Atalay said one aspect of the fight against terrorism is that of “the veterans and martyrs.” He said: “We value our veterans and martyrs. We do not exploit the situation at a martyr’s funeral; instead we visit their families and meet their needs. We feel it deep inside.”
Some deputies from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) reacted to Atalay’s remarks, saying he was not making a speech on the budget but was using “party propaganda.” Some other MHP deputies said Atalay was being provocative. Atalay said police would never raise a hand against the families of soldiers who were killed and these families would always be respected. He also said citizens who were not involved in terrorist acts should be treated well.
MHP deputies continued their attacks by saying the euphoric celebrations upon the recent return of some members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were not acceptable. MHP deputies also reminded Atalay of his remarks made on Nov. 10 during the discussion of the Kurdish imitative in Parliament. Atalay had said the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) represented all of Turkey, and the opposition parties interpreted the sentence as possibly meaning that other parties only represented regions of Turkey.
In response, Atalay said he does not want to be misunderstood and all he wanted to say is that “the AK Party has the representative power.”
The opposition has continued its negative stance against the government’s democratic initiative, which involves expanding the rights of the Kurdish citizens of Turkey.
The ruling AK Party brought the issue to Parliament on Nov. 10 after months-long public discussions in order to end the Kurdish conflict, which has cost the lives of about 40,000 people since 1984, resulted in more than 17,000 unsolved murders and cost billions of dollars in military expenditure.
However, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies were uneasy about the debate, which they said should not be brought to the Parliament on the anniversary of the death of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. They said the commemoration activities would be overshadowed by the debate.
Before the parliamentary discussion, CHP leader Deniz Baykal held his party’s parliamentary group meeting and harshly criticized the AK Party’s insistence on the Nov. 10 date, as well as the Kurdish initiative in general.
Stating that “Nov. 10 is a day on which the flags are lowered to half-mast,” Baykal said, “A plan that targets the accomplishments of the republic is being staged on such a day.
The AK Party government announced its intention to settle the Kurdish question through peaceful methods during the summer, but has not detailed its plan. The Kurdish part of the democratic initiative of the government is expected to grant cultural and linguistic rights to the country’s Kurds.
During the process, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broke his policy of not engaging with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) -- because the DTP refuses to declare the outlawed PKK a terrorist organization -- and had a meeting with its leaders.
Interior Minister Atalay, who is also the coordinator of the government’s Kurdish initiative, delivered a speech on Nov. 10 in the Parliament focusing on the targets and scope of the initiative. But tensions rose when Atalay said, “The AK Party is Turkey’s party.” Deputies from the opposition CHP and MHP protested against Atalay’s words by pounding on their desks.
Meanwhile, CHP deputies, led by Canan Arıtman, held up banners saying, “Atam İzindeyiz,” or “Our Great Leader, We are Following Your Path.” There were also other banners saying, “Our Great Leader, We will Protect Your Works” and “You Established the Republic, We Will Make it Live.”
Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin promptly warned the protestors to stop displaying their banners.
“This is the grand assembly, not a demonstration area. Please put down the banners.” Şahin also said, “Either put down the banners or leave.” Parliament then went into recess.
However, the heated debate continued during the break and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the parliament speaker should start an investigation regarding the issue.
‘We say enough’
Atalay, who launched preliminary talks with opposition parties regarding the initiative, provided a timeline of the government’s plans for the solution of the long-standing Kurdish issue.
“The democratic initiative will release Turkey from its shackles,” Atalay, who calls the issue in Parliament “A National Unity and Brotherhood Project,” said.
He said the initiative is not restricted to expanding the rights of the country’s Kurdish population, but is about improving democracy and therefore will result in “more freedom for everybody.”
As the opposition attacked, Atalay continued to speak and stressed that the project does not contain anything which would alter Turkey’s unitary structure.
“Nobody in Turkey can challenge the unchangeable articles of the Constitution, the unitary state, the official language which is Turkish, the flag featuring a star and crescent and the national anthem,” he said, and added that speeches in Parliament should not feed hatred in the society but instead send messages of peace.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s set our party politics and party’s interests aside. Let’s create a soft language to reinforce our feelings of brotherhood without excluding anybody.”
Atalay also warned that there are “lobbies” which are fed by the conflict and they “provoke” society in that regard by saying the democratic initiative is about dividing the country. However, he said the initiative is about consolidating democracy in Turkey.
At a time when the Turkish government has been breaking taboos by initiating a dialogue concerning the Kurdish problem, eight members of the outlawed PKK returned to Turkey from the Kandil Mountains, where the PKK has a camp, and 26 came back from Makhmur, a refugee camp in northern Iraq. But more arrivals of the members of the PKK were suspended due to agitation in various segments of society.
About the debate on the selection of Nov. 10 for discussing the Kurdish initiative, Parliament Speaker Şahin said Atatürk was a great leader and one day is not enough to remember his achievements. “He is present in our daily lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, pro-Kurdish DTP deputy Gültan Kışanak said it was important for Parliament to take up the Kurdish issue -- even though it was not openly called the “Kurdish” issue -- after so many years. She said the institution best able to address the Kurdish problem is the Parliament.
Parliamentary officials announced yesterday that the general discussion of the issue will be held in Parliament on Friday. Prime Minister Erdoğan’s official visits to Düzce and Adıyaman have been cancelled because of the debate planned on the democratic initiative on Friday.
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