MOBILIZING THE KURDS IN TURKEY: NEWROZ AS A MYTH A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY DELAL AYDIN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DECEMBER 2005 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Feride ACAR Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assist. Prof. Necmi Erdoan Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mesut Yeen Co-Supervisor Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Mesut Yeen (METU, SOC) Assist. Prof. Necmi Erdoan (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Fahriye Üstüner (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Ferdan Ergut (METU, HIS) Dr. Mustafa EN (METU, SOC) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Delal AYDIN Signature : iii ABSTRACT MOBILIZING THE KURDS IN TURKEY: NEWROZ AS A MYTH Aydın, Delal M.S., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mesut Yeen Co-Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdoan December 2005, 132 pages This thesis analyses the role of Newroz in the process of mobilization of the Kurds with the claim of separate identity in Turkey. It is claimed that Newroz is utilized as an ideological tool in order to construct/create Kurdish cultural or national unity. This function of Newroz is examined through two theoretical perspectives which are related to each other. On the one hand, Newroz is taken as a myth which has been used in the construction of Kurdish national identity. On the other hand, Newroz is considered as a tool for counter-hegemony against the hegemonic culture to create cultural unity among the Kurds. Through this analysis, a hegemonic process over/through a myth is revealed. It is claimed that the utilization of Newroz in mobilizing the Kurds resulted in a remarkable success, which gave rise to its turning out to be an ideological battlefield between Kurdish and Turkish nationalisms. Keywords: Newroz, Kurdish nationalism, ideological struggle, myth iv ÖZ TÜRKYE’DE KÜRTLER MOBLZE ETMEK: BR MT OLARAK NEWROZ Aydın, Delal Master, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi : Doç.Dr. Mesut Yeen Ortak Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd.Doç. Necmi Erdoan Aralık 2005, 132 sayfa Bu tez Türkiye’de Kürtler’in ayrı bir kimlik talebiyle mobilize edilmesi sürecinde Newroz’un rolünü incelemektedir. Newroz’un Kürt kültürel ya da ulusal birliini kurmak/yaratmak amacıyla ideolojik bir araç olarak kullanıldıı öne sürülmektedir. Newroz’un bu ilevi birbiriyle ilikili iki teorik perspektifin vasıtasıyla incelenmektedir. Newroz, bir yandan Kürt ulusal kimliini kurmak için kullanılan bir mit olarak ele alınmaktadır. Dier yandan, Newroz hegemonik kültüre karı Kürtler arasında kültürel birlik yaratmak için bir karı hegemonya aracı olarak dikkate alınmaktadır. Bu inceleme ile hegemonik bir süreç bir mit üzerinden/yoluyla gösterilmektedir. Newroz’un Kürtler’i mobilize etmekte kullanımının dikkate deer bir baarıyla sonuçlandıı; bunun da onun Kürt ve Türk milliyetçilikleri arasında ideolojik bir sava alanına dönümesine yol açtıı iddia edilmetedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Newroz, Kürt milliyetçilii, ideolojik mücadele, mit v To Emek Ajda and Uur Ura vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Mesut Yeen for his guidance, advice, criticism, encouragements throughout the thesis. He endeavored as much as me for this thesis. I am also grateful to my co-advisor Assist. Prof. Necmi Erdoan for the academic inspiration he provided in his lectures as well as in the thesis process. I would also like to thank the members of my jury who kindly agreed to participate in my jury and shared their valuable comments on my thesis. I am especially grateful to Deniz Gündüz not only for his sincere friendship, but also his encouragement for working on such a topic. I would also like express my appreciation to Cemil Gündoan for his suggestions and comments throughout the thesis. My special thanks for my interviewees; F. Kanat, Mehdi Zana, Nurettin Elhüseyni, Naci Kutlay and Ruen Arslan who kindly accepted to reserve time for me and shared their memories, impressions and thoughts. I am also thankful to Hülya Cebeci, staff of the Parliamentary Library and Peter whose support was so valuable in providing me a plenty of materials about my topic. I also express my thanks to my friends Sevgi Çilingir and Azat Zana Gündoan for their intellectual and collaborative company. I appreciate to Ömer Ensari, Özlem Tatan and Meral Salman for their endless support and friendship. I am also deeply indebted to my family. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my father Kıyasettin Aydın, my mother Gülsabah Aydın and my sisters Nazlı Pınar, Helin and Dilan who have always believed in and unconditionally supported my efforts during my whole life. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM......................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................iv ÖZ .............................................................................................................v DEDICATION..........................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................viii INTRODUCTION....................................................................................1 I. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................5 I.1 The Construction of National Identity ..................................................5 I.2 The Possibility of Counter-Hegemony ..................................................9 II. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE KURDISH MOVEMENT IN TURKEY .................................................................16 II.1 The Early Period of the Kurdish Nationalism ....................................16 II.1.a. The Social Structure of the Kurds in the Ottoman Empire Period............................................................................................17 II.1.b. Modernization and Centralization Attempts and Their Effects on Kurds ...........................................................................18 II.1.c. Kurdish Rebellions ........................................................................22 II.2. 1938-1960: Years of Silence ............................................................33 II.3. The Military Coup and New Constitution .........................................38 II. 4. Kurdish Movement Enconters Socialism .........................................42 III. INTRODUCING NEWROZ..................................................................45 III.1. Newroz as an Antique Festival ........................................................45 III.2. Newroz in Texts .............................................................................49 III.2.a. ehname.......................................................................................49 III.2.b. erefname ....................................................................................54 IV. THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEWROZ AS A MYTH ........................57 IV.1. First Attempts of Construction: The Kawa Legend..........................59 IV.1.a. Jin: The Beginning of the Invention..............................................59 IV.1.b. hsan Nuri’s Failed Attempt .........................................................64 IV.2. Newroz as a Tool for Counter Hegemony.......................................68 IV.2.a. Kawa the Proletarian ....................................................................68 IV.2.b. “Contemporary Kawa” ................................................................78 viii V. NEWROZ AS AN IDEOLOGICAL BATTLEFIELD .........................84 V.1. Newroz Appears as a “National Security” Problem ..........................85 V.2. Nevruz as a ‘Turkish Ergenekon Festival’ ........................................90 V.3. Discontinuities in PKK’s Discourse ...............................................101 V. 4. ‘W’ Crisis .....................................................................................108 V.5. Covering Newroz: Newroz in Newspapers .....................................110 V.5.a. Critical Liberal Columnists..........................................................110 V.5.b. Mainstream Nationalist Columnists .............................................112 V.5.c. The Extreme Nationalist Columnists ...........................................112 V.5.d. Islamist Columnists .....................................................................114 CONCLUSION .........................................................................................118 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................122 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................128