Kurds victims of ‘secret war propaganda’

WHILE speaking a lot about democracy in Ireland a few weeks ago US President George W Bush mentioned a few times that he was on his way to “democratic Turkey”.

He held Turkey up as a beacon of hope in the region. The Turkish Government hasn’t taken any practical steps to grant the Kurds their rights, yet being an important ally of the US apparently confers automatic democratic credentials in the eyes of the president, who declared: “Turkey has found its place in the community of democracies by living out its own principles.”

The fact is that Turkey is not a functioning democracy, and will not be until the Kurdish question is resolved with the engagement of all parties.