The first is that the national and ethnic identity of the Turkish Republic will change with the Kurdish initiative, and the other is that the initiative is being imposed on Turkey by the US.It must be noted though that in today's world, great powers no longer impose an idea or project onto others by using force or direct intervention; instead, they employ a more sophisticated, polite and diplomatic tone. In fact, most of the time they won't even say anything clearly, but influence events and leave you no other choice but to act in a way that is compatible with their interests.
On the other hand, it seems the opposition parties have not fully comprehended the globalization phenomenon. Globalization means the uninterrupted operation of interdependent processes and the continued functioning of decision-making mechanisms in line with these processes. Certainly, while these interdependent processes function, the power between countries and states are not equal. States influence diplomacy and politics, depending on how they utilize their resources for their economic and military potential. But another reality is that former US President George W. Bush's “I decide on my own. You are either with me or against me” doctrine no longer applies like it used to. Although US troops are still occupying Afghanistan and Iraq, today's American government feels the need to persuade the administrations in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the US were to take the liberty of doing whatever it wanted, it may ultimately reach its goals, but the cost would, in the long run, take a toll not only on the countries it controlled but on itself as well. It is this tactic that is one of the main reasons why global hostility toward the US hasn't decreased to a desirable level.
Another point overlooked by opposition parties in Turkey is that in the processes in which globalization requires everyone to engage in interactive relationships the “my own domestic policy” doctrine barely applies anymore.
In this respect, the Bush era was a deviation. It was like a parenthesis in a process that was otherwise very difficult to stop. But during the international meetings held in Turkey, Bush's predecessor, President Bill Clinton, looked directly at Russian President Boris Yeltsin and said: “Countries no longer have independent domestic issues. Human rights violations are both a foreign policy and an international issue.” And he was right.
Justly or unjustly, when big powers decide to intervene in a country's domestic affairs, they use “human right violations, genocide attempts and policies that harm a certain ethnic or religious group” as an excuse, and it doesn't matter how much the country at hand says that this is their own problem.
With the influence of the media, the international community, active nongovernmental organizations, scholars and opinion leaders that have the power to mobilize society can put pressure on countries that make rights violations. When we look at the government-supported Kurdish initiative project from this perspective, what is the image before us? Without a doubt the most important factor in starting this project was the strong demand by the public to find a solution. As a result of the armed upheaval started by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Aug. 15, 1984, 40,000 people have been killed, 17,566 unsolved murders have occurred and hundreds of billions of dollars of resources have been used. The economic and human geography of Turkey's eastern and southeastern region has been devastated.
Aside from the group of people that benefit from the “war and terror sector,” the majority of people have a strong will to put an end to this problem. This will cannot be ignored.
Meanwhile, in consideration of the situation in Iraq, the serious problems the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq is facing and the new situation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan front, the US wants Turkey to assume an active role in the region and to solve the Kurdish problem within this framework.
Now what's important is that Turkey doesn't try to solve the problem just because America wants it to but because it needs to and that it doesn't make the mistake of accepting America's solution plan as is. It seems likely that the government is going to have a difficult time developing a third method that goes beyond these two choices, and it is for this reason that it is being subjected to harsh criticisms.
