Reaction of Turkey
Upon the Turks this condition, Turkish public opinion reacted strongly against the oppression on the Turks from both of sides and its solitude. The Presses as Hurriyet and Milliyet sent correspondents to Kerkük. And they published the tragic life of Iraq Turks. Lots of Youth Foundations especially Iraq Turks Culture and Solidarity Association strongly condemned this situation by publishing the incident in their reports. They pointed out that the Turks were not alone. Since the Kurds made several attempts to enter Kerkük secretly, the helpless Baghdad. Government had to declare that the plebiscite had been postponed transitorily. In fact, the real reason for the postpone was not expressed but Baghdad had noticed that the plebiscite would not result in favour of them.
In spite of this, the Turkish diplomat issued the Baghdads attitude towards the Iraq Turks. So, the diplomatic relations between the Turks and the Iraqis became under strain. General Salih Mehdi Ammaş, the assistant of the president, had a visit in Turkey on 16th January 1971. And he was asked a lot of questions by the journalists. The Iraq Turks issue was the most important one in the meetings held between Ammaş and the Turks. This was informed by TRT in a programme called The comment of the day on 18th January 1971.
Reaction of Turks
That the Iraq Government restricted and degenerated the Turks rights angered not only the students and teachers but also the whole Turkish people including tradesmen, doctors, engineers and merchants. There were a lot of injustices, degeneration and faults on purpose, in practice but despite all these obstacles, some rights, which were accepted and declared, existed. According to these rights, The Turks would be educated in their own official language. Because of the injustice showed by the government, the Turks staged a boycott in Kerkük for three days. The people, flocking to Kerkük from several different areas, took part in the boycott. Turkish students educated in the universities of Baghdad and Musul, also supported the boycott by protesting against the classes.
Moreover, the workers participated in the boycott and did not go to work. The Government got shocked at the boycott which was started by the Turks. The government forces treated the people badly in order to stop the boycott. In Kerkük, about 50 people composed of teachers and students were arrested. Most of the arrested suffered great torture. Among these, Hüseyin Ali Demirci who was known and loved for his play character Lazy Abbas died martyr under torture. Upon this incident which caused a great sorrow among the people, the Turks got extremely angry with the government.
After the boycott, a private circular, signed by Education Principal, İzzettin Serdar, was sent to all the schools in Kerkük. In this circular 396 numbered and 14th November 1971 dated, all the girls and boys participating in the boycott were not allowed to take the exams of the end of the month. So, the students who were not able to enter the exam would be given 0 point. The same practice consisted of Turkish students, who supported the boycott from Baghdad and Musul.