Gov’t to stay the course on initiative against all odds

The same view was voiced earlier this week by several AK Party politicians who pledged to finalize the democratization package despite the staunch opposition of other parties or provocations of illegal groups or organizations.

“Turkey has to successfully complete the [democratization] process. We believe in this. My party and government are determined to finalize this process with courage. We are working on our path despite all provocations,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday. The prime minister’s remarks came in the wake of a terrorist attack on a group of security forces in central Tokat by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists that left seven soldiers dead.

The attack was aimed at hampering efforts by the AK Party government for a solution to the Kurdish question through peaceful means, according to most observers, and came shortly after a series of violent demonstrations held by supporters of the PKK and pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), who protested a new prison cell for jailed terrorist leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

“Recent developments in Turkey give us the impression that efforts for a more peaceful country and higher standards of democracy have hit a roadblock. This means hope is being replaced by anxiety and disappointment,” stated Öztürk Türkdoğan, the chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD). Türkdoğan also said Turkey should take further steps to finalize the reform package.

The AK Party government announced its intention to settle the Kurdish question peacefully and without resorting to military means in the summer months. The party has yet to announce the full content of its democratization package, but it is believed that the government will grant broader cultural and political rights to the country’s Kurds to thaw the ice between the state and Kurdish citizens in Turkey.

İHD’s İstanbul branch chairwoman Gülseren Yoleri expressed her association’s belief that the government should move forward with its plans for a stronger democracy and a settlement of the Kurdish question with more courageous steps. “We are anxious about Turkey today and tomorrow because fascists are fomenting hatred within the Turkish public and using Kurds as targets. … We want an end to this dangerous conduct. For this, we believe the government should proceed with a strong determination to strengthen the country’s democracy and settle the Kurdish problem,” she added.

Tension was high in Turkey throughout all of last week. Violent rallies by PKK and DTP supporters resulted in clashes with Turkish security forces, which left one university student, Aydın Erdem, dead on Dec. 9. Sixty-seven people, including eight minors, were detained due to suspected links to illegal demonstrations. The pro-Kurdish party pointed to a smaller prison cell for Öcalan as the cause of the eruption of protests, claiming that the cell was “substandard” and “threatened the health of the terrorist head.” The Justice Ministry, however, denied the claims and said the new cell was above European standards.

Most observers pointed to the timing of the violent protests and said their real target was to urge the Constitutional Court to disband the DTP. The pro-Kurdish party is accused of being the focal point of separatist activities. The party has so far failed to label the PKK a terrorist party, drawing huge ire from Turkey.

Sedat Laçiner, from the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), drew attention to the fact that rising tension in Turkey is a result of an anti-initiative stance adopted by the terrorist PKK. “There is clear provocation. I mean, we all see that the PKK is not content with the ongoing democratization initiative at all. The terrorist organization regards it as an attempt [of the government] to root it out. And it is responding to this attempt with counter-attacks,”

Initiative part of Turkey’s efforts for democracy, says Öneş

Cevat Öneş, the former deputy undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), told Sunday’s Zaman that Turkey is not faced with a situation that could require the government to retreat from the democratization initiative.

“The democratization initiative is part of Turkey’s efforts for a stronger democracy. To me, this initiative is more important for Turkey -- in terms of conditions the country is in -- than Turkey’s first civilian step into the multiparty system in 1950,” he noted.

Öneş also stressed that the government cannot retreat from its path on the democratization initiative due to public will and demands to that end. “What we are faced with is whether politics will give the necessary response to those demands. If politics fails in this sense, this will not prevent the government from continuing to work on the initiative. Such a failure will only place some obstacles before it,” he added.

The former MİT deputy undersecretary also called on the Turkish nation to fulfill its responsibility in the country’s struggle for a stronger democracy. “As an activist, I believe everyone has an obligation to do what falls on their shoulders in this struggle. I hope Turkey will soon embrace the peaceful atmosphere it has sought for years and look at its future with hope,” Öneş remarked.