Kathryn Cook

Turkey: PKK

The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, is outlawed in Turkey and considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The rebel group was founded by Abdullah Ocalan in the 1970s, with the goal of creating an independent Kurdish state. Ocalan was captured in 1999, but he remains a hero and continues to represent the Kurdish struggle.

Women are allowed to become fighters in the PKK, unlike in the Turkish military. The three women's stories in this reportage offer an insight into what life was like as a PKK fighter during the height of the war (the PKK began its separatist campaign in 1984) and of what it might be like to be a fighter in the mountains of Turkey today as the war continues. Moreover, these accounts explain the struggles for a woman reintegrating herself into Turkish society after spending many years in the mountains and in prison.

(Interviews available)

Summary:

Servet, 27, was just 16 when she left her family to go in the mountains to join the PKK. When she secretly returned to Diyarbakir for health reasons, she was captured, tortured and sent to prison for six years. She was released in 2003. Servet lives in Diyarbakir where she studies philosophy and works for the Centre for Kurdish Arts and Culture of the town. She dreams to live in a big house with a lot of books of having a family, but not before the war is over.

Fatma K. is 28 years old. She decided to join the guerrillas to fight for Kurdish rights in the late 1990s. She was caught as she was carrying out a mission in Istanbul, imprisoned and tortured. She was released only a year and a half ago and is currently studying in Diyarbakir. She hopes someday to write a book about her story and struggle, as she was fighting in pursuit of an ideal.

Ikram is 35 years old and now manages a café in Diyarbakir. When her father found out that she had gone to the mountains to join the PKK, he sent a message to the fighters: he wanted her back and was ready to exchange her 4 brothers for her return. She explains that he was eventually murdered by Turkish military after they suspected he was cooperating with the PKK. She was captured after 4 years in the mountains and imprisoned for ten years. She explains that today she still struggles to adjust and reintegrate into Turkish society.

Kurds hold up posters of the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan at the annual Nevruz celebration in Diyarbakir, Turkey March 21, 2007.
  
Lanscape of the mountains between the southeastern cities of Siirt and Diyarbakir, Turkey where intense fighting between the PKK and Turkish military has been going on for years. PKK guerilla hideouts are in these mountains, particularly the provinces bordering Iraq. In June, the Turkish military responded to alleged PKK attacks by declaring three temporary security zones in the area of Sirnak, Siirt and Hakkari.
   
Fatma, 28, is seen at her apartment in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
     
  
Turkish soldiers are seen on the Turkish national television program "Mehmetcik", which means "soldier", on Kanal 1 in Diyarbakir, Turkey. The nationalistic program features scenes, such as mock soldier training and military operations against the Kurdish rebel PKK group in the mountains of southeastern Turkey.
   
Servet, 27, in her apartment building in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
   
Kurds celebrate Nevruz, or the celebration of Spring day, in Diyarbakir, Turkey March 21, 2007. Kurds have long been persecuted by the Turkish government, which refused to allow Kurds to right to express their own language, culture and identity. Only in the last several years have Kurds been allowed to legally speak their language and celebrate traditions without government oppression.
     
  
A tank is seen on the Turkish national television program "Mehmetcik", which means "soldier", on Kanal 1 in Diyarbakir, Turkey. The nationalistic program features scenes, such as mock soldier training and military operations against the Kurdish rebel PKK group in the mountains of southeastern Turkey.
   
Ikram, 35, is seen in the window of the cafe where she works, and her family owns, in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
   
Servet Oner, 27, seated left center, watches a group of children rehearse a play at a culture and arts organization in Diyarbakir. Servet volunteers at the NGO, which works with women and children.
     
  
Fatma Kaya, 28, walks through a field where she frequently exercises near her apartment in Diyarbakir, Turkey.