Get Used To That Word

BY EMRE AKOZ
SABAH - I saw the sensitivity of Kurds during a recent conference in Erbil, northern Iraq on 'Searching for Peace and a Future Together' organized by the Abant Platform. Which name should the region be given? Some of the nearly 100 intellectuals who came from Turkey call it 'northern Iraq ,' while some prefer the 'Kurdish autonomous region.' In the Iraqi Constitution, on the other hand, the territories are called the 'Kurdistan Region,' and the political formation administrating the region is the 'Regional Government of Kurdistan.' When those from Turkey called it anything but ' Kurdistan,' the local Kurdish intellectuals reacted with astonishment and restrained anger. (But they don't seem to care about calling the region's capital city Erbil, rather than Hewler.)

We're used to such sensitivity about words. When Istanbul is called ' Constantinople ' by the Western media, we get angry, seeing this name as the snoring of a monster slumbering in the West's unconscious. The aim of this monster is to wake up and end Turkish sovereignty in so-called ' Constantinople.' The word Kurdistan is full of rich historical meanings.

The Ottoman Empire used to call the region where the Kurds lived Kurdistan. This was a quite normal and simple definition. We also saw the same word in the early years of the Turkish Republic, but it fell out of use following the Kurdish rebellions. The pressure applied by Iraqi leaders and particularly Saddam Hussein on the Kurds also had an impact on Turkey, and the Turkish media stopped using the word ' Kurdistan.' The logic behind it went something like this: 'Calling this Kurdistan would mean accepting the existence of Kurds as an ethnic group which forms a state. In this case, there would be a nation called "the Kurds of Turkey," which would violate our principle of "one state, one flag and one nation." So the word Kurdistan should not be used.'

Of course, the Turkish intellectuals taking part in the conference didn't have this point of view; they have already criticized this logic. Yet Turkey's educational system and media has perhaps had an impact on them. But the Kurdish participants saw in the avoidance of the word the 'arrogance of a dominant nation and great state.'

Yes, the Kurds generally saw things this way, but devoted Turkey watchers are witnessing an unexpected change. Ankara's stance on Kurds is slowly shifting. They started to consider the 'Kurdish region' not a threat, but an opportunity. Don't be surprised if the Turkish media, which up to now has let the state set its language and stance, starts to frequently use the word Kurdistan and realizes that Kurds are actually our large-hearted friends, not enemies from the mountains.