It has been the Turkish government that has promoted hatred by a genocidal policy of anihilation of the Kurdish people. The legacy of which is racism and hatred of Kurds by large sections of ultra nationalistic and not so ultra nationalistic Turks.

There is a hugh political struggle going on in Turkey for political and human rights of the Kurdish people so it is hardly surprising that this is reflected on your pages.

Far from promoting hatred the PKK has fought for justice for the Kurdish people.

Maybe it’s time to educate ourselves. As I said before, becoming part of the process is something we should all conspire to, and not perspire from.

It is also important to note that the Syrians, the Iraqis, and the Iranians have not complained about the presense of Kurdish posts being included in their site feed, only our Turkish readers.

I have already addressed the issue of why there are more Kurdish posts than Turkish, and steps are being taken to rectify that problem. I hope that from this point on we can close this issue.

What I am pointing out is the insistence that although even by your admission that Kurds are in several of the aformentioned countries, the Kurdistance posts happen to be under the ‘Turkey’ heading. It is therefore natural to argue the inclusion of Turk-related posts under the same heading, especially when no posts about Turkey have been posted since October, but consecutive Kurdistance postings frequently appear.

I am not sure what you mean by being bullied. Or even to suggest that I pretend that Kurds don’t live in Turkey. But I do think it’s time to stop pretending that maybe Turks want to read about other Turks as well.

What is Global Voices truly about anyway? Who’s the intended audience, and what is its message and purpose? And is objective criticism, without distortion of points as response, not an approved practice here?

By the way, there are Kurds and Turks, as well as countless other minorities, including American Indians who live here in the US as well. But we all still have to abide by its rules and regulations. And if we want to improve things, we do it politically. Maybe the Kurds should support the countries in which they live to raise the totalitarian objectives of greater freedoms and democracy and individual liberties, instead of alienating the majority by acting out (or siding with) terroristic fantasizations.

I find it hard to believe that if a country’s makeup is 1/3 Kurdish, as someone suggested here, that collective power cannot or will not do anything to ‘support’ the policies it wishes the majority apply.

I also find it hard to believe that the Kurdish Turks are alienated in camps and live in the lands of ‘Kurdistan.’ If tomorrow a Kurdistan was found, I cannot imagine the Kurds rushing to leave what they have and emigrate to this new land. Case in point: Armenia.

Maybe it’s time for the Kurds to stop whining and become PART OF THE PROCESS.

Metin is correct when he says, “My impression of many of the Kurd blogs that frequent here was of a greater Kurdistan incorporating Kurds from Iraq, Iran and possibly other areas.”

Although the Kurdish region may be divided by official borders, one of the main mission of Kurdish bloggers’ is to transcend those artificial borders. I don’t want to imply that Debbie’s intentions are askew in any way, however, I think that any superficial examination of Kurdish blogs would tend to support my point of view. The Kurds may not have a state, but the least they can demand for, and receive, I would hope, is a unified coverage of their views, considering that the borders imposed on them are very much artificial.

As for Metin’s colorful post implying that no one other than Kurds would bother subscribing if Kurdistan had its own section, I would just like to state that while issues relating to Kurdistan may seem boring and uninteresting or seditious or unknown to Turkish readers (Metin can clarify his point if he would like) this is up to the tastes and interests of the Global Voices’ readers, and thankfully not according to Turkish bloggers’ opinions. And why is it that the same rule of thumb doesn’t apply for Turkish blogs? And irrespective of whether other people will want to learn more about Kurdistan, there are nearly 40 million Kurds, their numbers will suffice to provide Kurdistan with an adequate number of subscribers.

As for Murat’s point how there can only be room for Kurdish blogs that recognize and sanctify the unitarian character of the Turkish state and only for ‘good Kurds’ who preach the integrity of the Turkish state is an idea that belongs in Turkey, or under Bush’s War on Terror . If what Debbie is said is true, namely that Global Voices is a venue for those voices that are not heard to be heard, then the voice of militant Kurds wishing an end to the state-sponsored oppression should naturally find a home here.

As well, I just want to add one final point regarding Metin’s reference to democratic values and the concept of “majority rules”. I would suggest that he reads the fine print. Democracy is a not a black and white strap-jacket that should be used to oppress minority opinions. The idea of ‘majority rules’ is at best arguable, not some law of nature that you can use to defend your opinions with. Ever heard of the concept of ‘affirmative action’? One can make an argument that perhaps, because the Kurdish issue has long been ignored in Turkey, it is very democratic for Kurdish views to be in the majority and outnumber Turkish posts.

Just something to think about…

It is heartening to hear that no one disagrees with my coverage just the frequency of it.

As to the issue of Kurdish articles being listed under Turkey…as you have pointed out before, there is no country of “Kurdistan”. There is however a historical region of Kurdistan. If you notice on the Global Voices main page, countries are listed and the major regions like the Middle East and Asia. I have requested that when the new organization is done on the global Voices mainpage that a Kurdistan region is created. However I will still categorize those articles under the countries that the Kurds live in: Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. Why? Because the Kurdish population lives in those countries, they are a part of them, and Kurdish politics and happenings affect those in those countries. Regardless of how much a Turk or Iraqi or Iranian or Syrian what to pretend that the Kurds are not in their country…they are. The purpose of Global Voices is to allow voices that may not be heard be heard.

Now back to the subject of the Turkish voices being heard, those articles will continue and I will continue to cover them in my objective manner. I refuse to be bullied however. There has been no Kurdish favoritism and I am offended at the accusation.

This will probably be more work for Debbie, but if she can do it, I think it would be beneficial for both Turkish and Kurdish bloggers.

And in the prior post, we’ve already discussed Kurdistan. And it is obvious, there are many who believe in its existence, not just in a geographical sense.

My problem is not about Kurd posts here. My problem is about the lack of Turk posts. And obviously I am in no position to post. I can only comment.

I am an American and live in the US, I know a little bit about democracy. By the way, who makes up the other two thirds of Turkey. And do you even know what democracy means? Well, it means the majority rules. You must be thinking of a Republic, where individuals have rights to protect them from the majority. Just a friendly reminder.

Where to you expect the Kurds from Turkey to post? There is no ‘Kurdistan’.

You deny them a voice in Turkey and now you want to deny them a voice online.

Come on, just please tell us about Turkey and not target the Kurds, don’t be afraid of democracy, embrace it!

Create a Kurdistan page, and post there all you want about the Kurds. The Kurds are not just in Turkey anyway. And for people who are so adamant about gaining independence, I don’t see why the Kurds have to post under the ‘Turkey’ heading.

Again, I am not opposed to Kurd posts. I am opposed to having Kurd posts under ‘Turkey,’ and the person responsible for Turk posts not posting any since October. Isn’t there someone else out there that can ‘fill-in’ when Debbie can’t?