The speech by Onur Öymen from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Parliament led to such a quake on Nov. 10. Öymen objected to the discourse of the ruling party which put an emphasis on the necessity that mothers not cry anymore and said: “Did not the mothers cry out during the Dersim insurgency? Did Atatürk negotiate with the leaders of the Dersim insurgency?”These remarks reflect the mentality of the CHP with regards to the resolution of the Kurdish issue. What was done in Dersim should be done now as well. What was done in Dersim? At least 50,000 Alevi Kurds were massacred. When pamphlets were thrown out of the planes on May 4, 1937, saying they would be destroyed unless they surrendered, the fate of the Dersim residents became obvious. Sabiha Gökçen, who made history as Turkey’s first female pilot, dropped huge bombs on the city. Atatürk took Gökçen, who received extensive media coverage for bombing Dersim, and headed to Elazığ and Dersim. He honored Gökçen with a medal.
Öymen was so insistent that coercive and violent measures should be employed to deal with the problems of the country, he even reacted to the sketches depicting him with a Hitler moustache by asking, “Was Atatürk fascist as well?”
The rising star of the CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, reacted to Öymen’s comments while speaking in Tunceli: “Öymen should do whatever he needs to do [to make amends with the people].” Baykal did his part. He took Öymen with him and convened the parliamentary group meeting with Öymen. Kılıçdaroğlu, on the other hand, was not allowed to attend the meeting.
Now Alevi organizations are protesting against Öymen and the CHP is still unaware of the magnitude of the quake and the gravity of this issue. Dersim is taking its revenge against the CHP mindset after 70 years. This revenge will be followed by other quakes that will change the structure of politics. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader extended his support for Öymen’s approach. The CHP and the MHP are acting in unison as parties of the regime.
Many should have realized that Baykal’s advocacy of the Ergenekon points to something important. The Ergenekon case raised awareness among the people who comprehended that there is an ongoing problem of military guardianship and single-party mentality in Turkey. This case now serves as the grounds for democratization in Turkey. This points to the elimination of illegal entities within the state and of the juntas within the military. The resolution of the Kurdish issue means the democratization of Turkey. A democratized Turkey means that the CHP and MHP have nothing to offer the people.
The current resistance by the CHP and the MHP as well as the military, media and judiciary should not make us disappointed. The revelation of truth is comparable to nothing. The lies have an expiration date. A single word will suffice to reveal all the truths. A single word will destroy all taboos; such as the word Dersim.
This is an irreversible path; even if Col. Dursan Çiçek is released and Öymen is protected, nothing will ever be the same. The moves of the status quo signal its despair.
A mentality which sees its own people as enemies, massacres innocent people, stages assassinations against its own intellectuals and believes that this country is governable through illegal means will not be able to exist on this soil anymore.
A culture of democracy will shape the future. It will become evident that protecting Çiçek and Öymen is not a remedy.
