Even though the Turkish military voiced its support for the project at a National Security Council (MGK) meeting last week, Bahçeli never retreated and stated that the government's Kurdish initiative was an “American project” and that everyone supporting it is guilty of treason. Bahçeli's remarks drew immediate reaction from Prime Minister Erdoğan, who said Bahçeli and his kind have “no dignity” if they fail to “prove their words.” Analysts say the MHP aims to woo nationalist voters with its opposition to the Kurdish initiative as well as seeking to damage cooperation between the government and the military. “Making successive angry statements, an MHP that has cut its ties not only with the government but with the mind of the state has emerged,” says Star's Nasuhi Güngör, who thinks the Turkish military's support of the Kurdish initiative has vexed the MHP leader even more. In his view, the reason behind the MHP's strong opposition to the Kurdish initiative is because it wants to damage the cooperation between the AK Party and the Turkish military that has been in existence for a while. As an indication of this, he quotes Bahçeli, who said, “Those who remain silent before this historic mistake will never get rid of the heavy cost [of the initiative] and are as responsible as others who support it.” Güngör says Bahçeli is targeting MGK members with this statement, particularly the military members of the MGK. “If you fail to strike a deal [with the military], you spoil the deal. This is a very dangerous move, and it is very likely to fail. However, it is obvious that it is causing much tension in the country,” remarks Güngör.
According to Sabah's Hasan Bülent Kahraman, the motivation behind the MHP's strong opposition to the government's initiative to solve the Kurdish problem is its aim to win the support of nationalist circles. “It is impossible not to see that the MHP wants to be the main source of a movement that is based on nationalism-militarism and Turkishness,” he says. In Kahraman's view, the worst aspect of the MHP move is that it is not a new one, and the MHP wants to garner the political success it achieved this way in the past. He says the capture of outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999 and the emotional environment in the country created by the news of soldiers slain by the PKK in Turkey's Southeast have helped the MHP win unexpected public support. “Now, the MHP is trying to create the same emotional environment in the country with the same discourse. It is so out of control that the MHP has failed to read political developments and has failed to assess the deep meaning of the MGK support for the Kurdish initiative and has turned down an invitation from the president to discuss the issue,” complains Kahraman. Concerning whether the MHP's opposition to the initiative will hinder its success and spoil the harmony among state institutions to settle the issue, Kahraman says the MHP is very unlikely to achieve this goal and is doomed to remain isolated. “By clashing with the state, the MHP is trying to act like the state. This is the wrong way to handle the situation,” Kahraman contends.
