Turkish police have detained Veysi Dilekçi and Gülşen Kurt, who are the provincial co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party), in the eastern province of Van. The detentions were carried out during house raids, according to Turkish media reports on Tuesday.
The total number of detainees is unknown. The reports did not disclose the grounds for the detentions, but the Duvar English news website reported that many of the detainees were people who attended a protest on Monday against previous detentions of individuals dancing to traditional Kurdish music.
Tuncer Bakırhan, the co-chair of the DEM Party, condemned the detentions on social media, describing them as a demonstration of the increasing anti-Kurdish sentiment in the country. He tweeted that these unlawful acts, arising from the hostility against Kurds, should end immediately and that their friends should be promptly released.
The other co-chair of the Democratic Union Party, Tülay Hatimoğulları, also released a similar statement.
“Halay, a Kurdish folk dance, is not a crime. Neither are Kurdish traffic signs,” she said, referring to the detention of people for dancing to Kurdish music and the recent incident where Kurdish traffic signs were vandalized in what appeared to be a racist attack.
The detention of people who were attending a wedding for dancing to traditional Kurdish songs has caused a controversy. The detainees were accused of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization,” referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’Party (PKK), which is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkey’s counterterrorism laws are often criticized for being too vague, allowing too much room for interpretation. Additionally, the judiciary is widely seen as being under the control of the executive branch.
Prohibitions against the use of Kurdish language in Turkey date back many years. In 1937, Kurdish language, clothing, folklore, and names were banned. The words “Kurds,””Kurdistan,”and”Kurdish” were among those officially prohibited. After a military coup in 1980, speaking Kurdish was officially forbidden, even in private life.
The visibility of Kurdish culture on TV and in print media was only made possible in the early 2000s, thanks to significant progress made in the country’s bid to become a member of the EU.
However, in the last decade, there has been a drift towards nationalism, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has formed an alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). This has led to an increase in anti-Kurdish and racist attacks.
