Turkey Analyst,
vol. 2 no. 14
17 August 2009

WHAT THE COLUMNISTS SAY

 “The Kurdish opening” - the invitation of the AKP government to society to search for a solution to Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish has generated a far-flung, unprejudiced discussion. For the first time, Turkey has become engaged in a public debate where the questions at the very heart of the issue are being brought to wider attention.  Above all, “The Kurdish opening” has initiated a new examination of the identity of the republic of Turkey. While liberal commentators welcome the “opening” as a step that will help bring about a more democratic republic, others warn that catering to the demands of Kurdish nationalism risks creating new, intractable tensions.

MERT: THERE IS LITTLE HOPE OF SOLVING THE KURDISH QUESTION
Nuray Mert in Radikal believes that there is little hope of finding a solution to the Kurdish question. The Kurds demand something more than individual, cultural rights. They want to have collective group rights granted. Those demands by far exceed the requirements of democratization, and would alter for instance the education system. Turkey urgently needs to create the conditions of a general, societal concord, not only regarding the Kurdish question. The attitude of the opposition parties, their refusal to take part in such a process, is unfortunate. However, they cannot be blamed solely. The governing party has from the start equated political compromise with surrender. The absence of a culture of compromise will seriously hamper the management of the Kurdish question and make it much more difficult to realize the long overdue democratization of the republic without any road accidents occurring.

CANDAR: TURKEY’S FUTURE IS SHINING
Cengiz Candar in Radikal takes an optimistic view of the prospects of the “Kurdish opening”. Turkey has caught a momentum that is sure to make the process irreversible. Are there not any risks? Could a violent provocation derail the process? Such possibilities cannot be excluded. However, I am nevertheless inclined to be optimistic. The momentum of the process is such that any provocation will backfire, hurting the perpetrators themselves. The AKP government has apparently decided not to make the “opening” contingent on the participation of the opposition. That is wise. To involve CHP and MHP would have created disillusionment among the Kurds. Meanwhile, the Kurds cannot be excluded from the process. That means that Abdullah Öcalan must become part of the solution, instead of being part of the problem. Two things must now happen: The democratization of the republic of Turkey must be pursued, so as to ensure that the Kurds no longer aspire to separate. And secondly, the PKK must lay down its arms. A Turkey living in peace with the Kurds, as it did for centuries, will become a regional and international actor of importance. Yes, I can feel that Turkey is getting ready to spread its wings these days.

GÜRSEL: A VERY NARROW SPACE FOR A SOLUTION
Kadri Gürsel in Milliyet observes that the solution of the Kurdish problem is to be found in a very narrow space: Turkey must grant the Kurds something more than cultural rights, while at the same time taking care to preserve the unitary state intact. The opening can only succeed if the Turkish people are persuaded that a political solution will not divide Turkey, that it will on the contrary strengthen it. However, this cannot be done without breaking the current polarization. And this in turn requires the AKP to pass a test of sincerity. Finding a solution to the Kurdish problem also means that the government will have to show the Turks that it abides by the rule of law, respects pluralism, life styles and upholds liberty.

BILA:  THE PROBLEM IS BECOMING ONE ABOUT THE TURKISH NATION
Fikret Bila in Milliyet notes that the discussion initiated by the “Kurdish opening” of the AKP government has shown that the issue is rapidly becoming one concerning the Turkish nation. The Kurdish nationalists of DTP and PKK don’t accept Turkishness as supra-identity, seeing it as an ethnic denomination. They consequently demand that the reference in the constitution to a Turkish nation is removed. It is on this point that President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will face the harshest criticism. Any attempt to fiddle with the foundation of the state will create severe tension. It is illusionary to think that a solution that points towards a bi-national state would have any chance of being broadly accepted.

AKYOL: ARE THE KURDISH NATIONALISTS OPEN FOR AN OPENING?
What do the Kurdish nationalists want? asks Taha Akyol in Milliyet. The declarations of DTP, the party of PKK, speaks of “democratic  autonomy”, Akyol notes. What they in fact want to establish is a federation. They propose that the central state keeps control over foreign policy, defense and finance, while abandoning everything else to the local administrations. Their policies are guided by a militant, totalitarian nationalism. Our liberals commit the mistake of not criticizing this militant pan-Kurdish nationalism, taking the declarations made by the representatives of DTP about democracy and liberty at face value.

The Turkey Analyst
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It is published weekly, and includes a topical analysis, as well as translations and summaries of selected Turkish news reports. It is edited and compiled under the supervision of Svante E. Cornell, Halil M. Karaveli, and M. K. Kaya.

The analyses appearing in the Turkey Analyst are often written by the three Editors. The Turkey Analyst occasionally publishes signed guest analyses.

The Joint Center
The Joint Center was created in 2005 through the merger of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and the Silk Road Studies Program, at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy.

The Turkey Initiative
The Joint Center launched a Turkey Initiative in 2006 in order to improve understand of Turkish domestic and foreign affairs in Europe and the United States.

To Subscribe:
To subscribe to the Turkey Analyst email announcements, please contact Martina Klimesova with an email containing "subscribe Turkey Analyst" in the subject line.