Gov’t seeks compromise over Kurdish move, opposition reluctant

Government spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek announced on Monday that the Kurdish plan would be brought to Parliament next week. “There is an ongoing democratization process aimed at strengthening the roots of our national unity. Parliament will evaluate it. We will voice our opinions and views on the process in Parliament. If some corrections are made [to the Kurdish plan], they will be made in Parliament. We plan to discuss all dimensions of the plan.

It will be brought to Parliament next Tuesday or Wednesday. But Tuesday seems more appropriate,” he said.

Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who is the government’s coordinator for the initiative, said he would inform Parliament about the initiative on Nov. 10.

According to most observers, a parliamentary debate on a new plan to settle the country’s decades-old Kurdish question through democratic and peaceful methods is a strong indication of a search for compromise with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which have voiced their staunch opposition to the plan.

“Since the very beginning of the initiative, the ruling party was willing to discuss it in Parliament. It discussed the initiative with a large segment of society, but failed to establish dialogue with the CHP and the MHP. The ruling party does not want to proceed without these two parties. It is in search of a compromise. It wants to overcome a lack of dialogue among parties over the initiative. It is indeed what a ruling party should be,” remarked Ümit Fırat, a Kurdish intellectual and writer.

The governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced its intention to settle the Kurdish question with a democratization package a few months ago, but has since faced strong opposition from the CHP and the MHP. The two opposition parties believe such a plan will lead to a division of the country. Though not officially confirmed, the AK Party plans to grant broader cultural and political rights to the country’s Kurds and in this way cut off support flowing to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey has faced the Kurdish question for many years, but it became violent in 1984 with the establishment of the PKK. The terrorist organization demanded autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have so far been killed in clashes between Turkish security forces and PKK terrorists.

According to Bugün columnist Ahmet Taşgetiren, the AK Party government seeks to discuss the initiative on a common ground with opposition parties.

“We can call this a search for common ground. The government has suspended the process for now. Now it is trying to pick itself up because part of the society strongly reacted against the initiative. And so the ruling party decided to discuss it in Parliament. However, I have suspicions over whether a parliamentary debate will produce fruitful results. The CHP and the MHP are staunchly opposed to the initiative. If Parliament manages to produce a common ground among parties, the initiative process will become healthier,” the columnist stated.

However, opposition parties are unlikely to lend support to the government’s Kurdish initiative at the moment, mostly because the AK Party has so far failed to explain the content of the move.

“We hope they will explain the content of the initiative, something they have failed to do so far, in Parliament. We will review wrong steps taken thus far on the initiative,” remarked Onur Öymen, deputy chairman of the CHP. Öymen also said Nov. 10 would not be an appropriate date to discuss the issue as deputies will be focused on commemorations to be held on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

The CHP deputy chairman also said Parliament would discuss celebrations held by a pro-Kurdish political party after the return of a group of PKK members to Turkey.

As part of the government’s Kurdish initiative, a group of 34 PKK members surrendered to Turkish security forces last month and were released. Their return was, however, turned into a celebration by the Democratic Society Party (DTP), drawing the ire of a large segment of Turkish society.

Following a strong reaction by most Turks over the celebratory manner in which the DTP welcomed the surrender of the PKK members, the government decided to halt the return of individuals linked with the PKK for a time in order to reassess its democratization process.

MHP Secretary-General Cihan Paçacı said he expects the Cabinet to be more sensitive in picking a date to discuss the Kurdish initiative in Parliament. “Nov. 10 is a day to commemorate Atatürk. They should have been more careful and sensitive. The MHP denounces a parliamentary discussion on a plan to destroy the Turkish Republic on a day when the founder of the republic is commemorated,” he noted.

Salih Kapusuz, the AK Party deputy chairman, defended the Cabinet decision to discuss the Kurdish plan in Parliament on Nov. 10, saying: “We were hoping to forward the plan to Parliament this week, but could not complete preparations. If Parliament fails to discuss the plan on Nov. 10, it will have to be postponed till the following week, when deputies will begin discussing next year’s budget.”

Kapusuz also said the opposition parties’ objection to discussing the Kurdish initiative in Parliament on Nov. 10 is groundless. “The initiative process gives priority to peace-building. The coincidence of a parliamentary discussion on the plan with the day when Atatürk, who said, ‘Peace at home, peace in the world,’ is commemorated will be a good opportunity to understand peace,” he added.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday reiterated that his AK Party is determined to see the Kurdish initiative through to the very end. He also lashed out at the celebrations held by the pro-Kurdish DTP after the return of PKK members to Turkey last month.

“I call on those who turn a blind eye to the country’s sensitivities and those who cast a shadow on this process to common sense. This process is also an opportunity to make a distinction between white and black,” he said, adding that the process would reveal the difference between those who wish to create a greater Turkey and those who wish to make personal gains from the process. The prime minister also stressed that the ongoing process was a project of national unity, solidarity and brotherhood.

“If some circles attempt to turn this process into a kind of show, we will not allow this,” he added.