Social media and the Kurds
Social media provides an avenue for Kurdish expression and organisation that supports democracy in Turkey.
By Ethem Cagir for SES Türkiye in Diyarbakir -- 25/07/12
The expansion of social media has changed the face of politics and society around the world, bringing into question what role it plays in Turkey's Kurdish problem.
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![Kurds are increasing using social media to organise and share news. [Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/07/25/ETHEMphoto-310_213.jpg)
Kurds are increasing using social media to organise and share news. [Reuters]
![Kurds are increasing using social media to organise and share news. [Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/07/25/ETHEMphoto-800_550.jpg)
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As witnessed by the revolutions convulsing the Arab world, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have played a significant role in highlighting events and the people's struggle by changing the balance of power and giving direction to events.
Social media is used by Kurds in Turkey and other countries to interact through forums, Facebook pages, on Twitter, Google groups and Friend Feed. They disseminate news and ensure issues don't fall off the national media's agenda.
According to Deniz Ergurel, the director of the Turkish Media Association, social media provides a platform for both Turks and Kurds to express ideas that were not possible a decade ago. In this context, he told SES Türkiye that social media is an important tool for the development of democracy.
With the spread of Twitter, events surrounding court cases involving imprisoned Kurds are instantly announced by lawyers -- and Kurdish political party's messages are shared minute-by-minute with their followers and news services.
In order to protest arrests, Facebook and Twitter are used to organise marches in cities like Istanbul and Diyarbakir. Support for Serzan Kurt, who was shot by police, and Cihan Kirmizigul, who was thrown in prison for a wearing a pusi (Kurdish head garb), are examples of campaigns organised through social media.
Following last year's devastating earthquake in Van, a massive outpouring of support was orchestrated via social media sites to help the tens of thousands of people whose lives were affected by the disaster.
Selahattin Demirtas, chairman of the Peace and Democracy Party, uses Twitter to make statements.
Demirtas told SES Türkiye social media is a "virtual public square," adding that the more Kurdish voices are restricted by the government the more they organise through social media.
But Demirtas also said that social media activities should be followed up with action on the streets to voice Kurdish demands.
According to Demirtas, social media still largely recreates official state ideology and information controlled by the main media outlets.
Harun Ercan, an academic at Koc University in Istanbul, told SES Türkiye that national media coverage is pro-government and presents anti-Kurdish propaganda.
"It’s not really possible for Kurdish social media to break this, because we are talking about the perception of a crystalised political-media establishment …," he said, adding that even the news content of social media users is dominated by the mainstream media.
For Kurds, Ercan said there are two uses. "The first is to make those who are sympathetic to the Kurd's problems more interested in the Kurdish issue. The second is to create a common public opinion among Kurds."
Ezgi Basaran, a prominent writer for the liberal daily Radikal who actively uses Twitter, said Kurds have been able to organize quickly and explain their problems with smart headings and hash tags.
Using the Uludere bombings that killed 34 villagers last December as an example, Basaran said that writers in the mainstream media started to use the Kurdish name of the village, Roboski, instead of the Turkish Gulyazi, largely because the influence of Kurds on social media platforms.
But Basaran argues that it is wrong to overstate social media's influence. "There are people who think things can be finished with the signing of a virtual campaign, with a couple of retweets," she said.
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Kurdish issue, Alewi issue, Arab Spring, division of Iraq, Syrian issue… I guess such a crowded agenda makes the great Turkish nation forget. The great Turkish nation, which is drowned in economic and social problems, but still resorts to god and does not revolt, continuing loving its country and its cause. Good days are approaching as long as you speak up, my Turkey!
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With a growing population that is increasingly becoming more aware, Kurds are demanding their democratic rights and they use the internet to this end as it is know that TV channels, newspapers, magazines and the likes reflect the official ideology, which confutes the idea of free press. Kurds see the internet as a reliable news center since it is hard to control. They are faster in keeping up with the advancements.
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The efforts for denial, extermination and assimilation which have been applied for years cannot suppress and frighten the Kurds. On the contrary, they did not concede their fights by acting in a more conscious, more organized way with each passing day. Sometimes their villages have been destroyed, sometimes they have been killed by unidentified murders, and sometimes they have been banished from their villages. But they have never thought to obey. For years, they have been exposed to pains and massacres that they do not deserve, but still they have not given up. The autonomous structure set up in northern Iraq or Syria is absolutely permissible for them. No one will have the enough power to intervene them. Especially Turkey. In such a situation, Turkey turns into a blood bath, because no Kurd can accept these and sits down.
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Kurd-Turk, everybody should know that: the ones who say to turn these lands into lakes of blood have been suffocating in their own blood since 1771. Furthermore, presumptive gentleman who talks about death and say “Especially Turkey’s…” immodestly and by exceeding his authority should know that the land that he is on now is Turkish land. Don’t mix these lands with Kandil.
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Voice (Translator’s note: SES means ‘VOICE’ in Turkish.). I wonder whose voice are you?
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Denial, annihilation and assimilation efforts do not intimidate and scare Kurds. On the contrary, they have not given up their fight and they have got more organized day by day. In return, their villages have been burnt, they have been killed or kidnapped. But they have never thought of surrender. For years, they have been subjected to suffering and mistreatment that they do not deserve but still, they’ve never given up. The autonomous structure which has been installed in northern Iraq or western Syria is absolutely ‘halal’ for them. Nobody can have the power to interfere them. Especially Turkey. In that case, Turkey would turn into a blood bath, because no Kurd can accept this and sit down silently.
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