[TURKISH POLITICS IN 2009] New initiatives to pick up momentum in 2010

Turkey overcame years-long problems with the broadcasting of TV and radio programs in Kurdish at the beginning of the year, particularly with the launch of the Kurdish-language TRT 6 TV station and a state radio station that broadcasts in Kurdish 24 hours a day. The TV and radio stations were steps to broaden the cultural rights of the country’s Kurdish population, which has complained for years about being denied the right to communicate in its own language.

Speaking Kurdish was banned after the 1980 military coup, and this ban remained in place until 1991.

The government’s desire to take steps toward a solution of the Kurdish question grew stronger after US President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey in April. The US president declared once again his country’s determination to help Turkey fight the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and share intelligence to that end.

The US support was welcomed by the General Staff. During his April 14 speech, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ gave the government a green light to extend the scope of the amnesty law to draw more PKK militants down from the mountains. An earlier amnesty law was not successful as it did not result in a large number of militants surrendering.  With the backing of the military, the government was more courageous in putting its plans for the solution of the Kurdish question into operation.

The AK Party also rolled up its sleeves to find lasting solutions to many other chronic problems in society. On June 3, State Minister Faruk Çelik initiated a series of Alevi workshops seeking to address the concerns of Turkey’s Alevi population.

Turkey’s Alevi community, a religious group thought to have 6 and 12 million adherents, has long complained that it has been denied its cultural and religious rights. Five Alevi workshops have so far been held with the aim of examining the role of Alevis in Turkish society and ways to better enfranchise this oft-neglected group. The workshops were held with the participation of around 40 nongovernmental organizations, including professional associations, labor unions and human rights organizations. The AK Party’s initiative for the settlement of Alevis’ problems has remained incomplete.

The government accelerated efforts for the solution of the Kurdish question in August. On Aug. 2, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who is coordinating the government’s efforts, met with a group of journalists at a workshop titled “Solution of the Kurdish Issue: Toward a Turkish Model” at the Police Academy in Ankara. The minister said the workshop was an occasion to discuss ways to manage the dynamics of the solution process as well as short, medium and long-term measures that need to be taken within the framework of the democratization process.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lent full support to the efforts and met with the leader of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP), Ahmet Türk, to discuss the efforts. This was the first official meeting between the two since the party entered Parliament. The leaders of the two opposition parties -- the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) -- however, refused to meet with the prime minister to discuss the efforts.

Opposition remains opposed

On Oct. 12, CHP leader Deniz Baykal sent a six-page letter to Erdoğan saying he was ready to meet with the prime minister provided that their meeting is recorded by a television crew. Upon the proposal, Erdoğan retreated from his decision to discuss the governmental efforts for the Kurdish question, saying imposing conditions on a meeting ignores all ethical principles of politics.

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli maintained his opposition to the Kurdish move and threatened to send his supporters to the mountains to continue the fight against PKK terrorists.

One of the most concrete steps toward the settlement of the Kurdish question through peaceful methods came on Oct. 19. A small group of residents of the Makhmour refugee camp in northern Iraq returned to Turkey as a goodwill gesture in support of the government. The camp is home to more than 10,000 Turkish Kurds who fled their homes in southeastern Anatolia at the height of Turkey’s fight against the PKK in the 1990s. Their return, however, turned to celebrations of victory by supporters of the PKK and DTP in various Turkish cities, which increased the opposition’s criticism of the Kurdish initiative.

The government, however, refused to retreat from its initiative despite harsh opposition from other political parties.

The jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, ordered his supporters not to back the government on the Kurdish initiative, claiming that the AK Party was planning to deter Kurds from engaging in politics through the initiative. In the meantime, eight other convicts were sent to a prison on İmralı Island, off the coast of İstanbul, and the terrorist leader was transferred to a new prison cell. Before the transfer of prisoners, Öcalan was the sole inmate at the prison.

Öcalan’s lawyers claimed his new cell was six-and-a-half square meters, compared to the old cell’s 12 square meters. The new cell’s window was reportedly high and could not be looked through unassisted. The claims kicked of a series of violent rallies by PKK supporters in eastern and southeastern Turkey. Dozens of demonstrators and security forces were wounded in the clashes.

On Dec. 9, the PKK launched a bloody attack on Turkish soldiers in the central province of Tokat, killing seven and injuring three. The attack intensified pressure on the Constitutional Court to disband the pro-Kurdish DTP, which had been accused of supporting PKK violence and separatist activities in the country.

The government is now hoping to give its efforts concerning the Kurdish question new momentum in 2010.