Tweet
ALTAN TAN: KURDS' LOVE AFFAIR WITH AK PARTY ENDING
Today's Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey
Kurdish intellectual and writer Altan Tan has said that the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not the same AK Party
that the Kurds fell in love with and that sooner or later there will
be alternatives to it.
"The AK Party takes its strength from the lack of viable alternatives;
however, this cannot last forever," Tan said. "The AK Party may save
the day for the March 2009 local elections, but after that the public
will create its own alternatives. A party that holds on to the status
quo cannot retain its power in Turkey."
"Turkey's problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy could
even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps first
recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people." he said.
Critics have increasingly questioned the Kurdish policies of the
government, which won almost half of the vote in the country's
predominantly Kurdish-populated provinces in the July 22 general
elections last year. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been
getting more attention recently with his unsettling remarks about
the Kurdish population.
For Monday Talk, Tan elaborated on the issue.
You have just come back from Diyarbakır. Could you tell us about
the political climate there?
Diyarbakır is a politicized city, and it is the center of the Kurdish
movement. Since the elections last year, people of the region had
high hopes about a solution to the Kurdish problem, but their hopes
have almost faded, especially because the government stands close to
the military guardianship regime.
When exactly did Kurds start to feel that their expectations would
not be met?
When somebody falls in love, there is always a suspicion. There is
always a feeling of "what if?" and those questions have intensified
with the shelving of the project to make a new constitution. The prime
minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] promised last year in October that
he would have completed work on the new constitution in December and
would have a public referendum this year. Then came the closure case
against the AK Party, and the government did not do what is expected
of it in the process.
What were the expectations then?
For example, the government could have changed the status of
the Constitutional Court so it would not have dominance over
Parliament. Instead, they have chosen to negotiate with some
institutions.
What institutions are these?
Such institutions of the establishment as the Constitutional Court
and the military. Then some of the prime minister's advisers told
him that since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, it had been
always the Republican People's Party [CHP] that has been close to the
military and that for the first time a right-wing party, the AK Party,
had the opportunity of a closer relationship with the military. The
idea was that this relationship should be strengthened, and only
after that alliance reforms can be considered.
Is this realistic?
The military is this nation's military, of course, and the military men
are the children of this country. However, the military has a different
mentality than civilians. And with a military mentality, we cannot find
solutions to the problems, such as the Kurdish problem, the Armenian
problem, the Alevi problem, obstacles facing higher education and
so on. Is the government going to solve those problems, or continue
with the status quo? If there is an alliance with the establishment,
then this means a submission on the part of the government. This is the
way Kurds see it, Alevis see it and Islamic circles see it. We say no
to submission but yes to democracy. and a compromise is possible only
in a democratic environment that complies with universal standards.
What do Kurds want?
There is so much talk about a federal system and autonomy for
Kurds. What is it exactly that Kurds want?
Turkey's problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy
could even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps
first recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people. Then a general amnesty can be considered after a cease-fire
and after society calms down. If you try to start with a general
amnesty, it would create more conflict between ethnic Kurds and
Turks. A much-debated law to bring home Kurds who are involved in
terrorism would not be useful at all without having a better situation
at home. And the Kurdish problem should be separately handled than
the problem of terrorism. They may be related, but solutions should
be considered separately.
One day we hear of a new reform package for Kurds, and the next day
we hear nationalistic approaches. What is the AK Party government
trying to do?
They are just trying to save the day.
Why?
There are several reasons. The prime minister did not have a vision
similar to the late President Turgut Ozal, whose mind was set to
solve the Kurdish issue. And the prime minister's team involves
ultranationalists and even fascists in addition to liberals and
Muslim democrats. However, his main team responds to the demands
of the status quo by submission. In addition, there are internal
factors, such as the military guardianship, preventing Turkey's
way to democratization. In order to overcome this situation, the
government needs to take a firm stance against it but falls short of
doing it. And it is not easy to take a firm stance when there are
attempts for military coups and assassination threats, so internal
conditions are not really favorable. Still, the government needs to
take a stance to solve the problems.
How?
They should be ready to pay the price. [the late French President
Charles] de Gaulle lost in the election after solving the problems
with Algeria. He left politics. [the late British President]
Winston Churchill took the country successfully out of World War II
but left the following election. But we -- the whole world -- know
about Churchill and de Gaulle, not the people who won the elections
after them. However, the AK Party is just trying to save the day,
calculating that there is no alternative to the CHP but the AK Party.
Could the AK Party still have the votes of the Kurdish people of
the Southeast?
The AK Party is not the same AK Party that the Kurds fell in love
with. Kurds also face the dilemma of not having an alternative. The DTP
[pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party] does not meet the demands of the
Kurds, either. Therefore, the AK Party derives its strength from the
lack of viable alternatives; however, this cannot last forever. The
AK Party may save the day for the March 2009 local elections, but
after that the public will create its own alternatives. A party which
holds on to the status quo cannot retain its power in Turkey. That has
been same with the True Path Party [DYP], Motherland Party [ANAP, now
ANAVATAN] and the Welfare Party [RP]. Even though Necmettin Erbakan
[former leader of the now-defunct RP] submitted to the system, he
was disqualified.
What would happen if the AK Party wins Diyarbakır?
AK Party politicians have a cunning calculation. They think that if
they win over the DTP, then that means winning over the PKK [outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party]. This is not true at all because even if
the PKK is finished off, the Kurdish problem would remain unless
democratic steps toward a solution have been taken.
If there were elections today, which one do you think will be the
winner in the Southeast, the DTP or the AK Party?
Fifty percent of Kurds support neither the DTP nor the AK
Party. There is serious talk about boycotting the elections or
supporting independents. Still the DTP is ahead of the AK Party,
but you never know. Twenty-four hours is a short time in politics.
Have the DTP municipalities improved their services?
They have improved their services a lot. Streets are clean in the
Southeast. And they also distribute food aid to the needy like the
AK Party, even though they criticized the AK Party for doing it before.
'Tension will increase'
What do you expect in the coming days when there is such a climate
of tension between ethnic Kurds and Turks?
There is a climate of tension, and the tension will increase. The
efforts to make a new constitution have been shelved, expectations
of the Islamic camp have not been discussed and economic expectations
of the lower and middle classes have not been discussed, either. The
discussion has been centered on the Kurdish question. The current
situation has benefited the status quo. The government has been
taken over, and the operation is complete. This could last until an
alternative emerges.
Do you think any steps by the government could change the situation
for the better?
The first urgent step would be to make Kurdish an elective course in
schools, Kurdish television channels should be established and then
a general amnesty should be declared.
What should the DTP do?
All violence should be stopped. If they say it is the PKK that acts
violently and not them, then they should call on the PKK to stop the
violence. Even if unilaterally, violence should stop.
President Abdullah Gul had called on the Kurdish deputies to come
together and produce solutions. Why can they not gather?
The prime minister should allow them to go to that meeting, but
apparently he is not.
Why not?
He may be making the calculations I have mentioned previously, and
he does not care about a real solution to the problem.
Could the recent rapprochement with the northern Iraqi leadership
help to finish off the PKK?
Massoud Barzani does not have the power to fight the PKK. He tried to
do it in the past and lost 3,000 of his peshmerga troops. Relations
with Barzani should not be based on the plans about taking down the
PKK because such a relationship would not be a lasting one.
Tan explains demands of the Kurds living in Turkey
The concept of citizenship should be more broadly defined to
embrace citizens of all ethnic and religious origins in the new
constitution. Or the new constitution should not try to define
citizenship at all;
People of all ethnic and religious origins, their cultures and their
existence should be recognized and constitutionally protected;
Kurdish should be an elective course in schools;
A necessary infrastructure should be provided to make it possible
for Kurds to be educated in their native Kurdish;
Kurdology institutes should be established at universities;
State television should provide a few channels in the Kurdish language,
and there should be no restrictions on the private channels as far
as Kurdish broadcasting hours;
The changed names -- from Kurdish to Turkish -- of such places as
rivers, villages, mountains and plains should be reversed;
Affirmative action in terms of economic development should be practiced
in eastern and southeastern Turkey; in that regard, projects of such
organizations as the Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry
and others should be taken into consideration;
People of the region have been through a traumatic experience over
the years. For example, millions of people migrated, 3,000 villages
have been evacuated, 4,000 people have been killed and their murders
still have not been solved, and nearly half a million people have
been through detention and torture. They need a serious rehabilitation
project.
As a gesture, Diyarbakır Prison, infamous for its conditions, should
be either destroyed and a monument should replace it, or it should
be shut down and turned into a museum;
About 45 percent of the Kurdish population is under 15 years of age
and 64 percent is under 25 years of age. And there is an unemployment
problem waiting to be solved.
In the region, women have been subject to murder for traditional
reasons, and they need education and a rehabilitation project;
Following a full cease-fire, a general amnesty should be considered;
and
Turkey should develop friendly relations with the northern Iraqi
Kurdish regional administration. Turkey should support the northern
Iraqi regime culturally, economically and politically.
Kurdish writer and intellectual Altan Tan
Born in the southeastern province of Batman in 1958, he is the son of
Bedii Tan, a venerable businessman from the region who was arrested
in the aftermath of the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup though he was
not related to the Kurdish cause. Bedii Tan was tortured to death
in prison.
Altan Tan, who studied architecture and engineering, earns his living
as a contractor and has been in and out of Islamic-oriented political
movements. He joined the Welfare Party (RP) in 1987 and became its
Southeast watchdog but left the party when it went into coalition
with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 1991. He was also in the
administration of the now defunct Kurdish People's Democracy Party
(HADEP) from 2000-2002.
He has published various political periodicals and authored the
upcoming book "Kurt Sorunu: Ya Tam KardeÅ~_lik Ya Hep Birlikte
Kölelik" (The Kurdish Problem: Either Full Brotherhood or Slavery
Altogether).
--Boundary_(ID_tGUcKyPvAQoFJ HEzH/7TUw)--
Today's Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey
Kurdish intellectual and writer Altan Tan has said that the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not the same AK Party
that the Kurds fell in love with and that sooner or later there will
be alternatives to it.
"The AK Party takes its strength from the lack of viable alternatives;
however, this cannot last forever," Tan said. "The AK Party may save
the day for the March 2009 local elections, but after that the public
will create its own alternatives. A party that holds on to the status
quo cannot retain its power in Turkey."
"Turkey's problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy could
even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps first
recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people." he said.
Critics have increasingly questioned the Kurdish policies of the
government, which won almost half of the vote in the country's
predominantly Kurdish-populated provinces in the July 22 general
elections last year. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been
getting more attention recently with his unsettling remarks about
the Kurdish population.
For Monday Talk, Tan elaborated on the issue.
You have just come back from Diyarbakır. Could you tell us about
the political climate there?
Diyarbakır is a politicized city, and it is the center of the Kurdish
movement. Since the elections last year, people of the region had
high hopes about a solution to the Kurdish problem, but their hopes
have almost faded, especially because the government stands close to
the military guardianship regime.
When exactly did Kurds start to feel that their expectations would
not be met?
When somebody falls in love, there is always a suspicion. There is
always a feeling of "what if?" and those questions have intensified
with the shelving of the project to make a new constitution. The prime
minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] promised last year in October that
he would have completed work on the new constitution in December and
would have a public referendum this year. Then came the closure case
against the AK Party, and the government did not do what is expected
of it in the process.
What were the expectations then?
For example, the government could have changed the status of
the Constitutional Court so it would not have dominance over
Parliament. Instead, they have chosen to negotiate with some
institutions.
What institutions are these?
Such institutions of the establishment as the Constitutional Court
and the military. Then some of the prime minister's advisers told
him that since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, it had been
always the Republican People's Party [CHP] that has been close to the
military and that for the first time a right-wing party, the AK Party,
had the opportunity of a closer relationship with the military. The
idea was that this relationship should be strengthened, and only
after that alliance reforms can be considered.
Is this realistic?
The military is this nation's military, of course, and the military men
are the children of this country. However, the military has a different
mentality than civilians. And with a military mentality, we cannot find
solutions to the problems, such as the Kurdish problem, the Armenian
problem, the Alevi problem, obstacles facing higher education and
so on. Is the government going to solve those problems, or continue
with the status quo? If there is an alliance with the establishment,
then this means a submission on the part of the government. This is the
way Kurds see it, Alevis see it and Islamic circles see it. We say no
to submission but yes to democracy. and a compromise is possible only
in a democratic environment that complies with universal standards.
What do Kurds want?
There is so much talk about a federal system and autonomy for
Kurds. What is it exactly that Kurds want?
Turkey's problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy
could even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps
first recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people. Then a general amnesty can be considered after a cease-fire
and after society calms down. If you try to start with a general
amnesty, it would create more conflict between ethnic Kurds and
Turks. A much-debated law to bring home Kurds who are involved in
terrorism would not be useful at all without having a better situation
at home. And the Kurdish problem should be separately handled than
the problem of terrorism. They may be related, but solutions should
be considered separately.
One day we hear of a new reform package for Kurds, and the next day
we hear nationalistic approaches. What is the AK Party government
trying to do?
They are just trying to save the day.
Why?
There are several reasons. The prime minister did not have a vision
similar to the late President Turgut Ozal, whose mind was set to
solve the Kurdish issue. And the prime minister's team involves
ultranationalists and even fascists in addition to liberals and
Muslim democrats. However, his main team responds to the demands
of the status quo by submission. In addition, there are internal
factors, such as the military guardianship, preventing Turkey's
way to democratization. In order to overcome this situation, the
government needs to take a firm stance against it but falls short of
doing it. And it is not easy to take a firm stance when there are
attempts for military coups and assassination threats, so internal
conditions are not really favorable. Still, the government needs to
take a stance to solve the problems.
How?
They should be ready to pay the price. [the late French President
Charles] de Gaulle lost in the election after solving the problems
with Algeria. He left politics. [the late British President]
Winston Churchill took the country successfully out of World War II
but left the following election. But we -- the whole world -- know
about Churchill and de Gaulle, not the people who won the elections
after them. However, the AK Party is just trying to save the day,
calculating that there is no alternative to the CHP but the AK Party.
Could the AK Party still have the votes of the Kurdish people of
the Southeast?
The AK Party is not the same AK Party that the Kurds fell in love
with. Kurds also face the dilemma of not having an alternative. The DTP
[pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party] does not meet the demands of the
Kurds, either. Therefore, the AK Party derives its strength from the
lack of viable alternatives; however, this cannot last forever. The
AK Party may save the day for the March 2009 local elections, but
after that the public will create its own alternatives. A party which
holds on to the status quo cannot retain its power in Turkey. That has
been same with the True Path Party [DYP], Motherland Party [ANAP, now
ANAVATAN] and the Welfare Party [RP]. Even though Necmettin Erbakan
[former leader of the now-defunct RP] submitted to the system, he
was disqualified.
What would happen if the AK Party wins Diyarbakır?
AK Party politicians have a cunning calculation. They think that if
they win over the DTP, then that means winning over the PKK [outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party]. This is not true at all because even if
the PKK is finished off, the Kurdish problem would remain unless
democratic steps toward a solution have been taken.
If there were elections today, which one do you think will be the
winner in the Southeast, the DTP or the AK Party?
Fifty percent of Kurds support neither the DTP nor the AK
Party. There is serious talk about boycotting the elections or
supporting independents. Still the DTP is ahead of the AK Party,
but you never know. Twenty-four hours is a short time in politics.
Have the DTP municipalities improved their services?
They have improved their services a lot. Streets are clean in the
Southeast. And they also distribute food aid to the needy like the
AK Party, even though they criticized the AK Party for doing it before.
'Tension will increase'
What do you expect in the coming days when there is such a climate
of tension between ethnic Kurds and Turks?
There is a climate of tension, and the tension will increase. The
efforts to make a new constitution have been shelved, expectations
of the Islamic camp have not been discussed and economic expectations
of the lower and middle classes have not been discussed, either. The
discussion has been centered on the Kurdish question. The current
situation has benefited the status quo. The government has been
taken over, and the operation is complete. This could last until an
alternative emerges.
Do you think any steps by the government could change the situation
for the better?
The first urgent step would be to make Kurdish an elective course in
schools, Kurdish television channels should be established and then
a general amnesty should be declared.
What should the DTP do?
All violence should be stopped. If they say it is the PKK that acts
violently and not them, then they should call on the PKK to stop the
violence. Even if unilaterally, violence should stop.
President Abdullah Gul had called on the Kurdish deputies to come
together and produce solutions. Why can they not gather?
The prime minister should allow them to go to that meeting, but
apparently he is not.
Why not?
He may be making the calculations I have mentioned previously, and
he does not care about a real solution to the problem.
Could the recent rapprochement with the northern Iraqi leadership
help to finish off the PKK?
Massoud Barzani does not have the power to fight the PKK. He tried to
do it in the past and lost 3,000 of his peshmerga troops. Relations
with Barzani should not be based on the plans about taking down the
PKK because such a relationship would not be a lasting one.
Tan explains demands of the Kurds living in Turkey
The concept of citizenship should be more broadly defined to
embrace citizens of all ethnic and religious origins in the new
constitution. Or the new constitution should not try to define
citizenship at all;
People of all ethnic and religious origins, their cultures and their
existence should be recognized and constitutionally protected;
Kurdish should be an elective course in schools;
A necessary infrastructure should be provided to make it possible
for Kurds to be educated in their native Kurdish;
Kurdology institutes should be established at universities;
State television should provide a few channels in the Kurdish language,
and there should be no restrictions on the private channels as far
as Kurdish broadcasting hours;
The changed names -- from Kurdish to Turkish -- of such places as
rivers, villages, mountains and plains should be reversed;
Affirmative action in terms of economic development should be practiced
in eastern and southeastern Turkey; in that regard, projects of such
organizations as the Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry
and others should be taken into consideration;
People of the region have been through a traumatic experience over
the years. For example, millions of people migrated, 3,000 villages
have been evacuated, 4,000 people have been killed and their murders
still have not been solved, and nearly half a million people have
been through detention and torture. They need a serious rehabilitation
project.
As a gesture, Diyarbakır Prison, infamous for its conditions, should
be either destroyed and a monument should replace it, or it should
be shut down and turned into a museum;
About 45 percent of the Kurdish population is under 15 years of age
and 64 percent is under 25 years of age. And there is an unemployment
problem waiting to be solved.
In the region, women have been subject to murder for traditional
reasons, and they need education and a rehabilitation project;
Following a full cease-fire, a general amnesty should be considered;
and
Turkey should develop friendly relations with the northern Iraqi
Kurdish regional administration. Turkey should support the northern
Iraqi regime culturally, economically and politically.
Kurdish writer and intellectual Altan Tan
Born in the southeastern province of Batman in 1958, he is the son of
Bedii Tan, a venerable businessman from the region who was arrested
in the aftermath of the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup though he was
not related to the Kurdish cause. Bedii Tan was tortured to death
in prison.
Altan Tan, who studied architecture and engineering, earns his living
as a contractor and has been in and out of Islamic-oriented political
movements. He joined the Welfare Party (RP) in 1987 and became its
Southeast watchdog but left the party when it went into coalition
with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 1991. He was also in the
administration of the now defunct Kurdish People's Democracy Party
(HADEP) from 2000-2002.
He has published various political periodicals and authored the
upcoming book "Kurt Sorunu: Ya Tam KardeÅ~_lik Ya Hep Birlikte
Kölelik" (The Kurdish Problem: Either Full Brotherhood or Slavery
Altogether).
--Boundary_(ID_tGUcKyPvAQoFJ HEzH/7TUw)--