ELIF AKGÜL

Istanbul_ Lawyer Cian Kaya believes that treating the attacks and threats targeting Kurds in Turkey as separate incidents obscures their structural nature,emphasizing that confronting racism requires serious investigation and accountability for those involved.

In the Alaplı district of Zonguldak province, it was reported that more than 70 workers and their families, who had come from Şırnak for seasonal agricultural work, were attacked. However, Zonguldak province described the incident as "an individual dispute between a family that came to the region for work and a family residing in the village." Likewise, Düzce province described the attack targeting workers from Mardin as an "individual security incident." A suspect identified as M V. was detained and arrested for threatening workers with a knife, according to reports.

Düzce province defended its position by stating that "there was no attack targeting the identity of seasonal agricultural workers," while workers reported being subjected to insults and threats, being told "Leave this place, we don't want you here."

Necile Demir, a deputy from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Parti) representing Ağrı province, brought the attacks in Zonguldak and Düzce to the parliamentary agenda and asked the Minister of Interior whether there was a discriminatory or racist motive behind the incidents and what measures had been taken to ensure workers' safety.

Following these developments, the waving of a "yellow bag" by some Kocaelispor fans toward the stands of Amedspor fans during the match held on August 24 sparked angry reactions.

The Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that instructions had been issued to detain five people whose identities were identified through video recordings. The prosecutor's office stated that the investigation is being conducted under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, concerning "inciting the people to hatred and hostility," as well as under the crimes stipulated in Law No. 6222.

 

"Invisible"

In her assessment of the attacks targeting identities and how to address them to achieve social peace, lawyer Cian Kaya, a member of the Anti-Racism and Discrimination Committee of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association, stated that attacks should not be treated as isolated events: "It can be said that racist attacks, from the perspective of this geography, are systematic, because there is a structural problem. It is a process we experience repeatedly every year. We are witnessing, especially in these months, many of these attacks against seasonal workers, particularly people belonging to identities outside the official ideology."

Clarifying what she means by identities outside the official ideology, Cian Kaya said: "If you are not Turkish, Sunni, or Muslim, you are in fact outside the protective shield and face the risk of becoming a target or victim of an attack at any moment, and this is part of the problem we experience every year."

She noted that a similar racist act appeared during the Kocaelispor and Amedspor match, following the events in Zonguldak and Düzce that were described as isolated incidents: "The emergence of a similar racist act again during the match shows that this problem is in fact deeper and structural, and the statements describing those incidents as 'isolated' make these discriminatory and racist attacks invisible."

 

Social Peace Begins with Acknowledging Discrimination

Cian Kaya emphasized the necessity of building social peace in order for the peace process to be sustainable, defining social peace as "a social system in which all identity groups feel that they belong to society and are secure within it."

She added: "As the Anti-Racism and Discrimination Committee, we have filed many criminal complaints in this area over the past years, and the common outcome of all the complaints we filed against state officials, politicians, journalists, and individuals who committed acts of violence was decisions of non-prosecution."

Regarding judicial pathways, she said: "These matters have in fact revealed a structural problem and shown that the judiciary also operates within a system that protects perpetrators of violence or those who use racist and hate speech. Hate speech is often considered part of freedom of expression, but it is in fact a crime stipulated by law."

She stressed that the method of investigation into incidents is also important: "We see that each incident is treated as isolated; if there is physical assault, the case is considered only as simple assault; if there is insult, it is addressed only from the angle of insult. Investigations do not take into account the hate speech or racist discourse present in the incident."

The statements describing incidents as isolated also carry implications regarding the course of investigations: "Describing the incident as 'isolated' in fact suggests that racist discourse will once again be excluded from the basis of the investigation, and the case will end in non-prosecution if there is no insult or injury."

She stressed the importance of state officials' stance in building social peace during the peace process: "Such attacks must be carefully examined, investigated, and their perpetrators pursued and punished. I believe we cannot build a society where everyone feels safe except in this way."

 

" The Language Used in Building Peace is Crucial"

Cian Kaya also drew attention to the social impact of the language used by politicians, saying: "Politicians' rhetoric has an aspect that deepens division in society. We have experienced periods over the years in which racist attacks increased as a result of this division, and unfortunately, these attacks are not a new phenomenon."

She added: "Today we are talking about attacks targeting Kurdish identity, but we face a great deal of hate speech on social media in this country against Armenians, Romani people, and Jews. This indicates that the rhetoric of politicians, as well as academics and artists who influence society, has a significant impact."

Cian Kaya concluded her remarks by saying: "The more we can use a more positive language in the peace-building process, the faster and easier it will be to achieve social peace."