CHP to lend conditional support to Kurdish initiative

Baykal is expected to announce his party's stance on the Kurdish question at a press conference, according to CHP Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen. Speaking to Today's Zaman in Bursa, where he traveled to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the Armistice of Mudanya, Öymen said the party had reviewed a letter sent by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last Friday to CHP leader Baykal seeking support for the government's Kurdish initiative.

“We will announce our decision to the public early this week. We have no intention of keeping our prime minister waiting any longer. The CHP's stance on the Kurdish issue is clear, anyway,” he said, adding that the CHP's reply will not necessarily be negative.

He recalled, however, that the CHP has “red lines” the party will never be willing to cross, such as formulas that might change Turkey's unitary form of government and the introduction of Kurdish in schools as a language of instruction. Öymen implied that the CHP would be willing to meet with Erdoğan to talk about the initiative as long as the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) guarantees that it will not push the red lines.

A third “red line” for the CHP is issuing a “general amnesty” for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists that might include the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

Currently, the democratization package being worked on by the government abides by these red lines. The package makes clear that any development will conform to the first three articles of the Constitution, which clearly state that Turkey is a unitary state and that the language of instruction is Turkish. The government has been opposed to a general amnesty that might include Öcalan from the start. In other words, there appears to be nothing preventing Prime Minister Erdoğan and CHP leader Baykal from getting together to discuss the Kurdish initiative.

Öymen on the Armenian protocol

Öymen also criticized an agreement between Turkey and Armenia that was signed on Saturday night despite a last-minute glitch, saying the pact was going to cause irrevocable damage.

On a related note, the Turkish and Armenian soccer teams are slated to playing a World cup qualifying game this Wednesday.

“With the protocol signed in Zurich, Turkey has made important concessions. Ahead of the game, Armenia has demanded that Turkey open its border unconditionally. And while Turkey has promised to do so, it hasn't demanded anything in return. It has not forced Armenia to recognize the Treaty of Kars. It is also not certain whether the Armenian Parliament will ratify this. For years, Turkey was an unforgivable country for the Algerian people because of its pro-France stance during the French-Algerian war. The people of Algeria have still not forgiven Turkey, despite an apology from Özal. The Armenian protocol will lead to similar damage in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations,” Öymen said.