Turkish psyche remains obstacle to AK Party's Kurdish initiative (I)
by
EMRE USLU*

For instance, President Abdullah Gül, during his visit to Bitlis, stated that “from time to time mistakes are made that may have created discomfort, but we should end them.” Now and then Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officials use similar rhetoric and try to send sympathetic messages to Kurdish communities.

In fact, it is true that grave mistakes have been committed against Kurdish people and Kurds have suffered a lot. It seems that the AK Party government is preparing to announce a road map that will address the sufferings of the Kurdish people. It is certainly a positive step toward addressing the problem; however, it may not be enough to satisfy the Kurds without convincing Turks that mistakes were made against Kurds in the past.

Distrust of the PKK

As part of a long-lasting war strategy, in the last 30 years, governments have deliberately propagated the belief that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is a terrorist organization controlled by outside forces hoping to divide Turkey. Most Turkish people, perhaps most AK Party deputies as well, believe in this propaganda. Such propaganda has created a culture of conspiracy in Turkish society that now functions as a psychological barrier among Turks. This needs to be overcome as the first step toward addressing the Kurdish problem. Parallel to this belief, because of the psychological warfare propaganda, the majority of Turkish people have the deeply held belief that the Democratic Society Party (DTP) is a Trojan horse that sneaked into the democratic system to help the PKK achieve its aim of dividing the country. Therefore, one of the biggest obstacles facing the AK Party government is finding a way to change Turkish attitudes and the culture toward the PKK and Kurdish nationalist parties. Perhaps it is more difficult to change the existing beliefs of Turkish society with regards to the PKK and Kurdish political parties than changing the Kurds' distrust toward Turkish state.

Knowing that Turks have a deeply held distrust of the PKK, Turkish nationalist circles, including Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), would exploit this deep distrust to work against the AK Party government to mobilize a new nationalist wave that could make the peace process more complex and difficult than ever. Therefore, the road map that the AK Party government is preparing should find a way to satisfy Turkish society as well.

Perhaps the AK Party government wants to calm the Turkish temper toward the PKK by reaching out to parents who have lost their sons during the fight against the PKK and convincing them that the peace initiative is a good thing for Turkey; however, it alone would not be enough, because the culture that supports the Turkish distrust toward the PKK is larger than losing one's son in the fight. So far, the state has portrayed the war against the PKK as if it is a war against “outside forces” who aim to divide “our country.” Even some retired generals attempt to portray the war against the PKK as part of a continuous war of independence against the Western powers who invaded Turkey during World War I.

We have not done anything wrong

As part of the long-lasting war strategy, the state's propaganda machines have convinced Turkish society that “neither Turkish society nor the state has done anything wrong to the Kurds.” Most Turks firmly believe that Kurdish riots against Turkish authorities occurred because of foreign conspirators using Kurds to harm Turkey. Turkish history is full of narratives that Kurds or Kurdish national organizations have organic relations with foreign powers. In regards to the PKK, one of the most widespread “narratives” is that the US's helicopters were helping the PKK militants on the mountains.

Based on these narratives in history books and in the mass media, Turkish society tends to blame the Kurds and outside forces and has not spent any time thinking about whether we, as Turks, have committed any wrongs against the Kurds. Perhaps the best description of how Turks viewed Kurds for a long time came from President Gül, who stated that while he was in Kayseri, a city that is located near Kurdish-populated cities such as Malatya, Kahramanmaraş and Sivas, he never heard the term “Kurd,” however, when he went to İstanbul he met Kurdish students at universities in İstanbul. Just like President Gül, most Turks were not even aware of the existence of Kurds right next to their home city or neighborhood. With this total “blackout,” Turks do not even know what wrongs they have committed against the Kurds.

While the state prefers polices of total ignorance, the negative attitudes of Turks were circulated in narratives such as Kurds having “tails.” Most Kurdish students who studied in western cities have stories about how they were humiliated by their schoolmates who asked them where their tails were. Kurdish intellectual Musa Anter has told of how he was humiliated when he went to high school in Adana.

Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks facing the AK Party government is convincing Turks who have long ignored realities to even recognize the existence of the Kurds in this country. In addition, it would be very difficult for Turks to recognize that Turkish society, perhaps unknowingly, ignored, humiliated or at least excluded their Kurdish brothers for a long time. This would be one of the most challenging tasks for Turkish society and the Turkish government to overcome.

In the second part of this article, I will examine two powerful Turkish arguments: “Kurds are first-class citizens; they can be generals, deputies, bureaucrats and even the president of Turkey” and “We Turks suffer, too, but we did not take up arms against the state.”

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