Gov’t working out Kurdish plan details

The government also has some red lines it will not cross when formulating a solution, as does the opposition, which has been expressing concerns since Interior Minister Beşir Atalay announced two weeks ago that the government was working on a new package to solve the Kurdish question by working on further democratization and the expansion of rights and freedoms.

According to recent statements from a government official who asked not to be named, the government will emphasize in the period ahead that it is very positive about a variety of opinions and suggestions being discussed, but it will also clearly announce that it will not accept any suggestion that includes a change to Turkey's unitary form of government. Another red line for the government is a general amnesty that would include terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is currently serving life in prison on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara off the coast of İstanbul.

However, the government is ready to hear out all segments. Last week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Türk despite having stated many times in the past that he would not talk to the DTP unless they publicly announce that the PKK is a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, in an interview published on Sunday in a daily newspaper, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, whose initial reaction to the Kurdish package was harsh and unfavorable, sounded more ready for a consensus. Baykal also said a federal structure of government is a red line his party would never agree to cross, adding that they are strongly against Kurdish being used in education.

Although the government has yet to make a statement regarding Baykal's “red lines,” a government official who asked not to be identified commented: “Most certainly, any suggestion of a federation that would change Turkey's unitary structure is a red line. No one has made such a suggestion, and even if they did, it wouldn't be accepted. Similarly, a general amnesty that includes Abdullah Öcalan, the killer of 30,000 people, is yet another red line for the Republic of Turkey.”

But then what does the “Kurdish initiative” entail? According to the same individual, a process was begun with the Kurdish workshop on Aug. 1 in which intellectuals, journalists and writers shared their suggestions. “The process that started with the Kurdish workshop is a think tank project to see what can be done and how. At the end of this process, problems that have been identified will be laid down as main chapters. Later, it will become clear how, and in how long, these will be solved.”

The Kurdish question

This government is the first Turkish government to refer to Turkey's longstanding problem of separatism as the “Kurdish question.” Previously, officials used the words “the Southeast problem” or the “terrorism problem” to refer to this reality. The Kurdish community mostly sees naming the problem the “Kurdish question” as an excellent opportunity for a permanent settlement of the issue.

For the government, the next step in the Kurdish initiative should be to find a way to force the PKK to lay down its arms or render it completely ineffective. The DTP and some Kurdish intellectuals say it would be impossible for the PKK to lay down its arms completely, but they state that a general amnesty, bringing militants back home with little or no punishment, could help diminish the problem. Back-to-home projects rehabilitating PKK members of lower rank are being considered as a viable way to get militants to drop their guns and return to normal life.

The government is closed to any suggestion that might include partial or full amnesty for Öcalan, but for now the only step it will take regarding Öcalan's solitary confinement on İmralı will be to bring five or six other inmates to the island. However, the government has for a long time been positive about amnesty to bring PKK members back home. In a press conference in April, Gen. İlker Başbuğ said the military supported changes or implementations that would give some functionality to Article 220 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which offers a form of partial amnesty to those terrorists who agree to cooperate with security forces.

Restoring place names and citizenship

Another proposal the government believes should be discussed is restoring the original names of Kurdish settlements. This has partly been realized, as President Abdullah Gül, who visited the city of Bitlis on Saturday, greeted the residents of Güroymak saying “Norşinliler,” referring to the original name of the district -- Norşin -- which was replaced with the Turkish Güroymak in 1987. The DTP has long expressed the demand that the names of places that have been Turkified during the republican era be restored to their original Kurdish names.

The government is also positive about the idea of reinstating the citizenship of thousands of Kurds residing in Europe who have lost their citizenship due to involvement with the PKK. The government says individuals who have not held a weapon or been actively involved in terrorism could be given their passports back.

The government also seems to be ready to bring back the residents of the Mahmur Camp in northern Iraq, a UN camp hosting some 11,000 Kurdish refugees, restore their Turkish passports and help them settle in their old homes.

Kurdish initiative as state policy

Both the government and intellectuals of the Kurdish community underline that transforming the Kurdish initiative package into a permanent state policy from a government initiative is the most important step in permanently solving the problem.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which have long protested parliamentary receptions since the pro-Kurdish DTP gained representation in Parliament, has already taken a first step in this regard. On May 31, Gen. Arif Çetin and two other commanders paid a condolence visit to the families of Necman Ölmez and Ferhat Ediş, two DTP members killed in the township of Beytüşşebap on July 25. Also in April, Gendarmerie Public Security Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Yurdaer Olcan visited Seyfi Turan, a minor undergoing medical treatment in a hospital after being assaulted by a police officer, sustaining major injuries to his head caused by the officer's rifle, while the young boy was participating in an illegal demonstration. These two visits are seen as an indicator that the military is supporting the Kurdish initiative.

Freedom to use Kurdish

Kurdish was banned in Turkey until 1993, but initiatives that came after the removal of the ban -- the opening of Kurdish language courses and the more recent launch of Kurdish broadcasts on the state television station TRT 6 -- have not been enough to make Kurdish a completely free language just yet.

As part of the package, the government plans to remove all obstructions in the way of Kurdish being used as a daily language. Removing restrictions on the hours of Kurdish broadcasts allowed on private television stations and canceling a law that bans the use of Kurdish in prisons are among the changes the government plans to introduce.

Another step the government will take is to remove slogans and phrases that praise “Turks and Turkishness” written out in large letters on mountaintops near military zones in predominantly Kurdish cities in the country. Another move the government is considering is changing the definition of citizenship in the Constitution to make it completely ethnicity-free. Taking out expressions and phrases that ignore Kurds or the Kurdish language from the Turkish Language Institution (TDK) dictionary as well as from textbooks, opening Kurdology institutes in universities and expanding Kurdish language learning opportunities are also being considered.

The government plans to continue economic investment in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a sustainable development project that has not been completed for decades. The government is expected to invest $12 billion in GAP in the next five years. Another part of the government's plan is to improve neighborly relations with the Kurdish leaders of northern Iraq.