Between social integration and political dissociation:
Turkey’s Kurdish issue perception (1)
by
TAHA ÖZHAN*

What is Turkey's most crucial issue? Only with this question can we adequately deal with the Kurdish issue. This context shows that multiple dynamics affect the Kurdish issue and that it is a multidimensional problem affected by a complex set of factors. There is no other current problem that affects both our internal and external relations as well as policies.

The Kurdish issue is able to influence support extended to political parties as well as the contents of social and political crises in the country. Moreover, it reflects the problems of the country in the era of normalization and constitutes one of the fault lines, barriers and tensions between the state and the nation. The parties unable to offer any solution or discourse with respect to this issue or parties focusing on this issue alone fail to represent the entire country. It affects our relations with Iraq, an important country because of Turkey's interests in the Middle East, and is one of the key issues to be resolved for greater achievements in foreign policy action.

In conclusion, the Kurdish issue is Turkey's most imminent and important problem in terms of its external and internal considerations and priorities. This issue transcends political interests or ideological engagements and has become the most important political issue that will affect all sections and social segments. As shown by research done over the last 25 years, this issue occupies a central place in the minds of the people. The people's responses to questions seeking to locate the most urgent problems of the country show that the Kurdish issue, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and terrorism are problems that the state should address immediately.

This context adequately explains why security-oriented alternatives have failed to produce any viable resolution. Its central place in the social and political issues and priorities makes continuing to be ignorant of the issue impossible. Therefore, it is only natural for Turkey to seek a viable and lasting solution to this crucial problem. This is something that those who hold that Turkey's ability to deal with any of its problems should be attributed to external powers and actors fail to appreciate. Turkey is at the crossroads in the resolution of the Kurdish issue, and this is a transformation dictated and imposed by Turkey's need for normalization and internal consolidation.

The findings of the research show that while there are some inherent problems that we need to take into account, we should also be hopeful about a lasting solution in the future. There is wide agreement among the people that methods employed so far have failed to result in a solution. A stronger agreement is also available with respect to values that ensure Turkey's social integration. A common faith, values and past constitute the strongest tie that holds people of different ethnic backgrounds together. Belonging to the same homeland also appears to be an important connector between the Kurds and the Turks. Despite some differing views on political measures, respondents mostly agree on the importance of the issue and the need to include Parliament in the resolution process.

So what is the problem then? The problem mostly centers on the existing lack of confidence because of policies pursued so far. Different sections and social segments sharing the same social ground and defending this ground with reference to common values are moving away from this ground via political issues. For this reason, unlike the commonly held arguments, the irresolution of the Kurdish issue poses the greatest risk for Turkey's social and political integration. The current process of opening makes advances to maintain democratization and plurality and has become the very focal point of measures against the socialization of these risks. To this end, plurality and democratization have become the assurance of Turkey's integration and indivisibility.

The pursuit of a viable resolution for the ongoing Kurdish issue has become Turkey's most crucial and current problem. It is now widely held that the Kurdish issue is the biggest political problem of the country. This perception will make the greatest contribution to the pursuits of any solution to create a common ground. On such ground, a state project backed by the political will of the government may emerge. Only via a state project can we talk about an opening that will not be destined to fail to address the issue. Ironically, we expect the state itself to resolve the Kurdish issue, which is actually a product of state actions and wrong policies in the past. From this perspective, at the current stage, the Kurdish issue offers the possibility and opportunity for reconciliation and widespread agreement by all. Witnessing a promising solution process is now highly likely because in the new era, the parameters of the Kurdish issue have all been changed.

This process offers the possibility of finding a wise solution for the state. The Kurdish issue is forcing the state to understand that it is actually the driving force for growth rather than division and for integration rather than dissociation. It recalls that justice is everything for the state. At a time when Turkey seeks to maximize its sphere of influence, it requires the discussion of issues with reference to historical premises rather than superficial considerations. It calls us to understand that our 19th century fears and 20th century clichés mean nothing. In the era of transition to new powers in the Middle East and a change in the status quo, it tells us that the nation will not allow the state to miss the chance to transform and change. It invites the state to stop using the slogan “Happy is he who calls himself a Turk” against its own nation. It provides an opportunity to question the military operations of the army. It invites us to understand that every fallen body is the son of this country. It calls the army to see that it has defeated the PKK and that it should abandon its traditional stance in the aftermath of this defeat. It invites us to appreciate that the blood spilled and lives lost were not ordinary and the cost of these losses was very large. It recalls that a country where some of its people roam the mountains with guns in their hands cannot be considered strong.

At present, the Kurdish issue

This process offers a great opportunity for the government to get rid of political immobility that has taken over since the conclusion of a party dissolution case against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) handled at the Constitutional Court. It offers another great opportunity for the government and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to polish and reinvent their image at a time when they face a growing danger of becoming usual and ordinary in the eyes of the people. It calls on the prime minister, who won the hearts of the external world with his gesture in Davos, to maintain peace and serenity inside. It creates a fertile ground for Kurds, who contributed to the emergence of the AK Party as one able to attract support from all parts of Turkey, to be part of a wholesale solution. It creates the opportunity for the state to act wisely and maintain justice. It offers a chance for the AK Party to consolidate its power and image.

It is a great chance for the Republican People's Party (CHP) to revive its recommendations to resolve the Kurdish issue. It offers the chance for the same party to get rid of the image portraying it as a party blocking the resolution process. It offers the possibility for involvement in politics in other parts of Turkey. To this end, it also calls the CHP to normalize. It creates the opportunity for the party to become able to attract votes in the Southeast and the East. It offers a golden opportunity for the CHP to become a party of the nation.

An opportunity for MHP

It creates an opportunity for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to become a Turkish party. “Turkishness” has for centuries referred to mental and physical growth whereas it recently transformed into a lack of vision and introversion. For this reason, the Kurdish issue calls for the pursuit of justice in nation-building instead of disruptive nationalism. It hands the key to create the climate that will hold all pieces together. It invites all to understand the wisdom in the national anthem, which does not make any reference to ethnic groups but is the wisdom of all in this country. It offers an opportunity of self-criticism for the MHP to question why it fails to attract votes in the region while it was able to win some seats in Parliament a decade ago.

It prepares a useful ground for the Democratic Society Party (DTP) to make a choice between the PKK terrorist organization and service as a legal political movement. It offers the chance for this party to realize that its discourse exacerbates the already unpleasant situation. It points out that it is an inconclusive effort to call for external support from other capitals and actors to speak out to the minds and hearts of the Kurds. It invites the DTP to understand that this alienated discourse actually misses the demands and priorities of the Kurds. It calls them to understand that the Kurds are Muslims and that this land is their homeland.

Chance for normalization

It offers the opportunity for normalization among all parties and segments. Moreover, it creates the opportunity for current politics to run in its natural course and to meet with the people and generate a pluralistic perspective for a democratic future. All in all, it offers the opportunity for Turkey to face its past because it is possible to find traces of any problem faced by Turkey in the Kurdish issue. For this reason, facing this problem and using this opportunity to achieve a great transformation is Turkey's most important issue in making sure that the nation and politics exist in balance. In short, the most important outcome and finding of the research sponsored by SETA and PollMark is that greater efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue will make the problem less important and urgent.

Next: Kurds are unable to convince Turks that they do not want a separate state.