The main reason for this unyielding stance by Turkish intellectuals regarding ethnicities can be found in the last 300 years of history of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman state, beginning with the Balkans, was a state of the Black Sea basin (the Balkans, Crimea and the Caucasus). The region on which the Ottoman state placed the greatest importance was the Black Sea. A great deal of its political and intellectual circles, including those of the palace, was located in the Black Sea region. The Ottoman state lost its Black Sea basin -- which formed its main fort in terms of geography and population -- during the last 300 years, as a result of wars in which it was defeated. The loss of the Black Sea had a shocking effect on Ottoman intellectuals. Muslims who had been victims of the Ottoman state’s ethnic cleansing and genocide had been forced to migrate to Anatolia during the last 150 years. Turkish intellectuals, made up of Ottoman Muslims, were faced with ethnic and religious problems after migration to Anatolia and the occupation of Anatolia following World War I. Thus, the notion of “different religions and ethnicities” has left a negative connotation in the minds of Turkish intellectuals. When we take into consideration that 55 percent of the total population is made up of Muslims who were forced to migrate to Anatolia over 150 years and that the circles formed in Turkey were generally formed by this population which was forced to migrate, the negative stance towards different religions and ethnicities can be better understood.The suspicious stance of the Turkish intellectual and Turkish bureaucracy towards different religions and ethnicities in Turkey has prevented Turkish intellectuals and academics from contemplating the topic of ethnicity and becoming experts in this subject matter. Thus, while Kurds began to form their own strategies, Turks were left without a strategy when their “mountain Turks” theory collapsed.
In Today’s Turkey, Kurdish intellectuals can speak their minds relatively comfortably. They can put forth new ideas and devise new strategies. Turkish intellectuals, on the other hand, are now under pressure. Turkish intellectuals cannot freely devise strategies to plan the future for Turks. The hands of Turkish intellectuals, who are already uninformed on the topic of ethnicity, are tied and they are afraid to form new strategies.
Turkish intellectuals, who for decades have become accustomed to seeing the topic of ethnicity as a taboo mater, are now afraid to philosophize on the future of Turkey. However, despite the fact that the Turkish intellectual is apprehensive about speaking up and thinking, general discourse on the matter has become pervasive among the Turkish public. In Turkish villages, neighborhoods, streets, homes and coffee shops, the future of Turkey is beginning to be discussed. The Turkish population no longer wishes to live in the shadow of terror for years to come. Turkish people are now searching for solutions so this problem, which has plagued Turkey, can be done away with.
Turks no longer wish to see the funerals of fallen soldiers. They no longer wish to hear lip service being paid to the matter, such as “We will tear the heart out of terrorism.” And Turks certainly don’t have the patience for those who applaud those who killed a young girl on a bus in İstanbul in a roadside bomb attack.
We must acknowledge and accept that Turks will be developing strategies regarding Turkey.
