Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ve Afganistan Türklüğü (1970-2000)

Afghanistan has been an important country in Turkish foreign policy. The Republic of Turkey, which has given great support to Afghanistan’s Turkic people especially since the 1970s, has continued this support by strengthening it to the extent of its possibilities in the upcoming periods. During the reigns of Kenan Evren, Turgut Özal and Süleyman Demirel, important attempts were made to protect and strengthen the Turkish presence in Afghanistan. In this article, the policies followed by the Turkish governments towards Afghanistan’s Turkic people will be analyzed there after the establishment of the Erkin Turkestan Party in the 1970s. The question to be responded in this study is "What kind of policy has Turkey followed towards Afghanistan Turkic people since the 1970s, and is this policy can be described as supra-the party line?" In the first part of the article, Turkey's policies towards Afghanistan’s Turkic people until the 1970s will be given in general terms within the framework of a historical background. In the second part, the establishment of the Erkin Turkistan Party and the activities of its leader Abdulkerim Mahdum will be discussed. Then, the issue of Turkey's acceptance of immigrants from Afghanistan in 1982 will be resolved. In the next section, the supra-the party line approach of the Turkish governments will be examined within the framework of Turkey's support to the Erkin Turkistan Party. Finally, Turkey's support to Rashid Dostum and attempts to establish a "Turkish State" in Northern Afghanistan will be discussed.