The workshop, titled “The Solution to the Kurdish Question: Toward the Turkish Model,” was attended by 15 participants. Atalay last week announced that the government was working on comprehensive Kurdish policies based on democratization. He underlined that this model would be uniquely catered to the country's own history and conditions. He had urged politicians and intellectuals to contribute to these efforts. The name and the location of the workshop attracted attention, as some participants pointed out. Carrying their notes from the gathering to their columns, participants of the workshop praised the government for expanding the scope of the public debate on the Kurdish problem, voicing their hopes and optimism about its solution.According to Star's Nasuhi Güngör, the most significant feature of the workshop was its search for a “Turkish model” for a solution of the Kurdish problem. Thorny issues such as who the state will speak to about a solution were not discussed during the meeting, contrary to the expectations of some circles. Citing notes from the workshop, he said: “There was no mention of an immediate solution to the problem, but putting it on a solution track was discussed. It was proposed that the state behave toward the Kurds the way it wants the Kurds to behave toward it. The state's Kurdish initiative should have a strategic vision; a new paradigm is needed. The state has renewed its drive for a solution, but it was noted that the Kurdish movement in particular needs a radical change to this effect. It was emphasized that the Kurds need to change so that the state can get closer to a solution.” In his view, the most striking point about the workshop was the admission of the fact that hostility toward the Kurds has been pursued by the state and that the state has now removed itself as a party to this problem. “There is a very serious danger here. Hostility toward Kurds may be politicized, and the Nationalist Movement Party [MHP] may assume the former role of the state and the military against the Kurds. The Kurdish problem is a political problem for Turks, and serious public diplomacy is needed to overcome this.”
Indicating that holding workshops like the one held on Saturday is a new method recently developed by the government, Yeni Şafak's Yasin Aktay says such workshops have so far failed to produce concrete results about any issue; however, he still applauds the government for organizing such gatherings to discuss issues, something many have lacked the courage to do so far. “In this respect, it is important not to downplay the possible role which can be assumed by this workshop: that it expands the scope of the public debate on the Kurdish issue. Let's hope that the solution process will yield good results as there is no return from a solution,” suggests Aktay.
Another Yeni Şafak columnist, Kürşat Bumin, criticizes the venue, the Police Academy, noting that a more civilian venue could have been chosen because the police is also party to the Kurdish problem. “I am not saying the workshop should have been held at the Ethnography Museum, but a more civilian place could have been chosen to discuss this issue. I did not visit the Police Academy, but if the expression ‘Happy is he who calls himself a Turk' is written on its walls -- as is the case with the İstanbul Police Department -- holding this workshop there is even more problematic,” says Bumin.
