Turkey Has Itself to Blame for the Unrest of Kurds

December 27, 2007; Page A9

In his op-ed "Turkey's Terror Problem is Ours," (Dec. 18) Michael Rubin argues that Kurdish PKK fighters are "terrorists" similar to al Qaeda. Therefore fighting against PKK is like fighting against al Qaeda."

Turkey's authoritarian regime restricts the rights of millions of Kurds. For decades Kurdish fighters fought against Turkish soldiers in order to protect their rights. Kurds consider their fight against Turkish domination a national liberation struggle. This is a typical case where the fighter of one side is the terrorist of the other.

I think it degrades the suffering of the victims of Sept. 11 if we elevate al Qaeda terrorists to the level of PKK fighters.

As an American, I disagree with Mr. Rubin. Turkey's fight against the PKK is not our problem. It is a problem of Turkey's authoritarian regime. Until Turks treat their Kurdish minority in a just way, they will continue to have "their problem" with the Kurds. Only Turkey could solve the "problem of Kurds" in Turkey.

 

Ara Khanjian
Los Angeles