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((Short description|Overview of the rights of the Kurdish people in the Republic of Turkey))
((Update|date=April 2020))
[[Kurds]] have had a long history of discrimination perpetrated against them by the Turkish government.<ref name=Levene>((cite journal |author=Levene, Mark |year=1998 |title=Creating a Modern 'Zone of Genocide': The Impact of Nation- and State-Formation on Eastern Anatolia, 1878–1923 |journal=Holocaust and Genocide Studies |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=393–433 |doi=10.1093/hgs/12.3.393 |quote=The persistence of genocide or near-genocidal incidents from the 1890s through the 1990s, committed by Ottoman and successor Turkish and Iraqi states against Armenian, Kurdish, Assyrian, and Pontic Greek communities in Eastern Anatolia, is striking. ... the creation of this 'zone of genocide' in Eastern Anatolia cannot be understood in isolation, but only in light of the role played by the Great Powers in the emergence of a Western-led international system.<p> In the last hundred years, four Eastern Anatolian groups—[[Armenians]], Kurds, [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], and [[Greeks]]—have fallen victim to state-sponsored attempts by the Ottoman authorities or their Turkish or Iraqi successors to eradicate them. Because of space limitations, I have concentrated here on the genocidal sequence affecting Armenians and Kurds only, though my approach would also be pertinent to the Pontic Greek and Assyrian cases.</p>))</ref> Massacres have periodically occurred against the Kurds since the establishment of the Republic of [[Turkey]] in 1923. Among the most significant is the massacre that happened during the [[Dersim rebellion]], when 13,160 civilians were killed by the [[Turkish Armed Forces|Turkish Army]] and 11,818 people were sent into exile.<ref name="Radikal">[http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalDetay&ArticleID=965187&Date=19.11.2009&CategoryID=77 "Resmi raporlarda Dersim katliamı: 13 bin kişi öldürüldü"], ''[[Radikal]]'', November 19, 2009. ((in lang|tr))</ref> According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed.<ref name="McDowall209">David McDowall, ''A modern history of the Kurds'', I.B.Tauris, 2002, ((ISBN|978-1-85043-416-0)), p. 209.</ref> The [[Zilan massacre]] of 1930 was a massacre<ref>Altan Tan, ''Kürt sorunu'', Timaş Yayınları, 2009, ((ISBN|978-975-263-884-6)), [https://books.google.com/books?id=dWNsWUzD_s8C&dq=%22Zilan+katliam%22&pg=PA275 p. 275.] ((in lang|tr))</ref><ref>Pınar Selek, ''Barışamadık'', İthaki Yayınları, 2004, ((ISBN|978-975-8725-95-3)), [https://books.google.com/books?id=MIEmg86jO5kC&dq=%22Zilan+katliam%22&pg=PA109 p. 109.] ((in lang|tr))</ref> of Kurdish residents of [[Turkey]] during the [[Ararat rebellion]], in which 5,000 to 47,000 were killed.((cn|date=May 2024))

The use of [[Kurdish language]], dress, [[folklore]], and names were banned, and the Kurdish-inhabited areas remained under [[martial law]] until 1946.<ref>H. Hannum, ''Autonomy, Sovereignty, and Self-determination'', 534 pp., University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996, ((ISBN|0-8122-1572-9)), ((ISBN|978-0-8122-1572-4)) (see page 186).</ref> In an attempt to [[Denial of Kurds by Turkey|deny an existence of a Kurdish ethnicity]], the Turkish government categorized Kurds as "Mountain Turks" until the 1980s.<ref>Gülistan Gürbey. 1996. "The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey since the 1980s". In ''The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in the 1990s: Its Impact on Turkey and the Middle East'', ed. Robert Olson. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 9-37.</ref><ref>[http://countrystudies.us/turkey/26.htm "Turkey – Linguistic and Ethnic Groups"]. U.S. Library of Congress.</ref><ref>Bartkus, Viva Ona, ''The Dynamic of Secession'' (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 90–91.</ref><ref>((cite book|last=Çelik|first=Yasemin|title=Contemporary Turkish foreign policy|year=1999|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-275-96590-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y9PXcwFOLNcC&q=mountain+turks&pg=PA3|edition=1. publ.|page=3))</ref> The words "Kurds", "[[Kurdistan]]", and "Kurdish" were officially banned by the Turkish government.<ref name=bahar /> Following the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état|military coup of 1980]], the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.<ref name=NYTK>Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "Minority Rules"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many people who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref>((cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-05460-8|page=134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ))</ref> But even though the ban on speaking in a non Turkish language was lifted in 1991, the Kurdish aim to be recognized as a distinct people than Turkish or to have Kurdish included as a language of instruction, but this was often classified as separatism or support of the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK).<ref>((Cite journal |last1=Karakoç |first1=Ekrem |last2=Sarıgil |first2=Zeki |date=June 2020 |title=Why Religious People Support Ethnic Insurgency? Kurds, Religion and Support for the PKK |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-religion/article/abs/why-religious-people-support-ethnic-insurgency-kurds-religion-and-support-for-the-pkk/849D2EF7A64EA895D00714A82D0B3DB0 |journal=Politics and Religion |language=en |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=251 |doi=10.1017/S1755048319000312 |issn=1755-0483|hdl=11693/53234 |s2cid=202266557 |hdl-access=free ))</ref> Currently, it is illegal to use the Kurdish language as an instruction language in private and public schools, yet there are schools who defy this ban.<ref name=":0">((Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com.tr/al-jazeera-ozel/kurtce-okulda-kurtce-karne|title=Kürtçe okulda Kürtçe karne|work=Al Jazeera Turk – Ortadoğu, Kafkasya, Balkanlar, Türkiye ve çevresindeki bölgeden son dakika haberleri ve analizler|access-date=2018-04-19|language=tr))</ref><ref name=":1">((Cite web|url=https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/cizrede-kurtce-egitim-verilen-okulda-ogrenciler-karne-aldi|title=Cizre'de Kürtçe eğitim verilen okulda öğrenciler karne aldı|website=CNN Türk|language=tr|access-date=2018-04-19))</ref><ref name=":2">((Cite news|url=https://bianet.org/bianet/toplum/161771-ilk-kurtce-karneler-verildi|title=İlk Kürtçe Karneler Verildi|work=Bianet – Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi|access-date=2018-04-19))</ref> The Turkish Government has repeatedly blamed the ones who demanded more Kurdish cultural and educational freedom of terrorism or support for the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK).<ref name=":3">((Cite journal|last1=Skutnabb-Kangas|first1=Tove|author-link=Tove Skutnabb-Kangas|last2=Fernandes|first2=Desmond|author-link2=Desmond Fernandes|date=2008|title=Kurds in Turkey and in (Iraqi) Kurdistan: A Comparison of Kurdish Educational Language Policy in Two Situations of Occupation|url=https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1182&context=gsp|journal=Genocide Studies and Prevention|volume=3|issue=1|pages=45–46|doi=10.3138/gsp.3.1.43 ))</ref>

During the [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict]], food embargoes were placed on Kurdish populated villages and towns.<ref name=olson>((cite book|last1=Olson|first1=Robert|title=The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in the 1990s: Its Impact on Turkey and the Middle East|date=1996|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington, Ky.|isbn=0-8131-0896-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/kurdishnationali00olso/page/16 16]|url=https://archive.org/details/kurdishnationali00olso|url-access=registration))</ref><ref name=muftah>((cite web|last1=Shaker|first1=Nadeen|title=After Being Banned for Almost a Century, Turkey's Kurds Are Clamoring to Learn Their Own Language|url=http://muftah.org/turkey-kurds-learning-kurdish-ban/|publisher=Muftah))</ref> There were many instances of Kurds being forcefully deported from their villages by Turkish security forces.<ref name=cengiz>((cite book|last1=Gunes|first1=Cengiz|title=The Kurdish National Movement in Turkey: From Protest to Resistance|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-58798-6|page=130|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMB7pMf8TL4C))</ref> Many villages were reportedly set on fire or destroyed.<ref>((cite book|last1=Ibrahim|first1=Ferhad|title=The Kurdisch Conflict in Turkey: Obstacles and Chances for Peace and Democracy|date=2000|publisher=Lit ; St. Martin's press|location=Münster; New York|isbn=3-8258-4744-6|page=182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kgierPu_7EC))</ref><ref name=cengiz /> Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, political parties that represented Kurdish interests were banned.<ref name=bahar>((cite book|last1=Baser|first1=Bahar|title=Diasporas and Homeland Conflicts: A Comparative Perspective|date=2015|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=978-1-4724-2562-1|page=63|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8MTVBgAAQBAJ))</ref> In 2013, a ceasefire effectively ended the violence until June 2015, when hostilities renewed between the PKK and the Turkish government over the [[Rojava–Islamist conflict (2013–present)|Rojava–Islamist conflict]]. Violence was widely reported against ordinary Kurdish citizens and the headquarters and branches of the pro-Kurdish rights [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] were attacked by mobs.<ref name="armenianweekly.com">((cite news|title='Lynching Campaign' Targets Kurds in Turkey, HDP Offices Attacked|url=http://armenianweekly.com/2015/09/09/lynching-campaign-targets-kurds/|agency=Armenian Weekly|date=9 September 2015))</ref> The [[European Court of Human Rights]] and many other international human rights organizations have condemned Turkey for thousands of human rights abuses against Kurds.<ref name="ETCHR1">((cite news|title=EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: Turkey Ranks First in Violations in between 1959–2011|url=http://bianet.org/english/human-rights/138337-turkey-ranks-first-in-violations-in-between-1959-2011|access-date=29 December 2015|work=Bianet – Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi))</ref><ref name="AnnualETCHR">((cite book |title=Annual report 2014 |year=2015 |publisher=The European Court of Human Rights |isbn=978-92-871-9919-5 |url=http://echr.coe.int/Documents/Annual_Report_2014_ENG.pdf |access-date=29 December 2015))</ref>((page needed|date=December 2021)) Many judgments are related to systematic executions of civilians,<ref name="hum1">((cite web |title=Case of Benzer and others v. Turkey: Final Judgment |date=24 March 2014 |publisher=The European Court of Human Rights <!-- I don't think so:|pages=57--> |url=http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-128036&filename=001-128036.pdf|access-date=29 December 2015))</ref>((page needed|date=December 2021)) torture,<ref name="tort1">((cite book |author=Aisling Reidy |title=The prohibition of torture: A guide to the implementation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights |date=2003 |series=Human Rights Handbooks |pages=11, 13 |url=http://www.echr.coe.int/LibraryDocs/HR%20handbooks/handbook06_en.pdf |access-date=29 December 2015))</ref> forced displacements,<ref>((cite book|title=Human Rights Watch|publisher=Human Rights Watch|page=[https://archive.org/details/humanrightswatch00huma_0/page/7 7]|url=https://archive.org/details/humanrightswatch00huma_0|url-access=registration|year=1998|isbn=9781564321909))</ref> destroyed villages,<ref>((cite book|last1=McKiernan|first1=Kevin|title=The Kurds: A People in Search of Their Homeland|date=2006|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=0-312-32546-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/kurdspeopleinsea00mcki/page/130 130]|edition=1st|url=https://archive.org/details/kurdspeopleinsea00mcki|url-access=registration))</ref><ref>((cite book|last1=Neuberger|first1=Benyamin|editor1-last=Bengio|editor1-first=Ofra|title=Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland|date=2014|publisher=Univ of Texas Press|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-292-75813-1|page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caCDBAAAQBAJ))</ref><ref>((cite book|last1=Gunes|first1=Cengiz|last2=Zeydanlioğlu|first2=Welat|title=The Kurdish question in Turkey: new perspectives on violence, representation, and reconciliation|date=2014|publisher=Taylor and Francis|location=Hoboken|isbn=978-1-135-14063-2|page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVn7AAAAQBAJ))</ref> [[arbitrary arrest]]s,<ref>((cite web |title=Factsheet – Police arrest and assistance of a lawyer |publisher=European Court of Human Rights |date=January 2020 |url=http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Police_arrest_ENG.pdf))</ref> and murdered and disappeared journalists, activists and politicians.<ref>((cite news|title=Justice Comes from European Court for a Kurdish Journalist|url=http://www.khrp.org/khrp-news/news-archive/2000-news/189-justice-comes-from-european-court-for-a-murdered-kurdish-journalist.html |access-date=1 January 2016))</ref>

== Issues ==
=== Education ===
In Turkey, the only language of instruction in the [[education in Turkey|education system]] is [[Turkish language|Turkish]]; [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] is not allowed as the primary language in the public education system.<ref name="ETPR">((cite web
 |title       = Turkey 2006 Progress Report
 |publisher   = [[European Commission]]
 |url         = http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2006/Nov/tr_sec_1390_en.pdf
 |access-date  = 2006-12-28
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060409/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2006/nov/tr_sec_1390_en.pdf
 |archive-date = 2016-03-04
))</ref> The Kurdish population of Turkey has long sought to have Kurdish included as a language of instruction in public schools as well as a subject. An experiment at running [[private schools|private]] Kurdish-language teaching schools was closed in 2004 because of the poor economic situation of local people.<ref name=csmonitor>((cite news
 | title = Opened with a flourish, Turkey's Kurdish-language schools fold
 | work  = [[Christian Science Monitor]]
 | last = Schleifer
 | first = Yigal
 | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1005/p07s02-woeu.html
 | date = 2005-05-12
 | access-date = 2006-12-17
))</ref> There are currently a number of unrecognized private schools giving education in Kurdish.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> As of 2008 education in Kurdish was ''[[de jure]]'' legal, but the requirements were very difficult to fulfill and therefore education in Kurdish was seldom accessible. People were often accused of supporting terrorism if they attempted to organize education in Kurdish language.<ref name=":3" />

Kurdish is permitted as a subject in universities,<ref>((cite news
 |url        = http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=163330
 |access-date = 2009-01-05
 |title      = Kurdish to be offered as elective course at universities
 |date       = 2009-01-06
 |work       = [[Today's Zaman]]
))((dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes))</ref> but in reality there are only few pioneer courses.<ref>((cite news|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=universities-experiences-courses-in-kurdish-2010-12-10
|access-date=2010-10-12
|title=Class time for a 'foreign language' in Turkey
|date=2010-10-12
|work=[[Hurriyet Daily News]]
))</ref>

=== Multiculturalism and assimilation ===
Due to the large number of [[Kurds in Turkey]], successive governments have viewed the expression of a Kurdish identity through the prism of [[Turkish nationalism]], as a potential threat to Turkish unity. One of the main accusations of cultural assimilation relates to the state's historic suppression of the Kurdish language. Kurdish publications created throughout the 1960s and 1970s were shut down under various legal pretexts.<ref>[[Helen Chapin Metz]], ed. [http://countrystudies.us/turkey/28.htm Kurds], ''Turkey: A Country Study''. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.</ref> Following the [[Turkish military coup of 1980]], the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in government institutions.<ref name=NYTK/>
  
US Congressman [[Bob Filner]] spoke of a "[[cultural genocide]]", stressing that "a way of life known as Kurdish is disappearing at an alarming rate".<ref>((cite book|title=The Kurdish Question in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary Sourcebook |first=Lokman I|last=Meho |year=2004|publisher=Praeger/Greenwood|isbn=0-313-31435-7|chapter=Congressional Record|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BD7imPDFto0C&q=The+Kurdish+Question+in+U.S.+Foreign+Policy:+A+Documentary+Sourcebook&pg=PP1 | page=400))</ref> Mark Levene suggests that the assimilation practices were not limited to cultural assimilation, and that the events of the late 19th century continued until 1990.<ref name=Levene />

Desmond Fernandes and [[Tove Skutnabb-Kangas]] have claimed that Turkey instituted a [[genocide]] program (according to articles 2 (a) and 2 (e) of the [[Genocide Convention|UN Genocide Convention]]) against Kurds, which aimed at their [[cultural assimilation|assimilation]].<ref name="Skutnabb-kangas2008">((Cite journal|author=Skutnabb-Kangas|first=Tove|author-link=Tove Skutnabb-Kangas|author2=Fernandes, Desmond|author-link2=Desmond Fernandes|date=April 2008|title=Kurds in Turkey and in (Iraqi) Kurdistan: a Comparison of Kurdish Educational Language Policy in Two Situations of Occupation|url=https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1182&context=gsp|journal=Genocide Studies and Prevention|volume=3|pages=43–73|doi=10.3138/gsp.3.1.43))</ref> The genocide hypothesis is not endorsed by any nation or major organization. Desmond Fernandes, a senior lecturer at [[De Montfort University]], breaks the policy of the Turkish authorities into the following categories:<ref>((Cite web|title=Gomidas Institute|url=http://www.gomidas.org/forum/af4kurds.htm|access-date=2021-06-24|website=www.gomidas.org))</ref>

# Forced assimilation program, which involved, among other things, a ban of the [[Kurdish language]], and the forced relocation of Kurds to non-Kurdish areas of Turkey.
# The banning of any organizations opposed to category one.
# The violent repression of any Kurdish resistance.

=== Cultural expression ===
Between 1983 and 1991, it was forbidden to publicize, publish and/or broadcast in any language other than [[Turkish language|Turkish]], unless that language was the first official language of a country that Turkey has diplomatic relations with.<ref name=paris>[http://www.institutkurde.org/en/language/ Institut Kurde de Paris]</ref> Though this ban technically applied to any language, it had the largest effect on the [[Kurdish language]], which is not the first official language of any country, despite being widely spoken in the [[Kurdistan]] region.<ref name="Article 2932">((cite web|work=Evrensel |url=http://www.evrensel.net/03/04/15/kose.html |title=Kürtçe yabancı dil mi? |language=tr |access-date=2007-07-08 |date=2003-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927171858/http://www.evrensel.net/03/04/15/kose.html |archive-date=2007-09-27 ))</ref>

In June 2004, Turkey's public television [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]] began broadcasting a half-hour Kurdish program,<ref>((cite news |title=Kurdish broadcast ends Turkish TV taboo |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1128444.htm |publisher=ABC News Online |date=2004-06-10|access-date=2007-09-12 ))</ref> and on March 8, 2006, the [[Radio and Television Supreme Council]] ([[RTÜK]]) allowed two TV channels (Gün TV and Söz TV) and one radio channel (Medya FM) to have limited service in the Kurdish language. This legislation came into force as an effort to meet one of the [[European Union]]'s requirements for membership in its talks with Turkey. The new regulation will allot five hours of weekly radio broadcast and four of television.<ref>((cite news|work=[[NTV-MSNBC]]|url=http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/362107.asp|date=2006-02-21|access-date=2007-09-12 |language= tr|quote=English summary: [http://www.tusiad.us/specific_page.cfm?CONTENT_ID=584 Private Channels to Broadcast in Kurdish in March]|title=Yerel kanallarda Kürtçe Mart'ta))</ref> In January 2009, the Turkish state broadcaster [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]] launched its first fully Kurdish language channel: [[TRT Kurdî]].<ref>((Cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/trtnin-kurtce-kanali-trt-6-yayina-basladi-10683296|title=TRT'nin Kürtçe kanalı TRT 6 yayına başladı|work=Hürriyet|access-date=2018-04-19|language=tr))</ref>

Despite these reforms, use of Kurdish in the public sphere and government institutions was still restricted until several years ago. On 14 June 2007, the Interior Ministry took a decision to remove [[Abdullah Demirbaş]] from his office as elected mayor of the [[Sur, Diyarbakır|Sur]] district of [[Diyarbakır]]. They also removed elected members of the municipal council. The high court endorsed the decision of the ministry and ruled that "giving information on various municipal services such as culture, art, environment, city cleaning and health in languages other than Turkish is against the Constitution".<ref name=lagendijk>((cite news|first=Joost |last=Lagendijk |author-link=Joost Lagendijk |title=Kurdish: A different language |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=115171&bolum=109 |work=[[Today's Zaman]] |date=2007-06-28 |access-date=2007-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181201/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=115171&bolum=109 |archive-date=2007-09-30 ))</ref>

This is despite the fact that according to the above-mentioned municipality, 72% of the people of the district use [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] in their daily lives. In another case, the mayor of Diyarbakır, [[Osman Baydemir]], was subjected to a similar set of interrogations and judicial processes. His case is related to the use of the Kurdish phrase ''Sersala We Pîroz Be'' (Happy New Year) in the new year celebration cards issued by the municipality. The prosecutor wrote: "It was determined that the suspect used a Kurdish sentence in the celebration card, 'Sersala We Piroz Be' (Happy New Year). I, on behalf of the public, demand that he be punished under Article 222/1 of the Turkish Penal Code".<ref name=lagendijk />

At present, these issues have been resolved for a while; the official website of the Municipality today is trilingual: Turkish, Kurdish and English.<ref>((cite web |title=Duty Telephone Service |publisher=Diyarbakir Buyuksehir Municipality Software and Programming Branch Office |url=http://www.diyarbakir.bel.tr/default.aspx |access-date=2014-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831202619/http://www.diyarbakir.bel.tr/default.aspx |archive-date=2014-08-31 ))</ref>

=== Political representation ===
{| class="wikitable" align=right
|+ Banned Kurdish parties in Turkey<ref name=aslan>((cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|title=Nation-Building in Turkey and Morocco: Governing Kurdish and Berber Dissent|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-19490-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZMZBQAAQBAJ))</ref>
|-
! Party
! Year banned
|-
|[[People's Labor Party]] (HEP)
|1993
|-
|[[Freedom and Democracy Party]] (ÖZDEP)
|1993
|-
|[[Democracy Party (Turkey)|Democracy Party]] (DEP)
|1994
|-
|[[People's Democracy Party]] (HADEP)
|2003
|-
| [[Democratic Society Party]] (DTP)
|2009
|}
The [[Turkish Constitution]] bans the formation of political parties on an ethnic basis. Article 81 of the Political Party Law states that only Turkish is allowed to be used in the political activities of parties.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7853/file/Turkey_law_political_parties_1983_am2014_en.pdf|title=Turkey Law of Political Parties|website=Legislationonline|access-date=13 December 2019|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213125817/https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7853/file/Turkey_law_political_parties_1983_am2014_en.pdf|url-status=dead))</ref> Several Kurdish political parties have been shut down by the [[Turkish Constitutional Court]] under excuse of supporting the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party|PKK]]. In 2012, the left-wing Kurdish [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] was founded and the party has continued to operate, gaining 50 seats in [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|parliament]] after the [[November 2015 Turkish general election|November 2015 elections]].<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/content/conn/YSKUCM/path/Contribution%20Folders/SecmenIslemleri/Secimler/2015MVES/96-D.pdf|title=Nov. 2015 Election Results|last=YSK|access-date=2018-04-19|archive-date=2019-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701112955/http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/content/conn/YSKUCM/path/Contribution%2520Folders/SecmenIslemleri/Secimler/2015MVES/96-D.pdf))</ref>

In Turkey, after 2014, political such as Kurdistan Democratic Party in Turkey (PDK-T), Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK), Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and the Kurdistan Communist Party (KKP) has been established. But, in 2019, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals has filed a closure case against the KKP, PAK, PSK and PDK-T because they have the word 'Kurdistan' in their names.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://bianet.org/english/politics/205383-closure-case-for-parties-which-have-kurdistan-in-their-names#|title=Closure Case for Parties Which Have 'Kurdistan' in Their Names|access-date=29 January 2021|publisher=Bianet))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/18891-Four-Kurdistani-parties-in-Turkey-face-closure-over-name|title=Four Kurdistani parties in Turkey face closure over name|access-date=29 January 2021|publisher=Kurdistan24))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.rudaw.net/turkish/kurdistan/140520203|title=Kürdistan isimli partilerin kapatılması davasına karşı 400 kişilik ortak bildiri|access-date=29 January 2021|publisher=Rûdaw))</ref>

=== Internally displaced people (IDPs) ===
((further|Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey))
During the 1980s and 1990s, Turkey displaced a large number of its citizens from rural areas in south-eastern [[Anatolia]] by destroying thousands of villages and using forced displacement.<ref name="hrw-2018-10-23">((Cite web|title=Turkey: 'Still critical': Introduction|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/turkey0305/3.htm#_Toc97005223|access-date=2021-08-29|publisher=Human Rights Watch))</ref> The Turkish government claimed forced displacements were intended to protect the Kurds from the Kurdish militant organization [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK).<ref name="cengiz" /> Although the Turkish security forces did not differentiate the armed militants from the civilian population they were supposed to be protecting. By the mid-1990s, more than 3,000 villages had been wiped from the map and according to official figures 378,335 Kurdish villagers had been displaced and left homeless.<ref name="hrw-2018-10-23"/><ref>((Cite web|title=Displaced and Disregarded|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/turkey/|access-date=2021-08-29|publisher=Human Rights Watch))</ref><ref>((Cite web|title=Turkey|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Turkey2.htm|access-date=2021-08-29|publisher=Human Rights Watch))</ref><ref>((Cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Profile of Internal Displacement: Turkey|via=Refworld|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3bd98d600.html|access-date=2021-08-29|language=en))</ref><!-- need to sort out sources and rewrite section. -->

=== Maps ===
In 2017, Turkey banned the terms "[[Kurdistan]]" and "Kurdish regions". In 2018, the government had a user-generated map of Kurdistan, which it deemed "terrorist propaganda", removed from Google Maps.<ref>[https://shafaq.com/en/Kurdistan/after-turkey-complains-google-removes-offending-kurdistan-map After Turkey Complains, Google Removes Offending ‘Kurdistan’ Map]</ref>

== History ==
((further|Kurdish rebellions))Following the [[Young Turk Revolution]] at the beginning of the 20th century and the flowering of [[Turkish nationalism]], the destruction or assimilation of minority populations (particularly [[Armenians]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Greeks]] and [[Kurds]]) has been a recurring pattern.<ref>((cite journal
 | author = Levene, Mark
 | year = 1998
 | title = Creating a Modern 'Zone of Genocide': The Impact of Nation- and State-Formation on Eastern Anatolia, 1878–1923
 | journal = Holocaust and Genocide Studies
 | volume = 12
 | issue = 3
 | pages = 393–433
 | doi = 10.1093/hgs/12.3.393
 | quote = The persistence of genocide or near-genocidal incidents from the 1890s through the 1990s, committed by Ottoman and successor Turkish and Iraqi states against Armenian, Kurdish, Assyrian, and Pontic Greek communities in Eastern Anatolia, is striking. ... the creation of this "zone of genocide" in Eastern Anatolia cannot be understood in isolation, but only in light of the role played by the Great Powers in the emergence of a Western-led international system.<br /> In the last hundred years, four Eastern Anatolian groups—Armenians, Kurds, Assyrians, and Greeks—have fallen victim to state-sponsored attempts by the Ottoman authorities or their Turkish or Iraqi successors to eradicate them. Because of space limitations, I have concentrated here on the genocidal sequence affecting Armenians and Kurds only, though my approach would also be pertinent to the Pontic Greek and Assyrian cases.
))</ref> The [[1934 Turkish Resettlement Law]] paved the way for forcible assimilation and resettlement.<ref name="Joost">((cite book|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|title=The settlement issue in Turkey and the Kurds : an analysis of spatial policies, modernity and war|publisher=Brill|year=2007|isbn=9789004155572|edition=[Online-Ausg.]|location=Leiden, the Netherlands))</ref>

== Selected incidents ==
<!-- we need to develop a criterion for deciding what gets listed here -->

=== Leyla Zana ===
In 1994 [[Leyla Zana]]—who, three years prior, had been the first [[Kurdish woman]] elected to the Turkish parliament—was sentenced to 15 years for "separatist speech". At her inauguration as an MP in 1991, she reportedly identified herself as a Kurd. She took the oath of loyalty in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], as required by law, then added in [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], "I have completed this formality under duress. I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework."<ref>((cite web
|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT40/020/2001/en
|title=Racism and the administration of justice
|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]
|date=2001-07-25
|location=London
))</ref> Parliament erupted with shouts of "Separatist", "Terrorist", and "Arrest her".<ref>((Cite web|date=2004-09-11|title=The ex-Kurdish MP Leyla Zana is not allowed to go abroad|url=https://humanrightshouse.org/articles/the-ex-kurdish-mp-leyla-zana-is-not-allowed-to-go-abroad/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=Human Rights House Foundation|language=en-US))</ref>

In April 2008, she was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly "spreading terrorist propaganda" by saying in a speech, "Kurds have three leaders, namely [[Massoud Barzani]], [[Jalal Talabani]] and [[Abdullah Ocalan]]."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211124012630/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/198103,kurdish-politician-zana-sentenced-to-prison-in-turkey.html Kurdish politician Zana sentenced to prison in Turkey], ''Middle East World''</ref> The last being the leader and founder of the PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party).

=== Akin Birdal ===
In 2000, the chairman of the [[Turkish Human Rights Association]] Akin Birdal was imprisoned under Article 312 for a speech in which he called for "peace and understanding" between Kurds and Turks. He was forced to resign from his post, as the Law on Associations forbids persons who breach this and several other laws from serving as association officials.<ref>((cite press release|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2000/03/27/turkey-government-sends-human-rights-leader-back-prison
|access-date=2008-12-30
|title=Turkey: Government Sends Human Rights Leader Back to Prison
|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]
|date=2000-03-27
))</ref>

=== Diyarbakır detentions (2006) ===
Violent disturbances took place in several cities in the southeast in March and April 2006. Over 550 people were detained as a result of these events, including over 200 children. The [[Diyarbakır Bar Association]] submitted more than 70 complaints of ill-treatment to the authorities. Investigations were launched into 39 of these claims. During the events in Diyarbakır, forensic examinations of detained were carried out in places of detention. According to the report of the commission, "this contravenes the rules and the circulars issued by the Ministries of Justice and Health as well as the independence of the medical profession". The commission also believes that "the new provisions introduced in June 2006 to amend the anti-terror law could undermine the fight against torture and ill-treatment".<ref name="ETPR" /> The commission also stresses that "a return to normality in Southeast can only be achieved be opening dialogue with local counterparts".<ref name="ETPR" /> "A comprehensive strategy should be pursued to achieve the socio-economic development of the region and the establishment of conditions for the Kurdish population to enjoy full rights and freedoms. Issues that need to be addressed include the return of internally displaced persons, compensation for losses incurred by victims of terrorism, [[landmine]]s as well as the issue of village guards".<ref name="ETPR" />

=== Banning of Kurdish theatrical play "Beru" ===
In October 2020, the governor of Istanbul banned Kurdish theatrical play "Beru" shortly before its first performance. It had been performed three years prior both in Turkey and also abroad without issue.<ref>((Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=Turkey bans Kurdish-language play in Istanbul ((!)) DW ((!)) 17.10.2020|url=https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-bans-kurdish-language-play-in-istanbul/a-55306289|access-date=2021-08-26|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB))</ref>

== Current status ==
In 2009, the state-run broadcaster, [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]], launched a channel (TRT 6) in the [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish language]].<ref>((cite news
 |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=161690
 |access-date=2008-12-18
 |title=TRT's Kurdish channel starts broadcasts this weekend
 |date=2008-12-19
 |work=[[Today's Zaman]]
))((dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes ))</ref>

The ''Turkey 2006 Progress Report'' underscores that, according to the Law on Political Parties, the use of languages other than Turkish is illegal in political life.<ref>Nelles, Wayne C. ''Comparative Education, Terrorism and Human Security''. 2003, page 167.</ref> This was seen when [[Leyla Zana]] spoke Kurdish in her inauguration as an MP she was arrested in 1994 and charged with treason and membership in the armed [[Kurdistan Workers' Party|Kurdistan Workers Party]] (PKK). Zana and the others were sentenced to 15 years in prison.<ref>((cite journal|last=Kürkçü|first=Ertugrul|date=Fall 2003|title=Defiance Under Fire: Leyla Zana: Prisoner of Conscience|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/leyla.html|journal=Amnesty Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212100408/http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/leyla.html|archive-date=February 12, 2006|access-date=2008-09-13))<!-- alternatives to try in case the link dies: http://www.amnestyusa.org/page.do?id=1105152 http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnesty-magazine/fall-2003/defiance-under-fire-leyla-zana-prisoner-of-conscience/page.do?id=1105152&n1=2&n2=19&n3=343 --></ref> Prior to this in 1992, the Kurd Institute in Istanbul was raided by police who arrested five people and confiscated books on Kurdish language, literature, and history.<ref>Baets, Antoon de. ''Censorship of Historical Thought'', p.471. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ((ISBN|0-313-31193-5)).</ref>

The [[European Commission]] concludes as of 2006 that "overall Turkey made little progress on ensuring cultural diversity and promoting respect for and protection of minorities in accordance with international standards".<ref name="ETPR" /> The [[European Commission against Racism and Intolerance|European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance]] (ECRI) reports that (as of April 2010): "The public use by officials of the Kurdish language lays them open to prosecution, and public defence by individuals of Kurdish or minority interests also frequently leads to prosecutions under the Criminal Code."<ref>((cite web|title=ECRI report on Turkey (4th cycle)|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/Turkey/TUR-CBC-IV-2011-005-ENG.pdf))</ref> From the 1994 briefing at the International Human Rights Law Group: "the problem in Turkey is the Constitution is against the Kurds and the apartheid constitution is very similar to it."<ref>((Cite web |url=http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.Download&FileStore_id=189 |title="Implementation of the Helsinki Accords Criminalizing Parliamentary Speech in Turkey. Briefing by the International Human Rights Law Group." May 1994. Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Washington DC. |access-date=2018-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624015920/http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.Download&FileStore_id=189 |archive-date=2012-06-24 ))</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' also asserts that "reforms have slowed, prosecutions of writers for insulting Turkishness have continued, renewed fighting has broken out with Kurds and a new mood of nationalism has taken hold", but it is also stressed that "in the past four years the Turkish prime minister, [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]], improved rights for Kurds".<ref name="Ec">((cite news |title=The Blackballers' Club |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |pages=10–11 |date=December 16–22, 2006 |url=http://www.economist.co.uk/research/articlesBySubject/interstitial.cfm?subjectid=682266&storyid=8413029 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224172721/http://www.economist.co.uk/research/articlesBySubject/interstitial.cfm?subjectid=682266&storyid=8413029 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 24, 2021 ))<!-- see also http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5037/is_200612/ai_n18325156 --></ref>

128 attacks on [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|HDP]] offices, a pro-Kurdish rights party, have occurred throughout the country.<ref name="armenianweekly.com" />

== See also ==
*[[Denial of Kurds by Turkey]]
*[[Persecution of Kurds]]
*((format link|Racism in Turkey#Against Kurds))
*[[Anti-Kurdish sentiment]]

== References ==

((Reflist|2))

== External links ==
* [http://www.khrp.org/ Kurdish Human Rights Project]
* [http://kurdishrights.org/ The Alliance for Kurdish Rights]
* [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850840/turkey-ffm-report-2019.pdf United Kingdom 2019 Home Office Report of a Fact-Finding Mission, Turkey: Kurds, the HDP and the PKK]

[[Category:Human rights abuses in Turkey]]
[[Category:Persecution of Kurds in Turkey]]
[[Category:Human rights in Kurdistan]]

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