A little note on Kurdish issue

...  by Today's Zeman columnist

Just today I have read very nice example that illustrates PKK and Kurdish questions in Turkey. After a Monday's attack in Gaziantep, the matter has been up-heated in here again. Columnist that garbed my attention wears a veil, Merve Busra Ozturk writes: 

A little Kurdish girl in Gaziantep -  the city which lost
 its 9 citizens and more than 60 were injured
in a car bombing on Monday, October 20th,
allegedly committed  by terrorists
of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

"A priest from a small, poor village sets off on a very hot summer day down a road that has no trees or any source of water for as far as the eye can see in order to pay his respects to his aged relatives in a faraway village. He sets out before sunrise and continues to walk throughout the day. By the afternoon, he is so thirsty and exhausted that he only has enough strength to walk to a small green lake, which he is thrilled to see. He goes to the lake, drinks as much water as he can, washes his arms and legs and lays down to nap beside the lake.

Just as he is about to fall asleep, a nobleman on a horse arrives and yells: “These lands belong to my king and my family. No foreigner can benefit from these lands. Get out right away -- now!” The priest then says: “You say that your king and family own this land. How, then did you obtain it?” The man replies, “We inherited it from our ancestors.” “And how did they obtain it?” “They inherited it, too,” the man replies. When the priest asks the same question once more, the man loses his patience and says, “My great-great-grandfathers obtained these lands by fighting.” The priest then stops and, smiling, stands up and begins to take off his clothes. “Take off your clothes, too. We are going to fight,” he says. 

Görmüş says this story perfectly illustrates our country’s Kurdish issue: The state -- the nobleman in the story -- has denied the rights of Kurds -- the priest in the story -- for years based on laws it has created. Is there a difference between the priest’s need for water and the Kurds’ demands to speak their language without fear? And did the Kurds not say “take off your clothes, too, we are going to fight” when the state rejected every demand they made?"

 Something catchy is about that story and again, the truth is somewhere in between...