Primitive Rebels or Revolutionary Modernizers: The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey

by Paul White

Protests worldwide followed the capture and trial of the Kurdish nationalist leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999. Millions of people are now aware of the long fight by Öcalan's PKK guerillas in Turkey. But where does the PKK come from? What are its aims? Who supports it? What will its future be without Öcalan to guide it? And, most important of all, is there now a real prospect for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey and a democratic future that recognises the cultural plurality of the country?

This timely book seeks answers to these questions and provides an informative, up-to-date and readable account of the Kurdish reality in Turkey today.

Its focus is a critical examination of the Kurdish nationalist movement -- especially the largest and most powerful grouping, the PKK. Its evolution is traced. Initially reliant on armed struggle, the PKK had in fact, the author shows, made significant strides towards becoming a mainstream mass political movement before Öcalan's arrest.

Original interviews with Icalan, his rival Kurdish nationalist leaders and ordinary PKK guerillas are woven into the text. They make possible an understanding of Abdullah Öcalan's personality as well as revealing much about leadership in contemporary Kurdish nationalism. Of particular interest also is the author's revisionist discussion of the Alevi Kurds.

Genres: History

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Dr Paul White works as an independent consultant in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has taught Middle East Politics courses at Deakin University in Melbourne; at Macquarie University in Sydney; and at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. He was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and serves on the board of directors of the Kurdish Institute, Washington DC.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a cynical adage that is true, “One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.” Nowhere is that more true than in the Kurdish guerilla group known as the PKK. Led for many years by Abdullah Öcalan, the group has engaged in terrorist acts against the Turkish security forces as well as other Kurds that they for some reason do not approve of.
There is no dispute that the Kurds have legitimate grievances, they are the largest ethnic group in the world without a state. Furthermore, there is a long history of the Turkish majority engaging in the brutal killing of large numbers of ethnic minorities in Eastern Turkey. As is mentioned in this book, in the last years of the Ottomoan Empire, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed and the Kurds contributed their share to the massacre. For decades, there has been a civil war raging between the Kurds and the Turkish government, entire Kurdish villages have been razed and the inhabitants dispersed or killed. The Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein also killed thousands of Kurds in brutal gas attacks.
Using history as a guide, the large numbers of Kurds means that eventually there will be a Kurdish state. There are an estimated 28 million Kurds located in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, which would make it the 47th most populous country if it were one. Furthermore, there are large numbers of Kurds residing in other nations. For example, there are between 600 and 800 thousand in Germany. Another lesson from history is that nations do not rise into existence as the consequence of terrorist acts, and the terrorist history of the PKK is the primary subject of this book.
While this is a solid academic analysis of the history of the Kurdish battle for recognition, rights and their own state, the delivery is disjointed, it does not follow a temporal sequence. The PKK is presented in an honest and harsh light, White makes it clear that the PKK operatives have many times killed Kurds that the PKK leadership felt were a threat to their leadership in the Kurdish movement or were too “soft” in their opposition to the Turkish government.
The data for the book was gathered in many ways, including interviews with Öcalan, where there are statements of both a statesman and a brutal terrorist. The best point that is made is the reference to PLO head Yasser Arafat. Arafat knew very well that terrorism alone cannot make a state, yet giving it up is the only valuable concession that he really had. As White makes clear, if the PKK engages in a cease fire, which is essential before the Turkish government will consider any form of autonomy, then there will be elements within the movement that will consider it treason against the Kurds. Ironically, Öcalan being held by the Turkish government may be his best chance to hold his leadership position.
If you want to thoroughly understand the complex position of the Kurdish people and their desire for a country, this book is a valuable resource in your quest to reach that goal.