Some commentators believe that great powers are behind these bloody events because they want to weaken Turkey; some claim that this is Israel’s revenge; some are convinced that the military authorities neglect deliberately the countermeasures in order to reinforce the Turkish Army’s political influence; some think that all this is about manipulating the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and to accelerate its fall; others accuse the government of not being able to finish what it started through the “Kurdish opening.”Maybe all of these explanations are partially correct. In any case, fighting against terrorism must not be limited to launching hot-pursuit operations beyond one’s borders or sending military planes to bomb northern Iraqi territory. The PKK is at the front of the scene; however, this must not prevent us from noticing people, countries and diverging civilian or military authorities that are behind this organization. So, chasing the terrorists cannot bring all the answers to this complex situation. There are at least three axes upon which a long-term resolution must be formulated.
First, even though the population’s grief is enormous, political decision makers must avoid making hasty declarations exacerbating nationalistic reactions and antagonism. It is maybe difficult to manage it right before the electoral period; however, it is of prime importance in order not to fall into the PKK’s net. Additionally, the “Kurdish opening” must be back on the agenda and maybe this time the subject must be carried by civil society.
The second axis is on the regional level. These PKK attacks can be part of a wider project aiming to damage Turkey’s bilateral relations and to create additional tension in Ankara’s relations with its neighbors. Maybe it would be a good idea to reinforce ties with northern Iraqi authorities and the Bagdad government, to avoid new crises with Israel, to put some distance between Turkey and Iran and to develop new initiatives of regional cooperation. If terrorism aims at distorting Turkey’s new foreign policy, the finest remedy would be to enrich and diversify it.
The last axis must be to prevent the PKK from giving Turkey the image of a country in a state of war. Turkey must include the EU in discussion about multidimensional parameters of the fight against terrorism. If Turkey wants to look for solutions in cooperation with the EU, it must benefit from the fact that 15 ambassadors from EU countries participated in the funerals of fallen soldiers. We must not forget that every time some people defend the idea of using only military methods to tackle terrorism, they also implicitly defend that Turkey must become an authoritarian country where human rights are systematically ignored. If that happens, this would also provide the EU’s anti-Turkey actors with a strong argument against Turkey’s membership.
In one way or another, the terrorist organization’s aim is to damage the governing party. Maybe those who want to get rid of the AK Party no matter what will be pleased about that. Nevertheless, this problem is not exclusively the government’s; it is about one and every one of us. Kurds, Turks, Alevis, etc. suffer equally from the current situation, which necessitates a strong peace and stability project.
