Turkish military seeks support of opposition for Kurdish initiative

The TSK remained silent for a long time after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) first announced its plans to settle the question through peaceful methods, but has recently dropped clear hints that the military stands behind the ruling party on the issue.

The General Staff released a message on Aug. 25 to wish the nation a happy Victory Day in which Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, touching on the ongoing debate over the Kurdish initiative, said: “As is expressed in the third article of the Constitution, which cannot be changed, Turkey is a single undivided state with its country and nation.

Its language is Turkish. The Turkish Armed Forces supports the nation-state and the unitary state of Turkey.”

The statement was interpreted as a strong response to the harsh criticism leveled by the leaders of both the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP), who had said the government's recent move has not unified Turkey, but rather polarized it and put the unitary structure of the state at risk.

On Tuesday, Başbuğ spoke out louder in support of the initiative and said no questions should linger in people's minds regarding the military's position on the issue. “Our position on the fight against separatist terror is pretty clear. I am speaking on behalf of the TSK. No questions should linger in people's minds,” he noted, adding that his remarks could be interpreted as open support for the initiative.

Observers believe Başbuğ's repetitive statements on the planned initiative are aimed at urging opposition parties to stop criticizing the government's efforts to solve the Kurdish issue and to give it a helping hand to implement the plan.

The CHP and the MHP have staunchly criticized the AK Party over the initiative. They claim that the governing party is engaged in a plan of “treachery” and is planning to divide the country.

Today's Zaman has learned from a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity that the General Staff decided to voice open support for the initiative after ministers complained that the military's stance on the initiative is very ambiguous during a security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and attended by ministers as well as Gen. Başbuğ earlier this month.

The Kurdish initiative is, however, not something strange or new to the TSK as army generals and other higher-ranking officers have been seeking ways to end acts of terror in the country with methods other than armed fighting for the past year. Gen. Başbuğ traveled to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in September 2008 and dropped the first hints of the Kurdish initiative during a meeting with representatives of civil society groups in the city. The army chief and the representatives discussed methods to prevent people from joining the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

He later compiled his impressions from the region in a report and shared it with members of the National Security Council (MGK) in April. In a speech he delivered at a press conference at the War Academies on April 24, Başbuğ stressed that the Turkish military embraces all ethnicities in the country. “All members of our country are of high importance for the TSK. All groups which contributed to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey are called the Turkish nation,” he said.

The army chief gave reassurances on Tuesday that the Kurdish initiative would not divide the country, adding that citizens should not take everything spoken on TV programs seriously. His remarks came as criticism of claims by members of opposition parties that the Kurdish plan would lead Turkey to division.

“I am setting it straight. A certain part of the public is concerned that the country will become divided. TV stations are discussing everything. Our citizens feel uneasy after watching TV programs. Everyone -- including members of the military and civilians -- asks me whether Turkey will become divided. I advise them not to be preoccupied as not everything discussed on TV programs should be taken seriously,” Başbuğ stated

Statements made by the TSK so far on the planned Kurdish initiative have shown that the General Staff has three red lines on the plan that it will not cross. The military demands that the Kurdish question be settled without damaging the unitary structure of the Turkish state, that the basic principles of the republic remain untouched and that the government does not consider a general amnesty for members of the terrorist PKK. Başbuğ voiced strong opposition to the idea of introducing a general amnesty for PKK members on Tuesday. “Do not be obsessed with amnesty. There are those [terrorists] who surrendered and were released under Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code [TCK]. They may be few in number but not insignificant,” he noted.

Though the army chief seeks the support of opposition parties for the Kurdish plan with his statements, both the CHP and the MHP remain firm on their positions. The deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Hakkı Süha Okay, expressed his unease over the frequent interference of the TSK in politics and criticized Başbuğ for advising people not to become concerned over the unity of the country after watching TV programs on the initiative.