Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu) - March 31, 2016
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| Artum Dinc |
Artum Dinc argues that terrorist attacks against civilians constitute crimes against humanity, irrespective of the perpetrators' identity or their ethnic-sectarian affiliation. In an interview with Voice of America, the sociologist highlights the inaccuracy of "labelling the groups responsible for the attacks, as well as the communities targeted by the attacks, solely based on their perceived ethnic or sectarian identities." He underscores that terms like "Kurdish terrorist" or "Muslim terrorist" utilized in certain media outlets are wrong.
According to Artum Dinc, generalizing the activities of groups such as PKK, ISIS, or Hezbollah in the name of a particular ethnic or sectarian group can lead to the presentation of terrorist organizations as legitimate representatives of those populations:
"Let's say that the PKK or its branch in Iran, PJAK, committed a bloody act. Representing this bloody act in the name of "Kurds" or "Kurdish terrorists," from one point of view, means stigmatizing all Kurdish people as members of PKK or PJAK. In fact, this misrepresentation can be used to benefit these organizations and the forces that support them, and it can lead to the position of organizations like the PKK as the legitimate representative of the entire Kurdish people, which is the goal of the PKK. However, many Kurdish civilians became victims of the PKK's bloody violence and lost their lives or suffered severe injuries. This situation is equally valid for Daesh (ISIS), Sunnis, Hezbollah, Shiites and even all Muslims, Christians and others.
In the same way, he emphasizes that it is a mistake to generalize the people targeted by terrorist organizations in the name of a particular group:
"When the bloody actions carried out by PKK or its Iranian counterpart PJAK are portrayed by some as targeting all Turks, all Arabs, or all Persians; or when the armed activities of ISIS are depicted as targeting all Shiites or all non-Salafi Sunnis, it implies an attempt by some to incite animosity between these groups, fostering lasting conflicts. In reality, regardless of where or by whom such acts are committed, an attack against civilian populations, be it ethnic or religious groups, is not directed against a specific group but perhaps constitutes a crime against all humanity."
He states, "Both forms of generalization involve flawed conceptualization and naming. The primary function of this dual flawed naming is to sow seeds of hatred, animosity, and enmity between masses belonging to different groups in a long-lasting and enduring manner. One possible outcome of this could be war. War brings disaster and destruction and results in bloodshed. From this perspective, while all parties engaged in face-to-face conflict suffer harm, the probability of the warring parties appearing to gain an advantage seems high."
The sociologist notes several factors to determine the accuracy and reliability of the information published on these topics, including the source of the information, how it is presented within their narrative or discourse framework, the affiliation of the disseminators of the information with certain power centers, and the consideration of the ideological views, interests, and objectives of these power centers.
Artum Dinc also discusses ways to prevent the distortion of this information and incorrect labelling disseminated by the media, as well as the responsibility that falls on intellectuals, thought leaders, or active groups on social media:
"The ways to prevent these distortions include not repeating flawed and distorted conceptualizations or labels (avoiding copy and paste); deciphering and reporting incorrect and distorted narratives; using narratives that reflect reality as much as possible; developing new concepts if there is a lack of appropriate terminology in our language to explain certain situations or processes; and drawing attention to the corruptive aspects of ideological, religious, discursive, and similar models."
Link to the original interview: https://www.amerikaninsesi.org/a/artum-dinc/3259189.html