Kurdish initiative relegated to the dusty shelves of Parliament

It is not, however, the first time the country gave up discussing the prospective results of the Kurdish package and focused on other developments instead. Also dubbed the “Kurdish initiative,” the democratization package is indeed a massive one that aims to expand the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in the summer months announced its intention to settle the Kurdish question -- which turned violent after the establishment of a terrorist organization -- peacefully and without resorting to military means. The party has yet to announce the full content of its Kurdish initiative, 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. The package was discussed in Parliament in November. Though the government voiced several times its decisiveness to move forward with the package until it is finalized, saying the package is a top priority for the country, it has lagged behind many other important developments in Turkey.

It is currently sitting on the dusty shelves of Parliament as politicians are busy discussing an apparent Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) plot to overthrow the AK Party government.

According to Star columnist Ergun Babahan, the subversive plot -- titled the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Security Operation Plan -- has forced the Kurdish initiative to take a backseat. “Even if we do not realize it, Turkey has a Kurdish question. This question is indeed a matter of human rights. It is not possible for Turkey to become a real democratic country unless this question is settled,” he remarked.

The Sledgehammer document was exposed by a Turkish daily last month. It mentions a systematic military plan to foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The desired result would be increased internal pressure on the government that would lead to a military takeover.

The plan was drafted in 2003, shortly after the AK Party came to power. The masterminds of the plan were retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the then-commander of the 1st Army, retired Former Air Forces Commander Gen. İbrahim Fırtına and retired Gen. Ergin Saygun.

Since its exposure, Turkey has been fervently discussing the plan.

Ümit Fırat, a Kurdish writer and intellectual, said recent developments are indeed harbingers of the yields of the democratization initiative. “I mean the [Sledgehammer] document has been exposed thanks to the initiative. When the initiative is finalized, no individual or authority will dare to prepare such documents. The initiative has reached a point that cannot be rewound,” he remarked.

The writer also pointed to growing public criticism that the government is proceeding slowly with the democratization package.

“There is growing criticism over the performance of the package. But the government needs time. What is included in the package is not something to be prepared in a few hours. However, this does not mean that the government was fully successful during the [initiative] process. The government picked the right targets for the democratization package, but its calculations to that end were wrong,” he noted.

Asked about the shortcomings of the AK Party government concerning the package, Fırat pointed to a lack of political will to call to account instigators of Sledgehammer-like plans.

In the past few months, many alleged military plots have been uncovered. The main point of all those documents is their intention to undermine the power of the AK Party government. The Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, for example, was drafted by a colonel on active duty with the ulterior motive of discrediting the government in the eyes of the public. The Cage Operation Action Plan, on the other hand, mentions a subversive plot to assassinate prominent figures of the non-Muslim community and kill dozens of young students visiting a museum in İstanbul. The desired result of the plan was to increase internal and external pressure on the AK Party, which would eventually lead to a military takeover.

Fırat also voiced his own criticism of the government on the democratization package. “Kurds, including myself, have urgent expectations of the package. One of them is the restoration of Kurdish village names. The government has been very slow to make this move. It put forward some conditions for the move, which caused disappointment among the public,” he noted.

The democratization package includes a plan by the government to restore Kurdish names to some villages in eastern and southeastern Turkey, which are predominantly Kurdish. The move will depend on the will of residents of those places. If any village or town wants to change its name, it will apply to the district governor, and after a referendum or referendum-like research, it will be possible to change the name of a village or town if the majority of the inhabitants want it.