From Kurdish Collective Memory to the State’s Memory: Which Memory Does the “White Toros” Belong to?

This paper focuses on the White Toros, a terrifying image of state violence for Kurds in Turkey. The Toros is a domestic car brand, but its significance in the memory of Kurds extends far beyond that. In the 1990s, the paramilitary group JİTEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism), which was part of the state apparatus, terrorized the predominantly Kurdish Southeast with White Toros cars, practically abducting people and killing countless individuals. The horror instilled by the White Toros was etched into the collective memory of the Kurds, yet it was denied by the state and official discourse, which refused to acknowledge the existence of JİTEM. Consequently, the White Toros crystallized as a ghostly image of terror visible only to the Kurds. However, just before the general elections in 2015, the then-prime minister made the following statement during a campaign rally in one of the Kurdish provinces: "They know that if the AK Party is ousted from power, terror gangs and White Toros will roam these lands. We will not leave these places to unresolved murders." With this statement, the ghostly image became tangible and entered the memory of not only the Kurds but the entire society. The image gained new interpretations and circulated on social media. In this context, the paper will examine the journey of the White Toros as an image after 2015. A discussion will be conducted on how social memory is constructed in light of the different images of the White Toros circulating on social media.