Martin van Bruinessen explains to Ozan Ozavci how Kurdish political movements in Turkey took hold from the 1960s onward, evolving from far-leftist activism and violence to demands for inclusive democracy.
Martin is Emeritus Professor of the Comparative Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies at Utrecht University.
With the 1960 coup and the relatively liberal constitution of 1961, Kurdish political activism gained new momentum in Turkey. Kurdish leftist deputies took seats in the parliament from the newly formed Turkish Workers’ Party. Diverse factions of the far-left in Turkey, both Kurds and Turks sympathized with the situation of the Kurdish region, which they considered to be colonised by the ruling Turkish class. According to Martin van Bruinessen, post-1960 politics represented much more than a revival of Kurdish political movements.
COURTESY OF MARTIN VAN BRUINESSEN
Recorded on 30 September 2022, in the second part of this episode Martin tells us about the evolution of Kurdish activism after the 1960s : from the tribes and student activists to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) links to Syrian and Turkish intelligence, its violent fight, as well as its present-day relationship with the People’s Democratic Party (HDP). The episode concludes with a note on the potential role of the Kurds in the 2023 elections and the future of Turkey.
Episode 22 – Part II: More than a Revival
Podcasts are published by TLP for the purpose of encouraging informed debate on the legacies of the events surrounding the Lausanne Conference. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TLP, its partners, convenors or members.
MAIN IMAGE: ‘BATMAN, THE TOWN, IN 1976’, COURTESY OF MARTIN VAN BRUINESSEN.
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