The AK Party considers the democratic initiative key to efforts to overcome obstacles to development, such as the Kurdish separatist movement, which has drained Turkey’s monetary and human resources for almost 25 years.
Under the heading “Arguments that can be used,” the pamphlet notes that a nation does not need to solely be comprised of people of the same ethnic background. “Our common characteristics also make us a nation. To be a nation does not mean to come from the same race. ‘Nation’ refers to people who agree to live together in the same country, have a common past and look forward to a common future,” the booklet points out.
The positive influence of the steps the government has taken so far for the democratization of Turkey is also mentioned in the booklet, including the stopping of unidentified murders and torture, which had become a part of daily life in the southeastern and eastern provinces of Turkey, as well as the government’s success in facilitating the return of 150,000 victims of forceful immigration to their homes.
“Changes to Turkey’s unitary state, official language, flag and capital are out of question and will never be debated. In this process, the AK Party has never entertained the notion of creating a federation in the country,” the booklet announces, aiming to dismiss accusations that the initiative will result in a federal structure in Turkey.
The handbook also addresses recent actions taken within the scope of the government’s “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy philosophy, stating that Turkey could not be at ease if it were unable to end its domestic problems and adding that Turkey’s domestic problems have a higher priority than its foreign problems.
It highlights that if the government’s efforts to put an end to the Kurdish problem fail to settle the issue despite all efforts and intentions, the government would decisively continue to struggle against terrorism.
In the booklet, the AK Party argues that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) is insincere in its opposition to the democratization process and underlined its inconsistency with opinions voiced in the party’s 1989 Kurdish report and other statements made by CHP leaders and officials regarding the problems in the East and the Southeast. A report prepared in 1989 by a CHP commission whose members included current party head Deniz Baykal contains suggestions similar to the AK Party’s initiative, which they now staunchly oppose. “The CHP, which has adopted a puzzling attitude toward the democratic initiative when the AK Party is attempting to implement its proposals and suggestions, holds views that create problems,” the booklet argues.
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