2014 Kobanî protests

2014 Kobanî protests
A building in Diyarbakır that was burned during the protests
Date	October 6, 2014 (2014-10-06)
Location	Ankara · Batman · Bingöl · Diyarbakır · Erzurum · Gaziantep · Iğdır · İstanbul · İzmir · Mardin · Mersin · Muş · Siirt · Şanlıurfa · Şırnak · Van
Caused by	ISIS siege of Kobani from September to October
Goals	Enabling Turkey to open an arms corridor for Kobanî
Parties
Protesters 62nd cabinet of Turkey HDP

The 2014 Kobanî protests in Turkey were large-scale rallies by pro-People's Defense Units (YPG) protestors in Turkey which occurred in autumn 2014, as a spillover of the crisis in Kobanî. Large demonstrations unfolded in Turkey, and quickly descended into violence between protesters and the Turkish police. Several military incidents between Turkish forces and militants of the Youth Wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in south-eastern Turkey contributed to the escalation. Protests then spread to various cities in Turkey. Protesters were met with tear gas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. A total of 31 people were killed in subsequent protesting up to 14 October.^[1]

Causes

Main article: Siege of Kobanî

As a result of the advance of the Islamic State (IS) on Kobanî that began 13 September 2014,^[2] more than 200,000 Syrians sought refuge in Turkey.^[2][3] On 30 September, errant shells landed on Turkish soil and the Turks shot back into Syrian territory, with Turkish armor being brought to the border to deter further incursions.^[4] Five civilians in Turkey were injured when a mortar hit their house. Turkey evacuated two villages as a precautionary measure.^[5] There were several causes for the protests. Turkish authorities forbidding Kurdish volunteers to cross the border into Kobanî was one,^[6] that Turkey refused to launch a military operation in defense of Kobani even though the Turkish parliament has passed a law authorizing one another.^[6]

However, Turkish security forces did not allow People's Protection Units (YPG) militants and other volunteers to go the other way, using tear gas and water cannons against them.^[7] While dispersing Kurdish crowds near the border, Turkish police fired tear gas directly into a BBC news crew van, breaking through the rear window and starting a small fire.^[8]

Events

As a result of the crisis in Kobanî, massive pro-Kobanî demonstrations unfolded in Turkey and quickly turned into violence between protesters and the Turkish police. Several military incidents between Turkish forces and militants in south-eastern Turkey, contributed to the escalation. Protests then spread to various cities in Turkey, such as Mardin, Bingöl or Van in Eastern Anatolia but also to the western cities of Izmir and Istanbul.^[9]

October

On 7 October, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Kobanî would fall to ISIL,^[6] and the protests took up force.^[10] According to a witness' interview with Amnesty International the Justice and Development Party (AKP) led Municipality's bodyguards attacked protestors in Siirt on 7 October 2014.^[11] The same day, several members of the Hüda Par, including Yasin Börü, were killed in Bağlar, Diyarbakır.^[12] As a counter measure to the protests, the authorities in Mardin province imposed a curfew in several districts.^[13] On 8 October Mark Lowen from the BBC reported that 19 people shall have died and that the Turkish authorities imposed curfews in several cities with a majorly Kurdish population.^[14] Protesters were met with tear gas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. A total of 31 people were subsequent rioting up to 14 October.^[1] The protests came to an end after Abdullah Öcalan called for their termination from his prison on Imrali island.^[15]

November

On 1 November 2014, multiple protests took place to support the Kurds of Kobanî. 5,000 people demonstrated in the Turkish town of Suruç, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border. At least 15,000 marched in Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır and 1,000 protested in Istanbul, all peaceful.^[16] On 7 November, protests erupted over reports a 28-year-old Kurdish woman activist had been shot in the head by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the border near Kobanî.^[17] She was reportedly part of a peaceful group of demonstrators who wanted the Turkish government to allow volunteers from Turkey to join the fight against ISIL in Kobanî.^[17]

Responses

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he was not ready to launch operations against ISIL in Syria unless it was also against the Syrian government.^[18]

Legal prosecution of the protestors

Erdoğan has repeatedly blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) for the deaths during the Kobanî protests,^[10] whereas the HDP blamed Turkish police for the outbreak of violence.^[19]

Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, Co-Chairs of the HDP in 2014, were arrested due to other charges in November 2016 but from September 2019 onwards, were also prosecuted for the Kobani protests.^[20] The prosecutors initiated the investigation against Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ^[21] the same day Demirtaş demanded his release due to a courts verdict, that he was to be released pending trial.^[22][21] In September 2020, the investigations were expanded onto the leading politicians of the HDP and the Democratic Regions Party (BDP) at the time of the protests.^[20] Sirri Süreyya Önder,^[23] and Ayhan Bilgen were detained on 25 September 2020.^[24] The prosecution of 82 supporters of the protests during September 2020, has led to other protests against the prosecution.^[25] During October, Sebahat Tuncel, Aysel Tuğluk^[22] and Gültan Kişanak, all imprisoned at the time, received new arrest warrants due to the protests.^[20] Gülser Yıldırım was also summoned to deliver a statement, following which she was released into house arrest.^[20] In the trial of Kişanak, secret witnesses had been used.^[26] The HDP has called several times for a parliamentary commission which would investigate the events causing the protests, but their demands were rejected by politicians of the AKP and their political ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).^[27] Overall, 108 Kurdish politicians were put on trial in relation to the Kobanî protests.^[19]

In January 2021, the president of the MHP Devlet Bahçeli, called for the closure of the HDP due to its involvement in the Kobanî protests.^[28] On 2 March 2021, the Court of Cassation requested the case file regarding the Kobani protests^[29] and on 17 March the State Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court demanding the closure of the HDP.^[29]

In May 2024, several HDP politicians were convicted, among them Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ who were sentenced to 42 and just over 30 years in prison, respectively.^[30]

See also

• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
• Kurds in Turkey
• Kurdish people

References

1. "Kobane: Air strikes help Syria town curb IS". BBC News. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
2. "1,500 Kurdish Fighters Join Forces Against IS in Syria". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
3. "Kobani Protests in Turkey" (PDF). Amnesty International. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-07. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
4. "TANKS ON BORDER AS PARLIAMENT READIES TO DISCUSS TROOP MANDATE". dailysabah.com. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
5. Ozerkan, Fulya (5 October 2014). "Kurds battle IS for key Syria town as fire spills over border". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
6. "Turkish president says Kobani about to fall to 'IS'". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
7. "Protest erupts in Turkish Syrian borderline". Cihan News Agency. Archived from the original on 2014-09-27. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
8. "Turkish police tear-gas BBC team near Syrian border". BBC News. 5 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
9. "Kobani Protests in Turkey". Amnesty International. 2015, pp.5–6
10. "The plot hatched against the HDP over Kobane". www.duvarenglish.com. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
11. "Kobani Protests in Turkey" Amnesty International (2015), p.8
12. "Kobani Protests in Turkey". Amnesty International. 2015, p.7
13. "Kurds protest against Turkey as IS advances on Kobane". BBC News. 2014-10-07. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
14. Lowen, Mark (2014-10-08). "Turkey Kurds: Kobane protests leave 19 dead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
15. Yeğen, Mesut (2015). "The Kurdish Peace Process in Turkey: Genesis, Evolution and Prospects" (PDF). www.files.ethz.ch. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-08-18. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
16. "Thousands protest in Turkey to show solidarity with Kobane Kurds". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
17. Varghese, Johnlee (7 October 2014). "Kurdish Woman Activist 'Shot in the Head' by Turkish Soldiers near Kobani". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
18. DeJong, Karen; Sly, Liz (9 October 2014). "U.S. frustration rises as Turkey withholds military help from besieged Kobani". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
19. McKernan, Bethan (2021-04-26). "Turkey puts 108 Kurdish politicians on trial over 2014 Kobani protests". The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
20. "Kobani Investigation: Arrested politician Kışanak arrested again: 'She might flee abroad'". Bianet. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
21. "Turkey: Free Politician after European Court Ruling". International Commission of Jurists. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
22. "Kobanê investigation: HDP's Tuncel, Tuğluk remanded in custody 'again'". Bianet. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11.
23. "Turkey orders dozens of arrests including opposition mayor". www.aljazeera.com. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
24. Gazetesi, Evrensel. "A trustee to replace Kars Municipality after Ayhan Bilgen was arrested". Evrensel.net. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
25. "HDP protests Kobane detentions outside Turkish parliament". www.duvarenglish.com. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
26. "Turkish court remands two more Kurdish politicians over Kobani protests". Ahval. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
27. "Gov't rejects HDP's demand to investigate 2014 deadly Kobane protests for 10th time". www.duvarenglish.com. 2020-10-22. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
28. "Turkey's far-right MHP to file application for pro-Kurdish HDP's closure". Gazete Duvar. 2021-11-01. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
29. "HDP indictment seeks political ban for 687 members, including Demirtaş, Buldan and Sancar". Bianet. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
30. "Turkey: Pro-Kurdish leader Demirtas gets 42 years in prison". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2024-05-21.

External links

Media related to 2014 Kobanî protests at Wikimedia Commons