What
if Kurds were Turkish Cypriots?
If Kurds were Turkish Cypriots then Turkey would have
used military force to protect them & secure on their behalf Equal
Community Status in the Turkish Constitution:
1. A Presidential system comprised of the two major ethnic communities,
the Turkish Community and the Kurdish Community, and various
other minorities.
All these clauses
exist in the current Cyprus Constitution which was extorted by
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2.
A Turkish President and a Kurdish Vice-President,
both with the right of veto, a final veto, which can be exercised separately by
each one of them against: [a] laws or decisions of the House of Representatives
concerning foreign affairs, defense and security; and [b] like decisions of the
Council of Ministers.
3.
The official languages of the Republic
are Turkish and Kurdish. All minorities to have the right to learn/speak their
ethnic language, but must learn one official language.
4.
All aspects of the Republic are
bilingual, in both Turkish and Kurdish, including the currency, passports, IDs,
street signs, public building signs, government documents, etc.
5.
The flag is of neutral design/color
chosen jointly by the President and the Vice-President.
6.
70% of the Public Service must be
composed of Turks and 30% must be composed of Kurds [1.7 times a minority
population of 18%], to be applied, as far as practicable, in all grades of the
Public Service.
7.
The Security Forces must be composed of
70% Turks and 30% Kurds [1.7 times a minority population of 18%].
8.
The Army must be composed of 60% Turks
and 40% Kurds [2.2 times a minority population of 18%].
9.
The President of the House of Representatives,
who must be a Turk, is elected by the Turkish Members of the House and the
Vice-President, who must be a Kurd, is elected by the Kurdish Members.
10. Any law imposing taxation and any law relating to Municipalities, and
any modification of the Electoral Law, requires separate majorities of the
Turkish and Kurdish Members of the House of Representatives taking part in the
vote.
11. The House of Representatives always consists of 30% Kurds [1.7 times a
minority population of 18%] and 70% Turks. A majority of the Kurdish Members
present during the vote always defeats a Bill, even if all Turkish Members vote
for the Bill.
12. Separate Municipalities are created all across Turkey , from Istanbul
to Diyarbakir
13. The administration of Justice is separated on the basis of Communal
criteria by providing that in all cases, civil and criminal, a Turk must be tried
by a Turkish Judge, a Kurd by a Kurdish Judge and that cases, however trivial,
involving both Turks and Kurds, must be tried by a mixed Court composed of
Turkish and Kurdish Judges.
14. Two Communal Chambers, one Turkish and one Kurdish, each having
jurisdiction in matters of religion, education, cultural affairs and personal
status over members of its respective community, as well as control over
communal co-op societies.
15. Three foreign guarantor Powers for the Republic, a powerful friend of
the Turkish Community, a powerful friend of the Kurdish Community, and a third
with economic and strategic interests (e.g. Pakistan, Iran, USA), each with the
right to take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the normal state of
affairs in case of internal strife.
What If Kurds Were
Turkish Cypriots?
The sheer beauty about asking the question is that Kurds would
be invoking ethnic Turks’ own thinking in approaching the rights of a circa 20%
ethnic community! How can Turks deny Kurds those rights they themselves secured
for a minority of another country as far back as 1960? Would it be honorable
for Turks to reject their own minority rights’ thinking?
I am no fool. I know Turks won't care to answer. But the
question won’t be asked for the sake of Turks. Cyprus
Why would Europeans care enough to ask? The rights Turkey ’s Kurds are certainly an issue that
concerns the EU as Turkey Turkey ’s
hypocrisy in the Cyprus
Yes, first the killings of Kurds by the Turkish terror state must
stop. But Kurdish demands must not stop there. Kurds, who have a historical
claim on a large part of the land mass called Turkey, must at the very minimum
attain Community Status within Turkey's constitution as a necessary
first step. Kurds must ask for no less than Turks find just for a handful of
Turkish Cypriots, the minority of another country!!
Today, while
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Frankly, I’m flabbergasted that this analogy has not
taken center stage yet. Its power is immense because no other minority struggle
in the world can possibly be more relevant for the Kurds of Turkey. At home, Turkey sees things from the majority’s
perspective (ethnic Turks’) and in Cyprus
There is no minority
community situation in the entire world more relevant to the Kurds of Turkey
than the Turkish Cypriot one!
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Sincerely,
Antifon
March 26th 2012
