Author Miroğlu: State had its turn, now PKK should confront its past

“The ones politicking over the Kurdish issue should confront their past. There were human rights violations and executions by the organization [the PKK]. [Jailed leader of the PKK Abdullah] Öcalan says the same from time to time. Much is being discussed about the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] and JİTEM [a clandestine and illicit unit within the gendarmerie]. There is [the rule of] law, and much can be investigated now. But it is not possible to say the same for the PKK,” Miroğlu said, speaking to Cihan magazine.

The investigation into Ergenekon began in 2007. Ergenekon is defined as a clandestine terrorist network and is accused of working to overthrow the government through acts of terror and violence. Prosecutors involved in the investigation accuse the network of being behind a series of major political assassinations over the past two decades. The launch of the Ergenekon investigation marks a first for Turkey as politicians probably started for the first time to talk about Turkey’s “dark past.” The dark past mainly refers to assassinations and unsolved murders.

According to Miroğlu, the PKK may begin confronting its dark past, filled with the killing of thousands of civilians, only when it lays down its weapons. Miroğlu barely escaped an assassination attempt in 1992 in Diyarbakır where he was attending a festival held by the municipal council. He sustained three gunshot wounds. Prominent Kurdish journalist and author Musa Anter was with Miroğlu at the time and died after being struck by five bullets.

In response to a question over whether the PKK will indeed confront its past some day, Miroğlu responded: “It is impossible for the conscience of society to feel relieved unless the PKK confronts its past. We are talking about a society that is inclined to cover up realities but which is at the same time suffering from broken pride and a wounded conscience.”

More recently, Miroğlu received death threats from the PKK. In an article that appeared in November of last year on HPG Online, a website associated with the PKK, the journalist was accused of “attacking the values of the [Kurdish] people.” “If it goes on like this, Miroğlu will be eliminated,” read the article.

Miroğlu indicated that Turkey had covered much distance and improvement in human rights and democracy thanks to the Ergenekon investigation. He believes that the investigation contributed to a decrease in the influence of military tutelage on democracy. However, the journalist also believes that Kurdish politicians and intellectuals have failed to lend adequate support to the Ergenekon probe due to a number of reasons.

“I believe that the Ergenekon process [investigation] has not been adequately supported. I wrote articles on this topic and said not only Kurdish politicians or political groups but also Kurdish nongovernmental organizations and intellectuals ‘abused their power [when they declined to support the Ergenekon investigation]’,” he said, and added that the main reason behind the reluctance of Kurdish politicians and intellectuals to support the Ergenekon probe is their dislike of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The AK Party is known to be a supporter of judicial investigations and cases that seek to shed light on Turkey’s dark past. “Kurdish politics sees the AK Party as a political rival. If Kurdish politicians and NGOs saw the Ergenekon investigation as an opportunity to confront the dark past of Turkey, and brought forward demands to deepen the investigation, and asked the state to provide an explanation to 3,000 villages [that were evacuated in the 1990s], then we would all be happy. Such a contribution would also strengthen the hand of the AK Party in the Ergenekon investigation,” he explained.

People in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey, who are predominantly Kurdish, were delighted by the launch of the investigation into Ergenekon, according to Miroğlu. They believed that the investigation would shed light on the whereabouts of many missing people in the region, many of whom were the victims of unsolved murders, and alleviate their pain to an extent.

‘Kurds believe peace is imminent, but PKK has fears’

According to Miroğlu, Turkey’s Kurds are hopeful that the long-standing Kurdish question will be settled soon and that Turkey will reach long-lasting peace. The PKK, on the other hand, is concerned that it may be eliminated on the path toward peace.

Turkey’s Kurdish problem has existed since the early years of the republic but turned violent in 1984 after the outlawed PKK started its bloody campaign against Turkish civilians and security forces. More than 40,000 civilians and members of the security forces have been killed in PKK-government clashes thus far. The AK Party government hopes to solve the Kurdish question by granting more political and cultural rights to Kurds. It launched an initiative to that end in 2009.

“Kurdish society believes that they are close to a solution [to the Kurdish question.] The PKK also believes that a solution is imminent, but it also fears that it may be eliminated [from the solution process] at any time. It is afraid that the Kurdish question will be solved without its intervention,” Miroğlu stated. He also added that all opinions put forward for the settlement of the question should be respected.

In response to a question about Öcalan’s role in the solution of the Kurdish problem, Miroğlu said the jailed PKK leader could have contributed to a solution if he remained in Europe. “In such a case, he would remain out of military-related balances, and the direction of Kurdish politics would probably be different from what it is today,” he said. Öcalan, who was a fugitive for some time, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 while being transferred from the Greek Embassy to Nairobi’s international airport. He has been serving a life sentence in a prison on İmralı Island in the Marmara Sea since then.

Miroğlu also added that peace talks between the PKK, Öcalan and state officials have thus far been carried out by people who back the continuation of clashes between security forces and the terrorist group rather than by those who back a peaceful and democratic solution of the Kurdish problem.