Kurdish Question has been the most critical problem of Turkey for the last thirty years. Although it was used to be framed merely as a “terrorism problem that was provacated by [unspecified] international forces, it has been an issue consisting psychological, cultural, legal, political, ethnic and economic dimensions. In recent years, the State has taken several steps to solve problem as well as to partially meet Kurd`s demands in the context of democratic consolidation. However, these steps have been found insufficient, fragile and occasional developments. In the summer of 2009, President Abdullah Gül started the discussion about more comprehensive opening regarding Kurdish question which has gotten hopes up in the society. The Interior Ministry has recently stated, there is a rooted will for a solution that has some history.  Many argue that solution of the historic problem requires the effort and positive contribution of political parties, army, state officials, non-governmental representatives, opinion leaders, intellectuals and the media. Since the media has the role of informing  the parties of question and framing the problem, it has a significant power in the solution process. As Altan Tan (2009) and Hıncal Uluç (2009) wrote, large part of Turkish media has carried negative role in the solution process of the Kurdish question. They used to show Kurdish question as merely a terror and a separatism problem in the line of official state ideology.

This paper seeks to explore the position of Zaman newspaper in the solution of Kurdish question. As a newspaper stressing pluralism, cooperation, democracy, national and international peace, it  is expected that it would show an extra effort to take positive steps in the Kurdish question. How does Zaman frame the question? How does it reflect diverse opinions? To what extent does it differ from official state ideology?   Is there any differences between Zaman`s position and main newspapers? In addition to explore Zaman`s position, it is meaningful to question perceptions regarding to Zaman. I will interview Kurdish politicians, intellectuals and representatives of NGOs and Kurdish media in the region to assess Zaman. They will be asked some questions: To what extent Zaman cover the issue, contribute to the solution and keep its neutrality.  

Zeynep Şahin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include international migration, gender and international relations, politics of Middle East and comparative politics. She has been serving as a teaching assistant at the University of Southern California for undergraduate courses such as Research Approaches: Managing Global Challenges. Her dissertation, entitled “The Role of Muslim Women in the Political Integration of Muslim Immigrant Communities in the U.S and the Netherlands,” explores the contours and sources of political behaviour of immigrant women to understand Muslim immigrant integration in the West. Zeynep holds the B.A. from the Department of International Relations at Fatih University and the M.A. in Modern Turkish History from Bogazici University, Istanbul.

Fatma Durak is a graduate student at the Department of Sociology of the California State University, Northridge. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration at Fatih University in Turkey as a magnum cum laud, and completed MA classes in Jean Monnet Institute European Union Studies of Marmara University in Turkey. During her undergraduate and graduate level studies she has been in Belgium, Brussels; Czech Republic, Prag as a visiting lecturer and conference presenter. Her main interests are social movements, gender, women’s political participation, political sociology, cultural sociology, religion and religious movements, sociology of education.