Where be reason....?

It is often the habit of governments to accuse their opponents or those who criticize them, or simply are disagreeable, of partaking in crimes against the nation. How much the charge relates to the truth is anyone's guess, but the fact remains that in many parts of the world, including so-called democratic and civilized nations, this practice of silencing voices by gagging them goes on unchecked and unchallenged.

A Turkish court yesterday has sentenced a senior official of an opposition party to six months of imprisonment and that too because he used the title of 'Mr.' to address a certain Kurdish rebel leader whom the Turkish government has accused and convicted of treason against the Turkish nation. The same official was also imprisoned previously for distributing his party material in the Kurdish language, an act frowned upon by the ruling Turkish elite.

Now, I am convinced that the world is coming to an end. I mean, when a man is sentenced to be imprisoned for appending a title, which would seem so very commonplace, to another man, there seems to be no reason left at all. Purportedly, the usage of the said title insinuates a sense of respect or camaraderie for the 'traitor'. Balderdash! It is a part of polite speech, and politeness has nothing to do with respect; you can be disrespectful and yet be polite.

So is this really about using the 'wrong' part of speech? I don't think so. Turkey has a dark history, and has tried to deny its Kurdish citizens the right to a civilized existence, the right to self-determination. Their culture, their language, their customs are being denigrated and condemned, and all this because the Turkish government wants to instil a sense of unity in the people of Turkey (mind you, not just the Turkish people, but also the Kurdish populace in Turkey) by fostering a Turkish culture. A Kurdish culture would seem to compete for the attentions of the Kurds when they should ideally be focusing on imbibing the Turkish spirit.

And in this lies the dilemma. On one hand, one cannot deny Turkey and its government the right to ensure that its people remain united. And yet, one cannot simply stand by while it attempts to suppress the right of a people, notwithstanding whether they constitute a minority or not, to identify themselves by a culture that has been theirs for millenniums.

It remains to be seen whether conscientious governments, which cherish, or at least claim to cherish, liberty and freedom, will intervene. Till then, it will remain a long winter of discontent in the Turkish peninsula.

Link to the article.