Kyrgyz Cavalry Taller in the Saddle in Van

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Vatan Newspaper, 30 July 2018)


                  PKK's Kyrgyz nightmare.

Ulupamir village in Van's Erciş district is where Kyrgyz Turk village
guards live and the village is celebrating the graduation of 4 of the
guards' sons from the Army War College with the rank of lieutenant.
İbrahim Ulu, Ramazan Erol, Aykut Yiğit and Mannas Sancaktar have
been assigned to duty in various regions.

Cemşit Horasan, the head of the Pamir Culture, Education and
Solidarity Association, explained to Vatan that "we're very happy
and proud. Our village has given many guards, sergeants and soldiers
but this is the first time we're sending officers. The population of our
village is 2,500 and we have some 200 village guards.  Each family
has given at least one. The fathers of  Lieutenants İbrahim Ulu and
Ramazan Erol are both retired village guards and there are many
current village guards in the families of Aykut Yiğit and Manas
Sancaktar.  We're ready to give our lives for our country and
henceforth some of the army commanders may come from us."


                      The Kyrgyz Lieutenants

Ulupamir village is located 32 kilometers from Erçiş town and
132 kilometers from Van and it is the only village in the region
the PKK feared to enter.  Since the Kyrgyz came to Turkey in
1982 two soldiers and 4 village guards have lost their lives in
skirmishes.


       A taste of the old country lingers.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 a portion of
the Kyrgyz living in Pamir valley sought refuge in Pakistan, where
they found it difficult to live.  Appealing for help from Turkey through
the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad, then-President Kenan Evren
had 1,150 Pamir Kyrgyz brought by airplane to Turkey.  At first,
they were settled in a tent city in Malatya and in Van's Karagündüz
village.

The Kyrgyz come from the Wakhan Corridor, a part of 
Afghanistan squeezed between Tajikistan and Pakistan.

In 1987, then-President Turgut Özal had the Kyrgyz settled in two-
story houses, with a stable below and living quarters above.  The
Kyrgyz named their village Ulupamir.  It was attacked by the
PKK in 1992 but the Kyrgyz repulsed the attack and have done so
ever since.


     Erciş district is in Van's northwest.