The history of Turkey is one marked by continuous massacres and assimilation for all peoples and communities living within its borders. Not only the Kurds, but also the Alevis, Armenians, Greeks, and Roma (Romani people) have faced intense assimilation and genocidal attacks throughout this history.
In the last fifty years, the organized resistance struggle of the Kurds has not only challenged assimilation against Kurds but also pushed back similar attacks on other peoples. It has created a barrier against the Turkish state’s policies of destruction, annihilation, and forced assimilation.
On February 27, 2025, with the call of Abdullah Öcalan, a new process began. This has become not only a source of hope for the Kurds but also the first step of a new era for all peoples and communities living in Turkey. Among those who have long been subjected to assimilation and genocidal attacks, the Roma also began to believe that a new hope had emerged to live once again with their own language and culture.
Cumur Ülker, who conducts research on Roma rights in Turkey and works within the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), spoke to ANF about the realities in Roma neighborhoods and the perspectives of the Roma people regarding this new process.
Roma were instrumentalized with the image of a crutch
Cumur Ülker stated that much effort was made to turn Roma into a crutch for the Turkish state’s security-oriented policies. Ülker emphasized that they were criminalized and said, “Roma were instrumentalized under the shadow of the security paradigm with the image of a ‘crutch’; their language and memory were suppressed, their neighborhoods were criminalized, and they were displaced through urban transformation. Poverty was not linked to ‘culture’ but to structural exclusion. Despite this, a strong counter-memory and solidarity network grew.
At the same time, in terms of the violence imposed against both our existence and our memory and knowledge, two developments took place: the Romani, Abdal and Dom dialects were excluded from the public sphere; and a gacoluk perspective was developed, depicting the Roma people as ‘pro-state.’ In terms of spatial pressure and discrimination, urban transformations like those seen in Sulukule between 2006 and 2010 were created. In areas such as Ayvansaray, Tepeüstü, and Tepecik, profiling practices treated Roma as ‘suspects.’ From a class perspective, they were pushed into informal, uninsured jobs, and the youth were driven away from education.”
The problem is not culture but systematic impoverishment and securitized policy
Ülker drew attention to how Roma have been drawn into a system of exploitation through unemployment and insecurity, underlining that the problem was systematically created. He continued: “Romas are confronted with both class-based and ontological denials, such as unemployment and insecure labor, exclusion from education and healthcare, housing pressure, and heavy criminalization.
Of course, what is needed against this violence is strong cultural solidarity, making women’s invisible labor visible, and bringing forth the creative resistance of the youth. Because the problem is not ‘culture’; it is systematic impoverishment and securitized governance. The solution lies in equal access to services, neighborhood-based education and employment networks, language and cultural centers, and transparent local administrations.”
Neighborhoods besieged by narcopolitics and digital hate
Ülker stated that especially after the power struggles between cliques on July 15, 2016, the state turned its special war concept not only against revolutionary neighborhoods but also against Roma neighborhoods. Ülker also said, “Special war practices were translated into the metropolis, and neighborhoods were besieged with narcopolitics, gang formations, and digital hate. Urban transformation accelerated, and police profiling became routine. Roma neighborhoods were already stigmatized; the difference is that stigmatization has now been tied to a generalized regime of insecurity.
In response, it is of vital importance to establish local women’s and youth collectives; to implement legal and harm reduction practices (a health-based approach to substance use); to form digital hate monitoring teams; and to ensure in-place improvements in urban transformation along with rental support guarantees.”
Memory-centered work must be carried out
Pointing out that religious sects had also entered Roma neighborhoods in this process, Cumur Ülker added that in the absence of a democratic society such groups can easily spread and said: “Where there is no equal and democratic society, sects multiply rapidly through aid and belonging; language and cultural erosion deepens, patriarchal pressure intensifies, and political obedience becomes inevitable.
As a solution-oriented approach, equal and inclusive neighborhood houses should be established, scholarship and study networks should be provided, women’s solidarity centers should be developed; language courses, art and sports clubs, and rights-based social support lines should be created.”
Ülker stated that a language and memory line must be established against the state’s attacks and special war tactics directed at Roma. Ülker listed what must be done for the Roma people: “First and foremost, the Language and Memory Line is indispensable. Romani and Abdal language classes, archive and dictionary studies, story and song recordings; memory-centered work such as commemorations on August 2 and in local calendars must be carried out.
Legal and Monitoring Committees should be established to fight hate crimes, police violence, discrimination, and racism.
Harm Reduction and Youth Workshops should be formed to apply a health-based approach to substance use and to create opportunities for youth in music, sports, and coding activities.
Women’s Assemblies should be formed to develop multilingual support lines against violence, to establish economic cooperatives, and to socialize care labor.
Local Democracy must be ensured by creating neighborhood assemblies, implementing participatory budgets, and establishing binding protocols for local administrations.
Cross-Solidarity Lines should be developed by building permanent platforms with Kurdish, Alevi, migrant and workers’ organizations, and by creating counter-narratives instead of the the ‘gacoluk’ discourse (a stigmatizing narrative portraying Roma as “pro-state” or submissive).”
The Kurdish Freedom Movement’s idea of democratic solution means Roma are also at the table
Cumur Ülker spoke about the new process that has begun between the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the Turkish state. Ülker said that Romas are holding on to cautious hope, while also continuing their own struggle for existence: “The Roma people view this process with hope but also with caution. Because for 50 years we were ignored and stigmatized as ‘being on the side of the state.’ Yet the reality was different: Roma neighborhoods always faced unemployment, poverty, police pressure, and urban transformation.
Today, the Kurdish Freedom Movement’s insistence on the idea of democratic solution also means, for the Roma, that ‘we are now at the table.’ We call this ‘democratic integration’: not being patched into the system, but existing as equal citizens and subjects with our own memory and culture. For example, when a language center is opened in a Roma neighborhood, it is not merely a ‘cultural activity’; it means Romani, which the state has denied for centuries, returns to the public sphere. And this is the foundation of true peace.”
What they called integration for years meant ‘be silent, disappear’
Ülker also said, “On the other hand, the Roma perspective on this process is tied to rejecting the construction of “assimilation = integration” created by colonial modernity. Because for years we were told to “integrate,” but what was really meant was always “be silent, disappear, be a folkloric ornament.” In contrast, our proposal is democratic integration:
– Positive/democratic, because the Roma people, as subjects, include their own language, memory, and demands in the social contract.
– Decolonial, because instead of the gacoluk discourse, we speak through our own knowledge and memory.
For example, the Kakava Festival in Edirne is presented by the state as a “touristic” showcase; but for Roma, Kakava carries their memory into a public and political space.
Another example is the resistance of the Roma in Sulukule during the process of urban transformation. This was not just a “neighborhood struggle”; it was a struggle to protect the very existence, the ontology of the Roma people. That is why Roma view the new process in this way: if peace is not only for Kurds but a democratic transformation for all peoples, then without the voice of Roma at the table, peace will remain incomplete.”
Elitist language barriers against Roma must be broken
Cumur Ülker said that Roma have participated, albeit in limited ways, in the public meetings organized by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), but that there has been no real participation at the level of representation. He stressed that the elitist language created against Roma through years of propaganda must be abandoned. Ülker continued: “There has been some participation in public meetings; however, representation has remained limited in most places. The reasons are insecurity, years of mistrust, fears that ‘our name will be used again,’ and certain local structural barriers. The Roma initiatives that did participate raised issues of language and culture, housing, and youth; but it is clear that ongoing dialogue and institutional alignment with Roma’s own organized structures are necessary.
What should be done:
First of all, efforts must be made to break down barriers such as years of mistrust, elitist language, logistical issues (transportation and childcare), and gaps in representation.
Let’s think of it this way: when Roma associations in Thrace participate in local meetings, their concrete demands (housing/employment) must not be left unfinished but should be carried forward.
For example, in Istanbul and Izmir, spaces should be opened for young Roma to have a voice, making language and cultural issues more visible.
As a step toward Democratic Integration, what should be done is the following:
A Joint Working Line should be established (between the DEM Party, Roma organizations, and municipalities).
A quota for Roma women and youth must be included in the meetings.”
If truth, justice and participation fail to advance together, peace is fragile
Ülker added that peace rests on fragile ground and that what was missing in 2013 was the societal dimension and stated: “As a Roma, my measure is this: if truth, justice and participation do not advance at the same time, peace is fragile. What was lacking in 2013 was the weakness of the societal pillar and the absence of common mechanisms at the local level. This time, for peace to be lasting, political and cultural rights must be guaranteed, local participatory governance and monitoring boards must be established, and communities such as Roma, Kurds, Alevis and others must be present at the table as equals and subjects. These must not remain mere intentions; they should be reinforced with institutional guarantees and irreversible gains.
So, what are these measures?
Guarantee of language and culture (including Romani), local participatory governance, judicial mechanisms specifically addressing hate crimes, and positive/democratic measures in housing and employment.
For example, binding protocols for local administrations and transparent monitoring boards could be established, along with reports such as annual ‘Roma indicators’ prepared by these boards.
In terms of democratic integration: community impact assessments (ensuring that every security and urban planning decision accounts for the Roma), independent monitoring boards (with representation from Roma, Kurds, and Alevis), and irreversible norms under legal guarantee.”
Peace is not a gift but an ontological contract
Cumur Ülker underlined that peace is not a gift handed down from the center but an ontological contract and concluded with the following words: “Peace is not a ‘gift granted from the center’; it is a new ontological contract built by the peripheries. The presence of Roma at the table is not only for the Roma but is a test of democratic plurality for the whole society. We do not want integration; we want democratic integration: to exist as equals and subjects with our language and our memory. Roma poverty is not a culture, it is the result of a sustained political choice.”