What does the Kurdish issue symbolize? It is the name we give to the efforts of those who sought to maintain the İttihat Terakki mentality after the establishment of the republic, of turning a blind eye to our Kurdish sisters and brothers who fought with us against the enemies in the nation's war of independence and telling them, "You are not actually Kurds, but Turks, so you should stop insisting on this Kurdish identity," and, to this end, trying to use the state's resources in illegal actions devised to assimilate Kurds. In practice, this policy was full of tyranny, torture, humiliation and murders by unknown assailants.
The Kurdish issue is not a problem of this nation. In the past, we would never hear about a distinction between Turks and Kurds. And it is not us who invented it. We are human beings, sisters and brothers, and we do not want any fights. And we do not want to separate from each other. Those who want to establish a separate state do not exceed 5 percent of the population. Any person who is reasonable, conscientious and logical would not seek separation.
If we were left to our own devices, we would be able to solve this problem easily. But this will hardly be the case.
The prime minister met with pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) officials. He says that it was an important meeting. He talks about a very critical step toward peace and conciliation. But can you understand the reactions from Deniz Baykal and Devlet Bahçeli? I can. Their parties cannot secure support from Kurdish voters. They are virtually nonexistent in the East and the Southeast. They have found themselves in the position of outsiders with respect the Kurdish issue. But they should at least turn an inward eye and critique themselves. "Why do our Kurdish citizens not vote for our party?" they should ask. In the final analysis, theirs are nothing but political parties, and they claim to represent the entire country. Then why are they virtually nonexistent in the East and the Southeast? A normal person would acknowledge that this is problem and try to figure out their mistakes.
And worst of all, Mr. Bahçeli calls the intellectuals invited by the interior minister to discuss the Kurdish issue "12 bad men" -- does he imply that they should decline the invitation from the minister, and can anyone reconcile this with political courtesy or democratic politeness? What will he do with these bad men if his party assumes the governmental office as a single party? Why does he set these people up as a target in such a delicate period? If, God forbid, anything bad happens to one of these men, can he assume responsibility for it?
I personally long for a day when I can hear a speech Mr. Bahçeli delivers without shouting. Why does he shout? What is this rage for? Likewise, I wonder what makes Mr. Baykal so furious about this Ergenekon case.
Back to our original topic, I said that it will be tough to settle the Kurdish issue. Personally, I am concerned about provocations. The horrendous information and documents revealed by the Ergenekon investigation add substance to my concerns. The third indictment of the Ergenekon case has recently been accepted by the court. It contains claims about 12 assassinations. During a search of the Workers' Party (İP) offices, the police found assassination plans against NATO headquarters and retired Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt, who was then the land forces commander. Furthermore, the seized documents reveal plans to kill Fehmi Koru, Orhan Pamuk, Ahmet Türk, Osman Baydemir, Sebahat Tuncel, Armenian Patriarch Mutafyan, Armenian Minas Durmaz Güler, Alevi Bektaşi Federation President Ali Balkız, Alevi Bektaşi Federation Secretary-General Kazım Genç and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Moreover, there was a plan for a bomb attack against the Optimum Shopping Center in Ankara.
Tens of thousands of bullets, dozens of loaded light anti-tank weapons (LAWs) -- not mere pipes -- and explosives were seized. There was a hair-raising plan devised to create chaos in the country.
For this reason, we are going through a period when everyone, intelligence and security officials and the media, must be careful and on alert. This is because whenever peace is uttered with respect to the Kurdish issue, provocations and Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) massacres have followed it.
When Ergenekon is wounded and the proponents of Ergenekon are getting more and more worried, we all must be very careful.
