Kurdish intellectuals applauded the statement. Has a step been taken in relation to this “reality”? No. When in 1997 then-Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz said “Turkey’s road to the EU passes through Diyarbakır,” an outcry broke out. Take a look at the dailies from that day and see how a simple statement that did not have the slightest implication of an action was made into such a big deal. Not even a single step was taken during Yılmaz’s term in office; however, Kurdish intellectuals wrote many odes about that statement.Lifting the ban on speaking languages other than Turkish was just a dream, and offering a Kurdish language course was impossible. We should not forget how much bureaucracy resisted licensing these courses. Developments such as singing Kurdish songs, launching television channels that broadcast in Kurdish and the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) launching a channel that broadcasts in Kurdish were unimaginable.
Those who observed these purple prose-makers about “Kurds” generally preferred to remain silent in the wake of steps that reinforced the belief that Kurds are first-class citizens in this country. Why? Because they tremble from fear of the terror organization named the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Democratic Society Party (DTP) claimed that it represented Kurds but it did not lend the slightest support to the government that ensured legal protection of Kurdish rights. Why? Because they were fearful of Öcalan.
More developments have occurred in this country. The “unsolved” murder cases that the PKK exploited and the DTP harped on were investigated by the judiciary. Commissioned officers were detained, lime pits were excavated and suspects were confronted by eyewitnesses in court.
There was no response from the DTP. Why? Because the topics that could be exploited were being taken away from them one by one. As for the Kurdish citizens in the middle, they couldn’t quite understand the sacrifice that was being made. Once they were afraid of the state; now they were feeling the compassionate hands of the state patting their back. But then this time the organization’s mask fell off, and its savage face became exposed.
The truth is: The extremists who are inciting a Kurdish-Turkish clash want the country to be dragged into a state of emergency, martial law, coup and chaos. Anti-Kurds, who are urging people to take to the streets by saying “the country is dividing,” share the same sin. The target of the PKK and the target of forces that appear against the PKK have virtually crossed each other.
It is time for conscientious, rational, and prudent Kurds to get involved in the issue and start questioning the organization’s dark functions by displaying a civil and democratic reaction. This issue is too important to be left to the insanity of extremists. A vast majority of Turks and Kurds have good judgment. They know both the value of brotherhood and the tragedy of disintegration. The government has taken important steps, but the PKK is not making the slightest move. It is still turning to terror as an outdated organization. It is necessary for people to see this reality, to catch those who are blocking the issue red-handed and most importantly not fall into the trap of provocation. There is only one way to do this: putting forward free will by ruining the games of deceivers, fussers and ramblers and raising the democratic mind’s voice against every kind of violence. The segment of society that has remained the quietest until this point must assume a serious role; in other words, the Kurdish people must draw the line and take a stand against adventurers. The state has done and is doing what it needs to do. Now it is the Kurds’ turn, and the turn of their common sense, appreciation and sacrifice to come into play.
