19 November 2009 / SABAH HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN,
In order to better understand matters surrounding Kurds, Alevis and Muslims in general in Turkey, one must grasp two important and basic phenomena that occurred in the wake of 1989. The first of these is the process in which the market economy began to grow swiftly.
Though this market economy presents endless ideological problems as far as I am concerned, the truth is that it has also brought enormous amounts of activity to the masses in Turkey as well as triggering movements to the big cities of the nation and a general entrance of people into the marketplace. The second post-1989 phenomenon as mentioned above is the rising tide of demands for democratic rights. The rise in these demands is not occurring in a vacuum nor is it a trend unique to Turkey. Quite to the contrary in fact, these sorts of demands have been made in countries all over the world and will continue to be made.
