Despite the fact that they said they did not regret what they had done, these people were released because this step constituted one of the essential psychological foundations of peace. The demonstrations caused by the whole return process were not something unexpected despite irritating many. In the end, the state is forced to “see” the PKK and “speak” to it. There is no winner in this war, but it is also obvious that the state did not get what it wanted. Moreover, this is in fact acknowledged by the state. Therefore, a slight sense of victory among the Kurds should not be surprising. What is really promising is the presence of a relation of trust and confidence between the government and the Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the clear acknowledgement of this relation by government officials. This means that despite the likely tendency toward violence, the government is able to find somebody to talk to among the Kurds and dialogue for resolution will continue. The crises that erupted during the return of the PKK militants will be repeated in the future. However, every crisis actually makes a negotiation process possible. From this perspective, it is possible to argue that the Kurdish opening is moving forward.
A critical incident took place last week with respect to the resolution of the Kurdish issue. This was an incident that seems irrelevant but is also relevant when the operational and ideological aspect of the process is considered. The original version of a document that was leaked from the General Staff and that offered some recommendations and conspiracies to overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was sent by a whistleblower to the prosecutors handling the Ergenekon case. It appears that the whistleblower is a military officer and that the letter he attached to the paper states that all information on the conspiracy was removed from the General Staff’s archives. This incident proves that the Ergenekon enterprise is still influential within the military. It also shows that either the chief of general staff has told lies or there is an independent gang within the army unnoticed by the chief. Therefore, we can talk about something that requires those involved to resign or to be relieved of their duties. Otherwise, a lack of trust in the army will be more visible as its internal structure will become more fragile.
This is where this incident is related to the Kurdish opening because the intense relations of the government with the bureaucracy and the direction of the military in line with the civilian will is an essential condition for the success of the opening. The primary reason for this is the need for a coordinated action and effort between the military and the civilian administration in the steps to be taken. It should be recalled that more than 90 percent of Turkey is protected and supervised by the gendarmerie. The attitude of the gendarmerie forces toward the local people in the Southeast will be the most visible sign of the state’s approach subsequent to the start of returns. Moreover, the military should not take initiatives that will block the opening process since the gendarmerie was affiliated with illegal structures such as JİTEM in the past. However, this all needs a chain of command that is trustworthy and respectable. If the military loses this feature, the support that it desperately needs will disappear, and it could even be argued that the extensions of Ergenekon within the army will get the chance to reverse the whole process.
The government’s establishment of good relations with the army is important to the success of the Kurdish opening for ideological reasons. This government was formed by actors paying attention to religious values, and this is the primary reason for its ability to introduce bold reforms because the democratic Turkey that the reforms point to does not bother them. However, there is an approach of secularism that focuses on nationalism in Turkey, and this approach is presented as the foundation of the republic. As such, the secularism issue is used to prevent the government from introducing further reforms. In this case, the government needs support from the secularist circles, and the military is the most crucial establishment able to extend this kind of support because it is viewed as the watchdog of secularism in this country. In the end, success of the Kurdish opening and all other reform initiatives requires maintenance of good ties between the government and the military because these reforms imply a stable strategy. For this reason, the paper sent to the Ergenekon prosecutors requires swift action by the military to address the issue and a thorough process of purging within the army. Otherwise, fascist groups within the army will acquire a greater sphere of action and the government may lose the control needed to conclude the Kurdish opening with success.
