X. TO WHAT EXTENT ALLEGATIONS OF FORCIBLE DISPLACEMENT OF THE PEOPLE IN SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY ARE TRUE?

Another issue which is frequently brought to the public attention by Kurdish political movement, PKK supporters and some human rights advocates is the allegations on forcible displacement of the people of Kurdish descent in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey. As already stated above (CHAPTER VII), it is hard to think that institutions, which do not recognize the PKK as terrorist and the legitimacy of Turkey’s fight against terrorism, are sufficiently informed on the affairs in Turkey.

It is true that continuous migration flow from the rural areas including the Eastern and Southeastern regions occurs (see CHAPTER I). On site surveys covering representatives from all sections of the society in the provinces of destination of migration flows and the provinces of the outflow indicate unemployment and economic difficulties as the main causes for migration.45 It is thought that even if a kind of "Kurdistan" emerges in the Middle East,46 Kurds will not give up the considerable benefits of urbanized life in Turkey.47 On the other hand, as further described above in CHAPTER IX, concentration of small villages which have the high risk of being attacked or changing their locations with the inhabitants’ consent should not be objected by the people who are sensitive on the protection of the right to security of person. On the one hand, the difficulties in the delivery of such basic public services as health and education in remote small villages where only a few families live, and on the other hand, the effectiveness of those services in the populated locations which can easily be reached make changing the location or concentration of small remote villages more appropriate not only from the point of security but also for living a life which basic necessities are met.

Allegations related to human rights violations in the fight against terrorism can be considered through administrative and legal channels with regard to the principle of the rule of law; they might be brought to the public attention, and in case all domestic remedies are exhausted, petitions may be filed to the European Commission of Human Rights. The point which should not be underestimated is that with brutal terrorist methods and intimidations like massacres of defenseless civilians, burning houses of the villagers who refuse to collaborate and forcing them to leave,48 the PKK tries to exploit some necessary lawful restrictions applied for security reasons by presenting them as the signs of oppression on Kurds and as human rights violations.49

45 When the migrants from Eastern Turkey in Western regions were asked what the most serious problem of Turkey was, among the answers, inflation and unemployment led with 54%. In Southeastern Turkey the percentage for the same answer was as high as 65 while the answer, "Kurdish problem" was voiced by 12.5% of the respondents in the Southeast and 18% of the migrants in Western Turkey. See Mustafa Özbek, "Güneydoğu Anadolu..." [Southeastern Anatolia’s...], p. 8. Also see Turkish Democracy Foundation, Human Rights..., p. 20.

46 The issue will be further described in the following chapters.

47 Fuller, "The Fate...", p. 117.

48 The Kurdish villagers who were allegedly had to leave their villages in Turkey because of the State oppression in 1994 had a very difficult life under PKK threat and repression in the Atrush refugee camp in Northern Iraq. The camp’s atmosphere indicated that villagers behave not by their free will but under PKK’s pressure. "The UN oversees this (Atrush) camp. Insiders and recent visitors say the PKK run everything else. It is cover for their operations... refugees, many of whom want to go back to Turkey, are intimidated by the PKK to stay and add numbers to their political and military power base against Turkey. The dilemma then, who is a refugee, who are terrorists...", see Channel 4 News, Channel 4 TV, 23 March 1995. That dilemma caused United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to close the camp on 21 January 1997. "The PKK leaves its bloody mark of destruction and massacre on Kurdish villages where peasants refuse to cooperate...", see Christian Kreil, Oberosterreichische Nachrichten, 1 August 1995.

49 "...so long as Turkey’s handling of ethnic minorities and human rights continues to draw criticism, the new Kurdish militancy is bound to thrive, and its sense of mission will harden.", see Munir Morad, "Irak ve Türkiye’de Kürtlerin Durumu: Mevcut Eğilimler ve Umutlar" [The Situation of Kurds in Iraq and Turkey: Current Trends and Prospects] in Kürtler: Güncel Bir Araştırma [The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview], p. 124.