The fact that such an incident took place in İzmir, known for its social liberalism, has also raised eyebrows and reminded all once again of the importance of not being deceived by provocations at such a sensitive time for Turkey.According to Radikal’s Oral Çalışlar, the stones thrown at the DTP convoy in İzmir can be regarded as the first signal that the provocative policy pursued by the opposition parties regarding the government’s Kurdish initiative may result in dangerous consequences. He says the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is acting out, as it misses the old days which were filled with disasters and conflicts, and its leader Devlet Bahçeli has lost his common sense since the introduction of the Kurdish initiative.
Çalışlar says although thousands of people have been killed on both sides in the conflict, no ethnic clash has erupted between Kurds and Turks in Turkey so far, and the public has managed to keep its common sense despite the fragile processes. “Now, we are undergoing a critical period. If this period is managed well, we will leave behind a long period which was full of conflicts in our history and proceed toward peace. Certainly, the opposite is also possible. If this process is managed incorrectly, we can fall into a dangerous atmosphere from where there is no return,” warns Çalışlar, calling on the MHP to pay attention to its discourse at such a critical time for the country.
Hürriyet’s Ahmet Hakan dwells on the pro-secular and civilized feature of İzmir and how the stoning of the DTP convoy did not befit a city like İzmir. Talking about the features that make a city civilized, he explains: “If the residents of a city are tolerant, if they respect the lifestyles of others, if they do not like violence, if their first reaction [against an action they do not like] is not stoning, if they do not behave as policemen to people they think have adopted violence, if they don’t see stoning a party convoy as the same as stoning an enemy, then no matter whether all the women are covered in that city, it is a civilized city.”
Reflecting on the incident in İzmir, Milliyet’s Hasan Cemal says the Kurdish initiative is without a doubt a vital project in Turkey that will pave the way to democratization and a state of law. He says some circles want to block the progress of this process through provocations, but these circles should not be allowed to derail this process. “It would be a pity, otherwise,” says Cemal.
