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FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK f.zibak@todayszaman.com Columnists

No turning back from solution


The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) decision to turn over a group of its members to Turkish authorities on Monday at the Habur border upon an order from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has been welcomed by many in the country where thousands have fallen victim to the ongoing conflicts since 1984.

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The symbolic move was initiated by Öcalan after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government introduced a democratization package in the summer in order to solve Turkey's Kurdish problem. Regarding the point that has been reached today, analysts who find it the most critical part of the solution process say there can be no turning back now and that a critical threshold has been overcome with the surrender of some PKK members on Monday.

 According to Star's İbrahim Kiras, the PKK turning over some of its members marks the beginning of a process where there is no turning back, and even though the result that will emerge from this process will fail to satisfy both sides, Turks and Kurds, there will still be no possibility of turning back. By placing four prosecutors and a judge at the border to accelerate legal proceedings concerning those entering Turkey from Habur, the state is showing its sincerity. Kiras hopes that this process will be concluded without any problems, and since nobody can expect it to end immediately, bloodshed will cease for a while. “Those coming from Mahmur, Kandil and Europe are coming before the very eyes of the world. They nourish the hopes of the Kurds, in a sense. They meet the expectations of the Turks who want a solution. These returns will gain meaning with right responses and courageous solution proposals. I do not want to say ‘otherwise',” says Radikal's Oral Çalışlar.

 Milliyet's Hasan Cemal says there is a need for those entering Turkey from Habur and those welcoming them enthusiastically as well as the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) to act cautiously from now on. “Yes, an important page is being opened and a historic crossroads could be crossed, but on condition of being careful. Let's not give a chance to those who are afraid of peace and democracy,” says Cemal.

According to Yeni Şafak's Fehmi Koru, it is in Turkey's hands to accelerate the PKK laying down their weapons, and Turkey, which has seen the return of some PKK members today, can take very significant steps for its development after it gets rid of terrorism. “Let them come and be a part of a dynamic society,” Koru tells critics of the PKK members' return. 

21 October 2009, Wednesday
FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
   
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  No turning back from solution
  Hopes high after gesture
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  Hope mixed with pessimism
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  The Armenia deal and Turkey’s zero-problem policy
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Columnists
ABDULHAMİT BİLİCİ
ABDULLAH BOZKURT
ALİ BULAÇ
ALİ H. ASLAN
AMANDA PAUL
ANDREW FINKEL
ASIM ERDİLEK
AYŞE KARABAT
BEJAN MATUR
BERİL DEDEOĞLU
BERK ÇEKTİR
BÜLENT KENEŞ
BÜLENT KORUCU
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
DOĞU ERGİL
EKREM DUMANLI
EMRE USLU
ETYEN MAHÇUPYAN
FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
FİKRET ERTAN
GÜRKAN ZENGİN
HASAN KANBOLAT
HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE
İBRAHİM KALIN
İBRAHİM ÖZTÜRK
İHSAN DAĞI
İHSAN YILMAZ
KATHY HAMILTON
KERİM BALCI
KLAUS JURGENS
LALE KEMAL
MEHMET KAMIŞ
MICHAEL KUSER
MUHAMMED ÇETİN
MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE
NICOLE POPE
ÖMER TAŞPINAR
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ
PAT YALE
ŞAHİN ALPAY
SELÇUK GÜLTAŞLI
SUAT KINIKLIOĞLU
YAVUZ BAYDAR