Oppressive air of ‘90s creeping up on Southeast, say residents

Analysts Sunday’s Zaman spoke with expressed concern and underlined that a security approach is once more gaining momentum when it comes to addressing the Kurdish question instead of democratic solutions, but this does not necessarily mean Turkey will return to the 1990s because many changes have taken place on the ground. One example is the improvement in civil society. However, other analysts argue that the atmosphere and discourse of the 1990s is already back.

The 1990s witnessed many extrajudicial killings in southeastern and eastern Anatolia. Human rights associations put the number at around 5,000; the figure of unsolved murders is in the same range. For security reasons, more than 4,000 villages were evacuated and approximately 2 million people were forcibly displaced.

Selahatin Çoban, chairman of the Diyarbakır branch of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER), told Sunday’s Zaman that there were forest fires in Tunceli and Bingöl recently and that three villages in Batman province were burned down. He says roadblocks have returned to some areas.

“These forest fires start at points that are close to army posts. This leads us to believe that the army is setting these fires for security reasons. Three villages in Batman near Hasankeyf have been evacuated and burned down, too,” he said.

Altan Tan, a prominent conservative Kurdish intellectual from Diyarbakır, said the number of roadblocks recently increased and that there are other signs that the “security” concept versus freedom and democracy will be preferred.

“It seems the army has been tasked with finding the solution once more. This is a very dangerous development. The government claims it will continue with its democratization efforts, but it takes no concrete steps,” Tan told Sunday’s Zaman.

The government launched a democratization initiative last year to solve the country’s decades-old Kurdish question. Steps taken in line with this include the opening of a Kurdish language TV station and a university department to teach Kurdish. The government frequently stresses that it will continue with its efforts to improve the country’s democracy.

“They don’t explicitly state what they are planning, but we hear from them that they are planning to establish a professional army to combat terrorism. This is reminiscent of the 1990s, when Special Forces committed many crimes in the region,” Tan said.

Meanwhile, Çoban said military measures currently being taken in the region are indeed reflective of the 1990s, but adds that he also finds the government’s efforts very important.

“There is an atmosphere of panic in the region. This is true, but keep in mind that the government can change this and supervise what the army is doing,” he said, adding that civil society organizations working in the region will discuss what can be done over the weekend.

Emin Aktar, chairman of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, is of a slightly different view. He says it is not the facts on the ground but the discourse present today that is reminiscent of the 1990s.

“Discussions still concentrate on the security issue and point to economic reasons [as the cause of the region’s trouble]. I don’t have any economic problems; I am categorically against violence, but I still have some demands when it comes to my identity. There are many people like me, but the discussions do not want to see this fact,” he told Sunday’s Zaman.

He added that in recent trips between cities in the region, he did not notice more roadblocks than usual but that perceptions that characterized the 1990s had returned.

“From the point of view of law, there are developments. Civil society is stronger than in the 1990s -- not only in Diyarbakır but throughout Turkey. It is raising its concerns and demands. From the point of view of law, if we compare the situation today with that of the 1990s, there are many guarantees today. In those years, when someone was detained, we either did not hear from them for a long time or we never heard from them again. Today, however, an warrant by the public prosecution is a must [before anyone can be detained],” he said.

İbrahim Güçlü, another Kurdish intellectual from Diyarbakır, approached concern of whether Turkey was returning to the 1990s cautiously. “I don’t think it will happen. Many things have changed since then,” he told Sunday’s Zaman. He underlined the importance of civil society and pointed to the changing situation in the world in general and the region in particular.

“The administration in northern Iraq, for example, is not the same as in the 1990s. Its relations with Turkey have improved immensely, and I don’t think they will want to harm them,” he said.

Güçlü added that there are signs that indicate just the opposite, even more signs show that certain segments of society and the government are aware of the fact that terrorism and the Kurdish question are two separate things.

“All these changes might not lead to a return to the 1990s, but they might lead to the emergence of a third force which still demands for Kurdish rights, though through non-violent means and by looking for a compromise. But, of course, it the deep state that was the architect of the 1990s, and it has really been put under control,” he said.