Unless every group in society is able to participate fully in the political process, real democracy is not possible. And one of the greatest impediments to this is discrimination against minorities.

Groups like the Turks in Bulgaria, the Kurds in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey and Travellers in Europe regard themselves and are regarded by others as different to mainstream society. Because they maintain their own identity and cultural practices, they are often seen as a threat to the unified nation state which seeks uniformity of culture and iangusg. Such groups are frequently subject to violent repression or denied access to cultural, social or economic rights.

 

 

Political participation in Kenya has become much more difficult in the past year. The Government has arrested and tortured advocates of human rights and multi-party democracy. President Daniel arap Moi threatened to root out those supporting the multi-party system 'like rats': Government ministers and high-ranking officials exhorted followers to attack would-be political reformers: one minister incited people to chop off the fingers of anyone who stuck up two fingers in support of a two-party system.

The Government accused Kenya's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, of supporting multi-party democracy for their own political ends. And in 1989 it started requiring that all Kenyans of ethnic Somali origin and Somali nationals living in Kenya carry identity cards, without which they could not obtain state-supplied services or permission to travel.

Last year, President arap Moi announced that refugees from Rwanda and Uganda must leave the country. This breached the Kenyan Government's responsibilities under a United Nations Convention which bans forcible repatriation except when a refugee has been found guilty of a serious crime.

In Turkey too, minorities experience daily abuses of their right to political participation. More than 20 associations, ranging from the Turkish Farmers Association to the Nurses Association, reported harassment in 1990, including raids on offices and the banning of political gatherings. Several political parties which were prohibited after the 1980 coup are still forbidden.

Kurdish people are forbidden to utter their native language at formal events, unable to call their children by Kurdish names, to observe Kurdish holidays or dance in the traditional fashion. Lawyers cannot even speak Kurdish if their clients do not understand Turkish.

Thousands of political prisoners were detained in 1990, many of whom were condemned to death after unfair trials. Torture is used extensively.

Iraq has appallingly treated thousands of political prisoners who were detained without charge or trial in 1990, including Iraqi exiles, foreigners, political opponents and their relatives, and Kuwaitis. Again torture is routine.

The Kurds have suffered especially in recent years, culminating in their escape from Saddam Hussein's army towards the end of the Gulf War. In 1985 the Government tried to end the rebellions in the north-east by forcibly resettling the Kurds. By the end of 1990 about half a million Kurds had been transferred, while hundreds of Kurdish settlements had been eradicated. And twice between 1987 and 1988 dozens of Kurdish villages were destroyed by chemical weapons dropped on them from above.

Sources: Human Rights Watch World Report, 1990; World Directory of Minorities, Minority Rights Group, Longman; Information, Freedom and censorship, Article 19, 1991; Third World Guide 1989-90 & 1991-2; Amnesty International Report 1991; consultations with experts in the field.