As in what we heard during the dinner we had with a high-level delegation from northern Iraq that happened to visit İstanbul several months ago. Our conversation during that crowded dinner had bounced from politics to diplomacy and economy, and eventually to soccer. The leading members of the delegation had noted that they had felt a sort of “emotional alienation” toward whatever they saw as related to Saddam's tyranny in Iraq, and said that they would feel sorry if the Iraqi national soccer team won a match in international competitions or they would feel happy if the team lost. I think nothing could explain better than this that long before their de facto separation from Iraq, Kurds had suffered from a deep-running emotional separation from the mainland.Soccer or more generally sports competitions not only serve to create a suitable environment for the formation of friendly and sisterly relations among cultures or peoples, but also help people forget about all sorts of diversities within the country and merge together as a single heart, particularly during national team matches. In this respect, soccer has the considerable potential for unifying and fusing people together. If a society suffers from problems that even some apolitical events such as soccer matches or other sports competitions cannot make people forget, then there is a grave problem.
But, for the time being, I will not proceed to argue that the unpleasant incidents that occurred during the soccer match between Bursaspor and Diyarbakırspor in Bursa this week are indicative of such an emotional alienation. It will already be too late when the time comes for us to make this assertion. In such a case, it will be utter nonsense to talk about the unity or integrity of the country or a bright future that awaits us as a nation. For this reason, before it is too late, the separatist, racist, primitive and fascist aggression that occurred in Bursa must be quickly and exhaustively handled and the necessary measures must be taken.
For instance, the Turkish Soccer Federation (TFF) should not settle for arranging a reconciliation between the managements of the two teams in a cover-up operation. It must punish Bursaspor severely for acts of discrimination, separatism and aggression and violation of the fair play principle of soccer even if they were committed by its fans. The federation must immediately discuss the options for penalizing Bursaspor including deeming it defeated and erasing four or six points from its score. With the exemplary penalty it will impose on Bursaspor, it must make it plain and well-understood that sports never allow acts of racism, violence and fascism.
It is true that the unfavorable and dangerous incidents occurred during a soccer match at a stadium. But this does not mean that these unwanted acts do not deserve to be investigated or prosecuted from a criminological perspective. The placard reading “How happy is the one who says I am a Turk” as well as the posters reading “Turkey” carried by the provocateurs disguised as Bursaspor fans are proof that there was serious preparation and organization behind this provocation. This dangerous organized crime network, which targeted the unity and integrity of the country by performing separatist, racist and discriminatory acts and adopting hostile attitudes toward the players and fans of a team, after turning an ordinary league match into a national match, must be identified immediately by the police and prosecutors and punished by the court. Those who treat the entire Southeast as an enemy in the personality of Diyarbakırspor must not go unpunished.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is known to have a great love not only for the unity and integrity of the country, but also for soccer, should not remain silent about these heinous provocations that intend to undermine the democratic initiative process that aims to settle the country's ongoing Kurdish issue. Before gathering potential for growth, this primitive chauvinist racism must be eradicated with the necessary police and judicial measures.
Writing for Zaman newspaper on Tuesday, İhsan Dağı made an important observation: “The incident that happened during the match in Bursaspor shows that there are people in Turkey who think that they are ‘Turkish nationalists' but who actually work for the ‘small Turkey' lobby. ... They now rear their ugly heads in soccer fields. They are after a Turkey without Kurds, without Diyarbakır. The opponents of the settlement and peace fail to resist in political terms. The majority of society has lent support to the government's Kurdish initiative and the idea of peace with unity. Now, some groups are trying to provoke the masses by using soccer and making hatred and violence rule over soccer fields." The prime minister should lend an ear to this observation and act accordingly.
In the face of the provoking Bursaspor fans' slogans, “PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], get out!” the Diyarbakırspor fans who said: “We are from Diyarbakır. We may be Kurds, but we are not PKK supporters. If we were PKK supporters, we would not be here, but in the mountains,” should be embraced by everyone who loves this country, in particular by organs of the state.
In this connection, we must see the greater danger that awaits us. I am personally concerned that this city, that has failed to afford courtesy to a soccer team from its own country, particularly amid a critical peace process, will host the match between the Armenian and Turkish national teams which will be an important cornerstone in another peace process. In my opinion, the TFF and the government should immediately review this decision. They must make sure that this historic match is played in a more suitable place than Bursa, a city that has fans who are apt for racism, separatism and hostility. For instance, they could choose Kayseri as this city showed great hospitality toward the Estonian fans during the recent match between the Estonian and Turkish national teams.
