Earlier this month, the municipality of Korfez town in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli named a large park after Dzhokhar Dudayev - a late Chechen politician and former USSR air force general who carried out a coup against the local government in 1991 and announced the independence of Chechnya from the Russian Federation. He became the first president of the independent Chechnya.
Dudayev, who was killed by Russian bombardment in 1996, is highly respected in Turkey for his freedom struggle against the Soviet Union. Several parks, streets and squares have been named after him in Turkish cities, including Istanbul. However, the legendary leader has been demised by Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of Chechen Republic of Russia, for his efforts at separation during his lifetime.
Kadyrov, known for his strong loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a statement on Telegram late Tuesday that his dissidents - whom he called “terrorists” - are being sheltered in Turkey, calling on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “make up your mind! You should either receive the status of a state that publicly supports terrorists, or you advocate transparent and honest relations with the Russian Federation.”
Several of these dissidents were seen in the inauguration of the park on December 10.
He added that he can retaliate by erecting a statue of Ocalan in his region’s capital city of Grozny.
“For example, in this case, it is quite logical and politically ‘mirroring’ from our side to immortalize in Grozny the name of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in one of the Turkish prisons,” he threatened.
Kadyrov, known for his tyrannical rule, came to power in 2007 after his father died in a bomb blast reportedly carried out by armed dissidents. Unlike Dudayev, his family has struggled against the independence of Chechnya from Russia.
PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased cultural and political rights of Kurds in Turkey for decades. Its leader has been in prison since 1999.
