Thursday’s [July 14 2011] announcement of “democratic autonomy” in Southeast Anatolia has sparked new debate, but the system has already been tested in parts of Diyarbakır for a number of years, a leading pro-Kurdish figure has said. The system has been in use for four years, said Cemal Coşkun, the speaker of the Democratic Society Congress, or DTK, an umbrella organization of pro-Kurdish figures and groups. Autonomous regions “will have a flag, but [we] are not trying to set up a separate country,” Coşkun said. “‘Kurdistan’ is the geographical name of the region, not a country. We do not have a problem with the Turkish flag or the borders. We just want to handle our own issues internally.”The DTK declared democratic autonomy during an extraordinary congress with 850 delegates in Diyarbakır on Thursday, inviting Kurds to introduce themselves as democratically autonomous Kurdistan citizens. The group will convene at the end of the month to announce its road map for 15 provinces in the country’s southeastern region.
"How can Turkey deny its own minority their human rights then at the same time demand that the Turkish Cypriot minority in Cyprus have 30 percent of Cypriot land, a rotating presidency, a veto on the Cyprus government and their own state? Would Erdogan give the Kurds the same rights he demands for the Turkish Cypriots? This is blatant hypocrisy! Turkish Cypriots should have the same rights we are prepared to give the Kurds. No more. No less. How can we criticize the Kurds when we set them such an example in Cyprus? I'm sorry, but our stupid policies in Cyprus risks breaking Turkey apart and it is our own fault!" - Orhan L. , 15 July 2011 , 11:54 - Kurds declare democratic autonomy within Turkey’s territorial integrity | 14 July 2011 TODAY'S ZAMAN
