23 juillet 2007

Former Kurdish deputy Leyla Zana faces an investigation after she called for division of Turkey into administrative states, including a “state of Kurdistan.”

A prosecutor in the eastern city of Iğdır, where Zana spoke at a rally on Friday in support of pro-Kurdish independent candidates for Parliament, launched the investigation on Saturday following a complaint by the police.

“It is time for division of Turkey into states. Ankara, divide Turkey into states and establish the Kurdistan state,” Zana was quoted as telling a crowd by the Anatolia news agency on Friday. She said this would be tantamount to taking a step that Turkey failed to take during the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 and added that such a shift in the administrative system would not mean “division of the country,” claiming that on the contrary that it would strengthen unity and coexistence.

Mustafa Küçük, chief prosecutor of Iğdır, said in a written statement carried by Anatolia that the investigation would determine whether Zana violated laws on incitement and state unity.

Zana, who has already served a 10-year sentence for collaborating with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), insisted on her proposal on Saturday. “This is where I believe Turkey’s interests lie,” she was quoted as saying by the private Cihan News Agency in a speech in the eastern province of Van. “I believe that those who are angry with me now will implement what I call for after five or 10 years.”

In a television interview Saturday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized Zana’s remarks and called for an investigation. “These are very unfortunate remarks,” he told the Kanal 7 television station. “No one can ... make such a provocation on the eve of the elections.”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül also lashed out at Zana for her remarks, saying they are “very irresponsible and provocative” on the eve of elections. Turkey’s unitary status is a highly charged issue amid mounting violence by the PKK. Many oppose moves to clip the powers of the central government out of fear that it could lead to a break-up of the country.