In the name of peace, unleashing the evil?

The government is talking about a peace process, and it is quite clear that this process includes a “general amnesty” for PKK members. So far I have not heard any objections from military circles regarding this possibility. How did the Turkish military come to this point? Are they tired of conflict? Did they start to realize that there is no end in this small-scale “war” with the PKK? The PKK has been going through its weakest period and is pushed into the corner in northern Iraq nowadays. At this particular time, how has our military reached a point in that it has put aside all of its hawkish attitudes? Please do not misunderstand me; I have never believed that the PKK could be finished by military methods alone. On the contrary, as I tried to explain in my previous pieces, I believe the Turkish military's very approach to this matter created today's PKK. Violence created more violence, a very well-known vicious circle. So, what has happened to the “hawks” in the Turkish military at a time when they have tremendous advantages which could enable them to destroy the PKK? Maybe we should ask another question: Is it possible that there might be some other factors which concern the hawks in military more than the pain of letting PKK members go free?

Let us think about the wider implications of the “general amnesty” that the government is planning to grant to PKK members. Amnesty can be provided in two different ways: In one alternative, the government provides reduced sentences or unconditional pardons to all convicts currently serving prison terms; in the second alternative, the government provides these reduced sentences or pardons for certain crimes. In the first alternative, all prisoners are set free. In the second alternative, not only PKK members, but also other convicts and suspects who were or will be tried under the same criminal provisions as the PKK will be set free. This means that in either alternative, all the members of the Ergenekon gang will be set free together with members of the PKK. Even if this “general amnesty law” passes in a way in which only PKK members are covered, the law should definitely be annulled by the Constitutional Court, which would find this law to be in contradiction with the “principal of equality.” Both the PKK and Ergenekon are being tried under the Anti-Terror Law. An amnesty would exonerate convicts, stop current trials and result in all charges being dropped for persons who would be tried under the law for which an amnesty had been granted. So if I was a person who was being tried or could potentially be tried in the Ergenekon case in the future, I would definitely support an amnesty for PKK members.

The Ergenekon gang is extremely dangerous. Thanks to the ongoing investigation and the court case, the operational section of this organization has been seriously damaged. Since the first arrests of members of Ergenekon, there have been no new “politically motivated murders,” such as Hrant Dink's killing or the massacre of the missionaries in Malatya.

So try to look at the whole process from this perspective: A general amnesty will release members of the PKK and Ergenekon simultaneously. Reactionary nationalism would reach its peak after the amnesty is implemented for PKK members. Ergenekon would regain its power very quickly, since only its operational part has been damaged whereas its leadership remains to a large extent untouched. Ergenekon would find fertile ground for its provocations. It will return its old business and start to kill people. It would of course do everything in its power to resurrect the conflict between Kurds and Turks. PKK members would start to organize the “Real PKK” or something similar, and terror would this time strike in big cities.

I think I can stop playing “devil's advocate” here. I have written this entire scenario because I do not want to see it happen. To prevent this kind of “side effect,” this process should be handled very carefully, and everyone needs to understand there is no quick fix to Turkey's historical problems. This is a long process which requires strategic perspective, courage, intelligence and goodwill. What we need is an open confrontation with our past. As I said in my previous piece on July 31, unless we question our past, some people will try to restore the “deep state” once again and some people will try to re-establish the PKK sometime in the future. Everything depends on severing the moral foundations of these terrible groups, and this depends on an open confrontation with everything in the past.” If we can reveal what the “deep state” elements did in the past, if we can encourage Kurds to discuss what the PKK did in the past, we will start to make real progress. If we can get through such a process, then a “general amnesty” may contribute to peace. However, first we need to remember and confront everything in the past; after that, we can forgive them peacefully!