Değer, who was the CHP’s former Diyarbakır provincial branch head, said OHAL and similar methods cannot be the answer as they make solutions to the problems more difficult.
He noted that more people died during the 15-year OHAL period through the ‘90s than the casualties due to terrorism in the other years of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) terror campaign. Stating that the declaration of OHAL would spell the end of the government’s democratic initiative process, Değer said the long-standing Kurdish issue could be solved with more democracy, applauding President Abdullah Gül taking the initiative on the issue. Martial law in the Southeast was imposed initially in 11 provinces in July 1987 and was abolished in 2002.
Tension and violence escalated in Turkey recently after outlawed PKK terrorists attacked dozens of military personnel and civilians, causing some circles to urge the government to declare martial law in the Southeast. Stating that the PKK wants to be an interlocutor in a solution to the Kurdish issue by escalating violence, Değer said the state should first prevent people from going to the mountains to join the PKK, in order to weaken the organization. “The state has not been able to do that thus far. In the past the PKK used to gather supporters from the villages by using force. But now we see that there are many who are voluntarily joining the organization. This is a serious situation,” Değer said.
Değer thinks that President Gül’s recent meetings with political party leaders and civil society representatives to discuss terrorism marks the beginning of a new period in Turkey’s fight against terrorism. “I find our esteemed president’s initiative on the terrorism issue appropriate because this is an issue that is above politics, and it is being politicized when a political party, even if it is the ruling party, takes the initiative to address the issue. Heavy responsibility falls on the shoulders of the president during this process. Establishing social unity and ending terrorism are in the hands of our president,” Değer said.
