Yet, confusion over the issue does not show any sign of disappearing. Whilst some of the confusion may be innocent, some has been created and fostered by the ultranationalists and some sections of the oligarchy are manifestly treacherous. They claim, on the one hand, that Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism does not have anything to do with our Kurdish brothers of 1,000 years, but on the other, they strongly maintain that without terrorism stopping, nothing should be implemented with regard to the democratization package. Is there any better way of saying that the Kurds and the PKK are identical? If that is the idea, then it is not surprising that our ultranationalists' proposed solutions to the issue always border assimilation, to say the least.To say that “if the PKK stops its violent terrorism, then the state could consider giving Kurds some democratic rights” is also equal to saying that the PKK is a genuine freedom fighter. We know that it is not and that it has become a network of criminals serving all sorts of interests without any ideals. If our ultranationalists think that the PKK will be happy to see its own demise and eventual evaporation as a result of democratic reforms, they must be very naïve. Turkey has to solve its Kurdish problem despite the PKK. Ultranationalists steadily accuse the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government of entering into dialogue with the PKK and of bargaining with it. Funny enough, it is the ultranationalists who constantly yet publicly bargain with the PKK.
The PKK has been fostered by Kurdish grievances; why should it be happy to see that these grievances are accepted, addressed and dealt with by the state? Even the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which is under heavy PKK influence, gives confused signals about the democratization package. They equal in a sense our ultranationalists and hawks. While on the one hand they say that they welcome a democratization package, on the other they keep saying that the state should recognize Abdullah Öcalan as the leader of the Kurds and should engage with him.
Unfortunately, even reasonable DTP politicians such as Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk repeatedly say this, and whenever they mention Öcalan's name, even I feel the need to resist being transformed into an ultranationalist. If the DTP politicians are not aware how the remaining 60 million non-Kurds of this country think and feel about Öcalan, they must be woken up.
I understand to a certain extent that there is the reality of the PKK and its heavy influence in the region and so on and to satisfy their grass roots the DTP politicians feel that they should refer to Öcalan. But, they must equally be aware that there will never be a solution to the Kurdish problem with the word “Öcalan” in it, at least publicly. The state may decide to speak with him and other PKK leaders secretly to stop the terrorism, but they will never be acknowledged as legitimate Kurdish leaders. They will always remain terrorists in the eyes of the 60 million.
The DTP politicians should also be aware that about half of the Kurds do not support them and do not vote for them. What is more, whenever they mention the PKK and Öcalan to strengthen their base, their support decreases. I think the government sees that a democratization package will bring about such a change, and if the Kurds in this country become first-class citizens, many of the PKK and DTP supporters will join the half of the Kurdish population that supports mainstream political parties such as the AK Party.
Thus, despite ultranationalists' claims, a European Union-style democracy should be implemented in all parts of the country, including eastern Turkey. And, this should be done not only in spite of the PKK but despite the DTP as well. All of our citizens deserve first-class democracy, and we do not need the DTP (nor the PKK) to remind us of this. We do not need their support or encouragement on this issue, either. Let us liberalize this country, and let the PKK and the DTP perish of their own free will. If needed, more reasonable pro-Kurdish parties will emerge.
