Ethnic Groups

Sub-group identity has historically been viewed as threatening to the Turkish state, which was founded in 1923 in the wake of the collapse of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. Nationalism is a basis for the modern republic’s legitimacy. The constitution provides a single-nationality designation for all Turkish citizens. Non-Turk ethnic minorities are not recognized and are therefore accorded no special status. However, demonstrated cultural autonomy for ethnic minorities is a requirement for membership in the European Union (EU). This stipulation has forced the Turkish government to confront the issue in order to come into compliance.

The primary minority group in Turkey is the Kurds. They number some 23-30 million worldwide. Half of that number resides in Turkey, where Kurds comprise approximately 20% of the population.Their historic homeland, Kurdistan, spanned a region that is located in what is now Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. Relations with the Turkish government are strained. Kurdish resistance to “Turkification” is strong. It is evident in both a peaceful effort to gain official recognition for Turkish Kurds’ basic civil rights and an armed insurgency led by those who seek to create a separate Kurdish state. Kurds were forbidden to speak Kurdish in schools and other government buildings until this prohibition was rescinded in 1991.

Another ethnic minority is the Laz, numbering 250,000. Their community straddles the border between Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. Originally Christians, the Laz have converted to Islam. The women are identifiable by their colorful red and maroon shawls. As with the Kurdish language, public usage of the Lazuri language was banned by the Turkish government until 1991. Lazuri was committed to a written form only recently.