Second Death Threat against Kurdish Politician Miroğlu in 3 Months

Taraf newspaper journalist Orhan Miroğlu was threatened via an article written by a person called Toprak Cengiz. The threatening news item was published on the website of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The article entitled "Miroğlu and the rancor" was posted on Monday (29 November). It accuses Miroğlu of "villainously attacking the people's values and the assurance of safety". In the end of the writing it reads, "If the essence of your words continues like this, we will put into use a line that was drawn with a red pen! Miroğlu will be dead then!"

Warning to Miroğlu

The article reminded the fact that the General Publications Director of the nation-wide Taraf daily, Ahmet Altan, previously called several sections of society to reason and common sense, including the PKK and its imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan. It was said that the editor of the newspaper Miroğlu previsoulsy worked for "had called several sections of society and the leadership of the Kurdish people to common sense. The chief writer of the newspaper had probably been able to understand the sensitivity and gravity of the subject. But Miroğlu is insisting on this supposedly honourable topic and tries to scratch it even more. In other words, he tries to stain the walls of the mosques!"

"A call for common sense to be made later on might be meaningless!", it was said.

Another death threat three months ago

On 7 September 2010, Miroğlu received a death threat from an unidentified individual. Miroğlu had previously criticized bomb attacks that aimed at civilians. He had furthermore been accused of advocating for the government because he had promoted  the approval of the government's constitutional reform package before the referendum in September.

Miroğlu was incarcerated in the Diyarbakır Prison in the Kurdish-majority South-East of the country for many years. He got severely injured in the assassination of the Kurdish writer and poet Musa Anter in Diyarbakır on 20 September 1992. Miroğlu was a member of parliament candidate for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) in the elections in 2007. (EÖ/VK)