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PKK wages smear campaign and profiles Kurds in Southeast
PKK members have allegedly begun targeting people, companies and institutions associated with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement.
Kurtuluş Tayiz, a columnist with the Taraf daily, wrote on Tuesday that although Kurds were the first victims of categorization, the armed faction and its offshoots do not shy away from attacking Kurds they see as not affiliated with their cause.
Tayiz stated that the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the urban extension of the PKK, is keeping records on people and that the PKK-affiliated Fırat news agency publishes these names and their addresses. Tayiz added that Fırat is portraying some businessmen, teachers and private schools as targets.
He added that a number of private schools were recently attacked by Molotov cocktails after being mentioned by Fırat.
Emin Aktar, chairman of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, said that in Diyarbakır, categorizing people and profiling them is a habit of both the state and the PKK. “The mentality of those who profile is ‘either you are with us or you are against us.’ Profiling is nothing new,” he said.
A prominent Kurdish intellectual, Ümit Fırat, said that from the very beginning there have been widespread rumors in the region that security forces, encouraged by the Gülen movement, had begun targeting the KCK. The allegations have yet to be proven.
Security forces launched operations last April which targeted the urban extensions of the PKK. During these operations, which took place in several waves, more than 900 people, including pro-Kurdish politicians and some mayors, were arrested.
“But, on the other hand, any person who follows events in the Kurdish areas should know very well that such a move will harm the organization which targets Kurdish politicians. Something illogical is going on here; it looks as if some forces want to pit the Gülen society and pro-Kurdish circles against each other,” he said.
He added that there might be some serious provocations in the future and that the sides might end up blaming each other. “We saw this game before. Various segments of society were turned against one another and some other forces benefited from these conflicts,” Fırat said.
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