, the government banned the use of social media tool Twitter and YouTube (Pearce 2012, p.406-427; Eissenstat 2015, para 2). Freedom of Assembly has also been restricted. The government has hindered peaceful demonstrations. Protests are not permitted and once spotted, the protestors are dispersed with excessive force by the police officers. Impunity is also high in Turkey. The police force has failed to conduct thorough investigations, especially on cases involving them. According to a report by Amnesty International, more than forty people were killed during protests in the Kurdish region of Turkey. The police did not conduct prompt crime scene investigations, neither did they question the suspected perpetrators of the attacks (Eissenstat 2015, para 6). Amnesty International has captured scenes of the Turkish police firing plastic bullets at the heads of protestors. The same police have been accused of sexually abusing female demonstrators and even shooting protestors using live bullets (International 2014, para 1-4). Even though the Prime Minister, Erdogan promised to create a cultural institute in Turkey for the religious minority, he is reluctant to reopen the Halki Seminary. The seminary was used to educate the clergy of the Greek Orthodox. Turkey has been called by members of the Greek community and the Western governments to lift the ban on Halki (Todays Zaman 2013, para 1-4; Toktas 2006, p. 489). Throughout the country, housing rights have been neglected. Urban renovation projects fail to uphold the rights of residents. Also, a majority of the refugees and Asylum seekers in Turkey have been neglected, even though the Turkish government receives a large share for their support. Many of them continue languishing in poverty and destitute (Eissenstat 2015, para 8). Reports have shown increased cases of human torture and violation of human rights. As a result, the Turkish government has been questioned on its commitment in addressing the problems. There is a critical situation facing the Kurds and the Turkish people. This problem is rooted in the Ottoman Empire, which is an aftermath of the First World War (Kushner 2015, p.220). For safety reasons, some Jews are now leaving Turkey. They face threats, attacks, and harassments every day. Their hope continues fading. Large numbers of the Turkish Jews are planning to move abroad with their families. Young students are building their future abroad. Young business people have followed suit (Özgür 2015, para 3; Krajeski 2014, para 1-2; Bulut 2014, para 1). The situation calls for the intervention of international bodies and powers such as Europe. The powers have a moral duty and political responsibility to facilitate a democratic dialogue that will assist Turkey in moving towards a peaceful future (Kurdish Human Rights Project 2005, p.68; Kurşun 2015, para 1-6). It has been argued that stability and security of the minorities in Turkey are based on escalating levels of violence and armed conflict. Even though democracy and culture of respect for human rights exist in the Southeast Turkey, cases of human rights violation are visible. The international community cannot tolerate the violations any longer. The oppressive treatment of the Kurdish people and continued armed conflicts reflect the poor democratic attitude of the Turkish State. The European Union offers a process for the Kurds and the Turks to come together and recognize the problem as it currently stands (Öncü 2014, p. 151-176; Domke 1997, para 1-8). Religious freedom rights in Turkey Turkey is committed to upholding human rights, which include the right to freedom of religion or belief. This is shown by its commitment in the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2004, Turkey made major amendments on its constitution, to some provisions of international agreements on basic rights and liberties of it citizens. Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution highlights the measures to be taken in case there is a conflict between Turkey and the international agreements on the rights and liberties of its citizens. The provision was a major milestone towards the creation of an enabling environment where people can freely exercise their religious practices. However, the provision has been ignored by judicial professionals. This has been shown by a continued increase in the number of applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The amendments on Article 90 has been seen as a pretext to protect the human rights of the citizens while the real scenario is different. The amendment has been seen as one curtailing religious freedoms and rights, especially through the judiciary. For instance, there has been an installation of a compulsory religious education. Non-Muslim minorities have also been denied their religious rights and freedom (Gonenc & Esen 2006, p.485). However, there is still tension in Turkey between the free exercise of religion and the secular state which is defined in the constitution. The constitution ascertains the right religion, as well as freedom of religious practice. This is provided the practices do not hinder the existence of the secular state. Turkey is currently struggling with a threat of religious tension. The limitations on religious practice in Turkey is understood in the context of the tension. In the recent past, Turkish women would not be allowed to wear headscarves in the public. The Turkish ban on headscarves, on the other hand, is not required to serve as a model in the context of religious tolerance (Çayir 2009, p.1681-1690; Kadioolu 2015, p.189). The state is using the amendment to control the sphere of religion and belief, instead of using it to secure the freedom of religion and belief of the society. This has been evidenced by cases concerning political parties and the high courts, which have adjudicated headscarf (Bleiberg 2005, p. 129). Christians in Turkey are oppressed and treated as second-class citizens. They do not enjoy the same rights as the Muslim majority. For instance, the Greek Orthodox Church has been experiencing difficult relationships with the state. The Christians are 120,000 Christians, making less than 1 percent of the population. Muslims are considered the real citizens while non-Muslims are seen as suspicious. Even though Christians are not persecuted, they are not treated equally. They do not have same rights especially when it comes to religious freedom (Oran 2007, p.35-56). This makes religious rights in Turkey an issue. The Cem Houses of the Alevies are put in the same category with the Christian churches. The taxes paid by the Alevies and the Christians and the tax do no go to their houses of worship. Instead, the taxes go towards the development of mosques. This imperfect separation has exposed the minority religious groups to restrictions and discrimination. There are only a few religious minorities in Turkey who are officially recognized. They include the Armenian and the Greek Orthodox churches, Chaldean and Greek Catholics. Protestants and Italy-rites Catholic Church lack any legal standing in Turkey (Eibner 2011, para 4; Jerusalem 2014, para 1-6). The other group that has been targeted in terms of religion is the Kurdish group of Turkey. The Kurds’ rights and freedom have embraced Islamic sentiments on their rights to exercise their faith. The Kurdish have utilized their religious discourses as a way of legitimizing their competition with the Turkish nationalists. The Kurds have challenged Prime Minister Erdogan to stick to the Sharia law and allow them to exercise the rights granted to them (Ozkirimli 2015, p.70). The Kurds have argued that they are also created by the same God who created the Muslims. Discriminating them, therefore, is a violation of God’s word (Sarigil & Fazlioglu 2013, p.557; Grigoriadis 2008, p.23-41.). Identity and ethnic minority rights in Turkey In sociology, an ethnic group is defined in terms of shared linguistic, cultural or other characteristics. Some states are much against discrimination of ethnic groups, and will closely follow their constitution that provides for the observance of the rights of the citizens. For example, in Canada, the 1982 Constitutional Act prohibits oppression and discrimination based on ethnic origin (Bilgin 2012, p.19). In Turkey, however, the situation is different. The Kurds have in many occasions faced oppressions since they are considered a minority group. There are approximately 25 million Kurds in Turkey. However, the Turkish states have defined citizen as Turks, suggesting that there are no Kurds in Turkey. The Kurdish ethnic identity is yet to be recognized and accepted as citizens of Turkey. This shows there is ethnicity in Turkey. The constitution of Turkey guarantees minorities their rights, but the implementation of the constitution has not yet succeeded in providing equal treatment for all. For instance, the Treaty of Lausanne and the current constitution provides protection for the minority groups, in terms of their religious and social rights. The Kurdish have been denied basic rights such as language and education, as well as political and socio-economic rights. They have not been granted linguistic, cultural, religious and other rights. The Kurdish language, schools, publications, associations, names, and music have all been banned. Some Kurds have also been imprisoned for acknowledging in public that they are Kurds in Turkey. There has, however, been calls for changes in the constitution to solve the Kurdish issue. For the constitutional changes to be effective (Bilgin 2012, p.19; Stempel 2014, para 1-6). The stand-off between the Turks and the ethnic group, the Turks remains strong. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been labelled as a terrorist group by the Turks. The Kurdish identity is experiencing a racialization process. Racialization refers to a process of forming a race from a collection of perceived group characteristics. In this case, the Kurdish ethnic identity is now in the process of acquiring racial characteristics. The Kurds are suffering from high levels of poverty, unemployment and fertility, low levels of education resulting in high levels of unemployment, further escalating their problems. To save them from the agony, a Treaty of Sevres was signed in 1920, with the intentions of establishing a Kurdish state. The Treaty was, however, replaced with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which gave a definition of a limited group of non-Muslims as minorities. In the present Turkey, only the major non-Muslim groups are officially recognized as religious minorities. After 1924, the constitution of Turkey defined all citizens as Turkish. The state, however, failed to tolerate the cultural expressions of the Kurdish identity, such as the use of the Kurdish language in public. The ban of the Kurdish language was, however, lifted in 2004. The Turkish government also established a TV channel broadcasting in the major Kurdish languages that include the Kurmani, Sorani and Zaza (Ergin 2012, p.331; Tezcür 2009, para 2). The Kurds in Turkey have been described in terms of their physical characteristics. This has created in them a sense of inferiority due to the ridicule they have faced from the Turks. They cannot fit in white-collar jobs, since they consider themselves fewer humans, especially when put together with their superiors, the Turks. Studies have shown that there is a mounting influence of appearance in the identification of the Kurds. For instance, in a study on nationalism in Turkey, a respondent identified the Kurds based on their facial hair. In a popular culture, the Kurdishness is closely associated with a combination of culture and physical features. The prejudice of the Turks towards the Kurds have gone to the level of making fun of them in humour magazines. For example, the Turkish humour magazines have written that the uncivilized characters with hairy bodies and dark skin always turn out to be Kurds. They are euphemistically referred to as the Easterners. According to the magazines, the hairier and darker one becomes, the less civilised they become. This is meant to portray the Kurds as an uncivilised group (Akdenize & Goker 2011, p.330; Hurst 2014, para 1; Deutsche Welle 2015, para 1-4). The Kurds have been described using their physical and cultural differences by the Turks. Some of the Turks have described them as lacking morally desirable qualities. In the eyes of the Turks, the Kurds are totally undesirable. The absence of modern characteristics, as seen in their physical evidence, is linked to moral deficiencies. As a result, the rising anti-Kurdish sentiments in the cities have significantly contributed to inter-ethnic tensions. The Kurdish have been accused of involvement in informal and illegal economic activities, including tax evasion, engagement in informal sectors, and inhabitation of squatter settlements. In addition, they have been blamed of ignorance and being uncultured. Coupled with their limited levels of formal education, the Kurds have been limited in terms of social mobility (Ergin 2012, p.332). Moreover, the Kurds have been defined as hate-mongers who are out to separate people. This image of them as separatists have ben derived from the armed conflict between security forces and the PKK. All this discrimination on the Kurds is unfair since they were an integral pat of the country’s foundation (Akdenize & Goker 2011, p.327). Today, the best they can get from the rest of the Turkish citizens is association with crime, such as purse-snatching and burglary. All the urban disorder has been blamed on the Kurds (Ergin 2012, p.333; Arat 2015, p.39). Conflict between these identities and the Turkish population and state There exist a conflict between identities in Turkish population and the state because the identities are still considered religious minorities, not befitting recognition. For instance, the Alevi comprise 20% of the population of Turkey. The Alevis have been invited on several occasions to make statements about who they are. Their identity has gone through a rapid transformation over the past few decades. They have also been involved in the political sphere though they do not seem to portray the image of a unified group. They instead act as a single political agent, to the extent they can be taken seriously by the government. The Alevi revival in Turkey was triggered mainly by globalisation, which had been created by the fall of the columnist block and its impact on the leftist groups in Turkey. The rise of Islamism was also a major contributor in the revival and resulted in the formation of a secular reaction. To some extent, the politicisation of ethnic groups also contributed to the Alevi’s revival and their further migration to metropolitan areas. Private TV channels and radio stations opened up a representative space for various organisations and the Alevis, and this helped in their transformation.By the 1990s, a new generation of Alevis began discovering their past and initiated the new revival in the city. Their cultural revival involved a process of reinterpretation of the Alevi history, religion and culture. The urban Alevis are nowadays able to discuss and criticise everything about their culture and religion, in what they interpret as Alevism. There has, however, been a controversial debate on the definition of Alevism, bringing in the question of essentialism in connection with the role played by religion and ethnicity in the identity-formation process. Essentialism is an important aspect in the making of a religious, cultural or ethnic-national identity (Karaosmano 2012, p.582). Essentialism in terms of culture is concerned with conceiving and distinguishing people as bearers of cultural anxiety. Culture has created conflicts between the minorities and the state because it is an act of sticking to a certain manner of doing things and is assigned an essential origin and history. By so doing, it is a practice that can be owned, and, therefore, stolen and lost. The Alevi cultural revival of the 1980s resulted in the creation of a public platform for their representation. The platform has revealed the complexity and immense diversity of both Alevism and its course of transformation (Şirin 2013, p. 74-91). Turkey being a land of immigrants also explains the conflict between the minorities and the state. There are great numbers of assimilated Muslim Circassians, and others from the Balkans, the Crimea and the North Caucuses. All these were forebears who sought refuge in the Anatolia empire as the empire declined during the nineteenth century. Currently, the majority of Turkey’s 50,000 nominally Muslim Roma live on the margins of society. During moments of national crisis, even the protected minorities find themselves in trouble. For instance, during the time of the Young Turks, Christians had dominated businesses and commerce in Turkey. This prompted organized boycotts of the Greek and Armenian firms, while focusing transactions on Turkish/Muslim entrepreneurs. This raised national consciousness at the expense of the minorities. From then henceforth, firms were required to employ high percentages of Turkish capital as well as the personnel. New policies were developed by the government giving tariffs, subsidies and other state preferences that favored the Muslim-owned firms. The minorities were banned from publishing magazines and journals. Prestigious professions such as medicine, law were left as preserves for the Turks alone (Smith 2015, p.447; Anahit 2014, p.201-222; Deutsche Welle 2015, para 1-3; Pipes 2001, para 1). For instance, in 1930s and 1940s laws were developed to favor Hanefi Turks. The laws governed asylum, assimilation, deportation, internal movement, education and culture. Additionally, a major Law was developed in 1934, marking a social-engineering project aimed at sustaining the construction of a Turkish national identity. In the same year, approximately 10,000 Jews were uprooted from Edirne and Dardanelles and relocated to Istanbul. Some laws enacted in the 1930s limited the expansion of non-ethnic Turks. The minorities were encouraged to use Turkish as the main language of communication (Smith 2015, p.447; Abbas 2014, p.2). In 1945, there was increased discrimination against the minorities, including the Jews. A high capital tax was imposed in 1942-1944. All the non-Muslims were charged as much as ten times the Muslim rate.Armenians were subjected to very high levies, even though Greeks and Jewish firms were bankrupted. The business owners who could not meet the levies were sent away to a labor camp in Askale. This was a move to get rid of the religious minorities whose businesses were flourishing (Mazinani 2013, p.29-40). Turkish human rights NGOs have been in the forefront in challenging the government. The Human Rights Association, which fights for the rights of the Kurdish, faces much intimidation, detentions, and prosecutions by the state. There are many cases against the group which are pending in court.some of the NGOS have collaborated to document a report of the tortures implicated on the minorities. They have partnered with Physicians for Human Rights to document the cases. Islamic human rights NGOs have not been spared either. For instance, the Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People, also known as the Mazlumder has been a victim of harassment and prosecutions (Smith 2015, p.454; Berman 2015, para 1-3; Kadıoğlu 2005, p.23-41). Why the identity issues in Turkey lead to conflict Alienation and Separation of the non-Muslim minorities in the state resulted in a chain of rebellions and thus conflict. The non-Muslims were addressed in Ottomanist terms while the Muslim citizens were spoken to in their double attributes of Osmanli and Musluman. According to data given by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Turkey handles 24 out of the 47 violations of human rights. Turkey also ranks poorly in terms of right to security and liberty. Turkey has also been accused of being a leader on violations of the right to fair trial.Turkey is a signatory of the ECHR. Article 34 of the ECHR allows everyone whether an individual or an organization to file cases on acts of oppression or denial of human rights (Tekdal 2015, para 1-8). These conflicts such as the Kurdish conflict can be considered a security dilemma, both domestically and internationally. Power competition has been the main reason of the conflicts. The conflicts have been based on language which is used as an example of discrimination. The Kurds were very happy with the ban on the Kurdish language. They were prohibited from speaking their language even amongst themselves. For Kurds who could not speak Turkish, communication was not possible amongst them. They could not use the language as their mother tongue in state-run schools. There was also a ban on Kurdish music at public venues such as weddings or celebrations at places operated by the municipality. Turkey has continued committing linguistic and cultural genocide in the Kurdish minority. This is a form of inequality which has stirred conflicts (Gole 2015, p.53; Seco 2015, p.5). The other signs of inequality include unemployment in the Kurdish region which is at its highest. In the Western Turkey, birth rates have dropped significantly. The Kurdish are the largest minority group but have been subjected to more instances of human rights abuses (Fialkoff 2015, p.11). Conflict also occurs from the confusion between secularism and modernity in the current Turkey. Being a Muslim is taken for granted and is highly respected. On the other hand, under normal circumstances, it has been seen as a matter of public display. On the same note, one should not be discriminated because he is not a Muslim. Religion turns out to be a matter of negotiation rather than an inviolable set of rules (Saktanber 2007, p.419; Ahiska 2015, p.360; Turkey Pulse 2015, para 1-4; Dai 2005, p.21-37). According to Turkish President, Mr.Erdogan, the rigid secularism thet has reigned in Turkey for long has scaled back. The country’s infused democracy is now offering a reconciliation with the Christians. However, the Christian population argues that their rights are being trampled. The pope, on his visit to Turkey, called for religious tolerance pointing out that Islamophobia was on the rise. He cited the increased cases of prejudice and intolerance against Muslims (Wall Street Journal 2015, para 5-6). Conclusion Cases of human rights violation have been rampant in Turkey. Turkey’s president has warned about the threats that has resulted from the polarization. Demonstrations can now be done peacefully. The source of the human rights violation can be attributed to ethnicity. A solution to the problem would revolve around ethnic identity. A foreign policy can be of great help in saving the situation. The Turkish elite would prefer a Kurdish desire for ethnic autonomy. This domestic ethnic conflict has become internationalized. The Kurdish issue has become an international problem. It is estimated that 1500-3000 Turkish special forces soldiers are active in undermining the efforts of the Kurds. Islam has been held as the main religion of Turkey, leaving the other religious minorities without any influence. Their rights have been limited.there is hope that Turkey will soon join the European Union, something that will heighten the cultural conservatism out of fears of homogenization within Europe. The Turks might become more Turkish in Europe. Bibliography ABBAS, TAHIR (2014,July 29). Perspectives on Ethno-National Conflict Among Kurdish Families With Members in the PKK. 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