He said the dominant system of tribal feudalism in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated Southeast is a cause of suffering for the terror-stricken region's people, in remarks which were found too political to be uttered from the mouth of an army chief. Başbuğ said the people of the Southeast had suffered greatly from “aghas,” or feudal lords, in their history, adding that they are now suffering under a different kind of agha. “The real problem is saving our people from the domination of the aghas of politics and terror,” he added. Analysts criticize Başbuğ not only for crossing into the political domain but also for putting politics into the same basket as terrorism at a time when the government is making an effort to separate politics from terrorism.Bugün's Gülay Göktürk says it is very common for bureaucrats like Başbuğ to defame politics in the eyes of the public with such statements since they see themselves as the holders of power. She says the media, which have failed to criticize the state bureaucracy in general and the army bureaucracy in particular, attack politicians and easily engage in opposition by making politics a scapegoat -- and the public likes this. “No one pays attention to the fact that all these attacks on politics strengthen those appointed and weaken democracy. As long as politicians score low in surveys examining persons and institutions the public has most confidence in, no one will understand that the bells of danger are ringing for democracy. These are mistakes that we have been seeing for years,” explains Göktürk.
Apart from this, she says Başbuğ's message has a very dangerous aspect: He puts terrorism and politics in the same basket. “At a time when the government is trying to separate politics from terrorism and is making efforts to solve the Kurdish problem through politics and trying to find ways for Kurds to engage in politics on the condition that they lay down their weapons and give up terrorism, Başbuğ is trying to close the way with his statements by not making any distinction between ideas and actions. He sees the ideas he does not agree with to be as dangerous as terrorism. He does not accept that politics is legitimate while terrorism is a crime. He still denies the fact that politics is the antidote to terrorism. And so he repeats a mistake made by the state since the establishment of the republic,” remarks Göktürk.
She warns that a mentality like Başbuğ's, which places terrorism and politics in the same basket and see both as evils the public should be protected from, will come to Turkey's agenda frequently during the democratization initiative and that Turkey has to exert efforts to confront it.
According to Star's Ahmet Kekeç, Başbuğ is wrong in thinking that the feudal order in the southeastern region is the reason for the suffering of the region's public. Contrary to Başbuğ's argument, he believes the PKK was able to dominate the region due to the elimination of the feudal order. “This is also the answer to why the PKK is a modernist movement question,” Kekeç says.
Benzer Haberler 
