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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 24 2011
CHP in disarray after PM Erdoğan's call for apology over Dersim killings
24 November 2011, Thursday / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, İSTANBUL
CHP Diyarbakır Branch Chairman Muzaffer Değer said Erdoğan did what
the CHP should have done by apologizing for the Dersim massacre on
behalf of the Turkish state. (Photo:Cihan) In inset picture, CHP
leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
A call by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) to apologize for the killing of
thousands of people in the Kurdish-Alevi region of Dersim in the 1930s
has caused disarray within the CHP.
CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Akif Hamzaçebi was the first
CHP official to respond to Erdoğan and accuse him of engaging in
separatism. "The prime minister is spreading hatred, anger and
animosity. He is engaging in separatism. The prime minister has
launched a war against the republic. Next is [Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk,"
he said.
Then, CHP Deputy Chairman Gürsel Tekin reacted to Erdoğan's words in a
written statement and also accused Erdoğan of inciting animosity among
people. "He has been successful in creating animosity among the
people. We learned our history, thanks to him. What else is left to
say? What is the next step for the prime minister? What is the end
goal of his campaign?" he said.
However, in an apparently contradictory reaction, CHP Diyarbakır
provincial branch chairman Muzaffer Değer said hours after Erdoğan's
call that the prime minister did what the CHP should have done by
apologizing for Dersim on behalf of the Turkish state. He said the CHP
administration should also confront its past and apologize.
Hours after Değer's apology, the CHP corrected what it said was
confusion over the apology for Dersim offered by Değer, claiming that
the politician was not the CHP's provincial branch chairman when he
made the remarks. The CHP said it had dismissed the politician before
he made the remarks in a statement it released. Değer said on Thursday
that the CHP administration cannot act like "tribes," and he is still
holding his post.
On Wednesday, PM Erdoğan had offered an apology for the killings of
13,806 people in the southeastern town of Dersim -- now known as
Tunceli as a result of a name change in 1936 -- between 1936 and 1939.
The apology came after a war of words between Erdoğan and CHP leader
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Erdoğan called on the CHP leader to offer
apologies as well, as the CHP led the country during the one-party era
and during the massacre.
Kılıçdaroğlu on Thursday failed to offer an apology, but called on the
government to release documents from the state archives that pertain
to Dersim.
"Why are not you opening the archives of the Turkish Republic? An
earlier proposal we filed [to open the archives] in 2002 was rejected
by the [Justice and Development Party] AK Party. You have to be
sincere in facing up to history," he said.
Referring to some archival documents regarding the massacre in Dersim,
which were made public by Erdoğan on Wednesday, Kılıçdaroğlu said the
documents were not unknown to the public.
"Opening state archives is not enough," Kılıçdaroğlu continued, saying
the state should return the property of people from Dersim who were
deported. "[The people of] Dersim will not let the AK Party exploit
their pain," he added.
The much-debated Dersim massacre concerns the deaths of tens of
thousands of Kurdish Alevis at the hands of the military in 1937.
According to a document Erdoğan revealed on Wednesday, which was dated
1939, a total of 13,806 people were killed in operations carried out
against the people of Dersim between 1936 and 1939.
Many researchers who study the Dersim massacre told Today's Zaman that
the apology of the prime minister was significant.
"The apology also assigned some responsibility to the state and the
society. Both the state and political parties cannot behave as they
behaved yesterday regarding this issue," said Cafer Solgun, chairman
of the Confrontation with the Past Association.
According to Şükrü Aslan, a sociologist at İstanbul's Mimar Sinan
University and a writer from Dersim, Erdoğan's words were important.
"It was a first in Turkey for a prime minister to call what happened
in Dersim a massacre, and say that it was not a rebellion and was
planned well in advance," he said. "This forces other parties, like
the CHP and the MHP [Nationalist Movement Party], to develop new
polices about it."
Aslan added that since Erdoğan in his speech associated many people
responsible for the Dersim massacre -- like Ali Çetinkaya, İsmet İnönü
and Şükrü Kaya -- with the CHP, it would have been better if he
associated Celal Bayar, who was the prime minister at the time, with
the conservative right in Turkey.
Contacted by Today's Zaman, İstanbul CHP deputy Melda Onur said that
what is important is a debate within the CHP related to the issue of
Dersim, not the prime minister's apology.
"The issue has not been fully debated in the CHP. It's a communication
error that the issue has come to the public arena before the CHP fully
debated it inside," she said. Asked if CHP is now strategizing on how
to handle this debate or if it is under pressure to do so, she said
that the issue is related to the history of the state, and she is not
knowledgeable about the historical facts of the time.
The issue of Dersim was first brought to the fore by the CHP deputy
chairman Onur Öymen. In a speech in Parliament in November 2009, Öymen
was defensive of the Dersim massacre. His remarks + left Alevis, who
traditionally give considerable support to the CHP, infuriated. More
recently, CHP's Tunceli (formerly Dersim) deputy Hüseyin Aygün said
that the1937 Dersim massacre occurred with the consent of the state
and ruling CHP party, which led the country during the one-party era.
As opposed to the neo-nationalist argument, Aygün also said that
Dersim massacre occurred with the knowledge of Atatürk.
Acting independent of the CHP decision-making process, some 12 CHP
deputies demanded that Aygün be expelled from the party. Kılıçdaroğlu
accused the deputies of using the Aygün case to rebel against the
central party. Contacted by Today's Zaman, Aygün did not answer his
calls.
Tarhan Erdem, who was a long-time member of the CHP where he served in
various posts ranging from member of an executive committee to general
secretary, said that CHP statements do not seem to come out as a
result of a well-thought process.
"Kılıçdaroğlu's statements have been full of contradictions even
though they are mainly neo-nationalistic," he said. "It will be hard
for anybody to speak up in the CHP out of the neo-nationalistic line,
until a new chairman is elected."
Regarding PM Erdoğan's remarks blaming the CHP for the Dersim
massacre, Erdem said that the CHP of the time was ruling in the
one-party era of Turkey, and it consisted of both right and left wing
elements.
"It was not right for the prime minister to put all the blame on
today's CHP which was founded in 1992," he said in reference to the
CHP's reopening on Sept. 9, 1992, after it was closed following the
Sept. 12, 1980 military coup regime; the party was originally founded
by Atatürk on Sept. 9, 1923. "But it was the right move to issue an
apology and also invite Kılıçdaroğlu to issue an apology."
According to former CHP deputy chairman İnal Batu, it will be hard for
the CHP to come clean out of this "troubling situation."
"The party took a hard beating. I watch what's happening with
sadness," he said. "Kılıçdaroğlu is in a difficult position."
Asked if the CHP can find new strategies to save the party's posture,
he said that this can happen only if a new generation of progressive
politicians takes over the party. "Otherwise, heroes of the Dersim
crisis would be in power in the party taking it to further ruin," he
said.
Meanwhile, Hubyar Sultan Alevi Cultural Association chairman Ali
Kenanoğlu said that there is a need to establish a commission in
Parliament to reveal what exactly happened in Dersim. He also said
that families who suffered as a result of the elimination campaign in
Dersim need to be compensated; in addition, the original name of
Dersim should be given to Tunceli.
"This apology has been pleasing to Alevis, especially to the people of
Dersim. The apology means that the savagery, the massacre were
accepted," he said. "But if you use the apology just to corner the
opposition, it would lose its meaning. In order to prove that this
apology is sincere, results of the massacre should be eliminated as
the victims need to be compensated."
However, Democratic Party (DP) leader Namık Kemal Zeybek said the
prime minister does not have a right to issue an apology because the
authority to represent the state belongs to the president.
In addition, MHP's Kayseri deputy who formerly headed the Turkish
Historical Society (TTK) said that in order for the prime minister to
issue an apology, there needs to be a decision made Parliament.
----------------------------------------------------------------
EU's Füle welcomes Erdoğan's apology over Dersim
European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle has welcomed a
recent apology offered by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
for the killing of thousands of people in the Kurdish-Alevi region of
Dersim during the 1930s.
"All gestures aiming to address divisive issues of the past in a
spirit of reconciliation strengthen democracy and tolerance in Turkey
and are thus most welcome," Füle told Today's Zaman. The Dersim
massacre concerns the deaths of tens of thousands of Alevis at the
hands of the military in 1937. In a historic move on Wednesday,
Erdoğan said he "apologizes for Dersim on behalf of the Turkish
state." He also called on the main opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP), who was part of the single-party government of the time,
to offer an apology as well, referring to the party as "the actual
culprit" in the massacre. Selçuk Gültaşlı Brussels
From: Baghdasarian
Nov 24 2011
CHP in disarray after PM Erdoğan's call for apology over Dersim killings
24 November 2011, Thursday / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, İSTANBUL
CHP Diyarbakır Branch Chairman Muzaffer Değer said Erdoğan did what
the CHP should have done by apologizing for the Dersim massacre on
behalf of the Turkish state. (Photo:Cihan) In inset picture, CHP
leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
A call by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) to apologize for the killing of
thousands of people in the Kurdish-Alevi region of Dersim in the 1930s
has caused disarray within the CHP.
CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Akif Hamzaçebi was the first
CHP official to respond to Erdoğan and accuse him of engaging in
separatism. "The prime minister is spreading hatred, anger and
animosity. He is engaging in separatism. The prime minister has
launched a war against the republic. Next is [Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk,"
he said.
Then, CHP Deputy Chairman Gürsel Tekin reacted to Erdoğan's words in a
written statement and also accused Erdoğan of inciting animosity among
people. "He has been successful in creating animosity among the
people. We learned our history, thanks to him. What else is left to
say? What is the next step for the prime minister? What is the end
goal of his campaign?" he said.
However, in an apparently contradictory reaction, CHP Diyarbakır
provincial branch chairman Muzaffer Değer said hours after Erdoğan's
call that the prime minister did what the CHP should have done by
apologizing for Dersim on behalf of the Turkish state. He said the CHP
administration should also confront its past and apologize.
Hours after Değer's apology, the CHP corrected what it said was
confusion over the apology for Dersim offered by Değer, claiming that
the politician was not the CHP's provincial branch chairman when he
made the remarks. The CHP said it had dismissed the politician before
he made the remarks in a statement it released. Değer said on Thursday
that the CHP administration cannot act like "tribes," and he is still
holding his post.
On Wednesday, PM Erdoğan had offered an apology for the killings of
13,806 people in the southeastern town of Dersim -- now known as
Tunceli as a result of a name change in 1936 -- between 1936 and 1939.
The apology came after a war of words between Erdoğan and CHP leader
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Erdoğan called on the CHP leader to offer
apologies as well, as the CHP led the country during the one-party era
and during the massacre.
Kılıçdaroğlu on Thursday failed to offer an apology, but called on the
government to release documents from the state archives that pertain
to Dersim.
"Why are not you opening the archives of the Turkish Republic? An
earlier proposal we filed [to open the archives] in 2002 was rejected
by the [Justice and Development Party] AK Party. You have to be
sincere in facing up to history," he said.
Referring to some archival documents regarding the massacre in Dersim,
which were made public by Erdoğan on Wednesday, Kılıçdaroğlu said the
documents were not unknown to the public.
"Opening state archives is not enough," Kılıçdaroğlu continued, saying
the state should return the property of people from Dersim who were
deported. "[The people of] Dersim will not let the AK Party exploit
their pain," he added.
The much-debated Dersim massacre concerns the deaths of tens of
thousands of Kurdish Alevis at the hands of the military in 1937.
According to a document Erdoğan revealed on Wednesday, which was dated
1939, a total of 13,806 people were killed in operations carried out
against the people of Dersim between 1936 and 1939.
Many researchers who study the Dersim massacre told Today's Zaman that
the apology of the prime minister was significant.
"The apology also assigned some responsibility to the state and the
society. Both the state and political parties cannot behave as they
behaved yesterday regarding this issue," said Cafer Solgun, chairman
of the Confrontation with the Past Association.
According to Şükrü Aslan, a sociologist at İstanbul's Mimar Sinan
University and a writer from Dersim, Erdoğan's words were important.
"It was a first in Turkey for a prime minister to call what happened
in Dersim a massacre, and say that it was not a rebellion and was
planned well in advance," he said. "This forces other parties, like
the CHP and the MHP [Nationalist Movement Party], to develop new
polices about it."
Aslan added that since Erdoğan in his speech associated many people
responsible for the Dersim massacre -- like Ali Çetinkaya, İsmet İnönü
and Şükrü Kaya -- with the CHP, it would have been better if he
associated Celal Bayar, who was the prime minister at the time, with
the conservative right in Turkey.
Contacted by Today's Zaman, İstanbul CHP deputy Melda Onur said that
what is important is a debate within the CHP related to the issue of
Dersim, not the prime minister's apology.
"The issue has not been fully debated in the CHP. It's a communication
error that the issue has come to the public arena before the CHP fully
debated it inside," she said. Asked if CHP is now strategizing on how
to handle this debate or if it is under pressure to do so, she said
that the issue is related to the history of the state, and she is not
knowledgeable about the historical facts of the time.
The issue of Dersim was first brought to the fore by the CHP deputy
chairman Onur Öymen. In a speech in Parliament in November 2009, Öymen
was defensive of the Dersim massacre. His remarks + left Alevis, who
traditionally give considerable support to the CHP, infuriated. More
recently, CHP's Tunceli (formerly Dersim) deputy Hüseyin Aygün said
that the1937 Dersim massacre occurred with the consent of the state
and ruling CHP party, which led the country during the one-party era.
As opposed to the neo-nationalist argument, Aygün also said that
Dersim massacre occurred with the knowledge of Atatürk.
Acting independent of the CHP decision-making process, some 12 CHP
deputies demanded that Aygün be expelled from the party. Kılıçdaroğlu
accused the deputies of using the Aygün case to rebel against the
central party. Contacted by Today's Zaman, Aygün did not answer his
calls.
Tarhan Erdem, who was a long-time member of the CHP where he served in
various posts ranging from member of an executive committee to general
secretary, said that CHP statements do not seem to come out as a
result of a well-thought process.
"Kılıçdaroğlu's statements have been full of contradictions even
though they are mainly neo-nationalistic," he said. "It will be hard
for anybody to speak up in the CHP out of the neo-nationalistic line,
until a new chairman is elected."
Regarding PM Erdoğan's remarks blaming the CHP for the Dersim
massacre, Erdem said that the CHP of the time was ruling in the
one-party era of Turkey, and it consisted of both right and left wing
elements.
"It was not right for the prime minister to put all the blame on
today's CHP which was founded in 1992," he said in reference to the
CHP's reopening on Sept. 9, 1992, after it was closed following the
Sept. 12, 1980 military coup regime; the party was originally founded
by Atatürk on Sept. 9, 1923. "But it was the right move to issue an
apology and also invite Kılıçdaroğlu to issue an apology."
According to former CHP deputy chairman İnal Batu, it will be hard for
the CHP to come clean out of this "troubling situation."
"The party took a hard beating. I watch what's happening with
sadness," he said. "Kılıçdaroğlu is in a difficult position."
Asked if the CHP can find new strategies to save the party's posture,
he said that this can happen only if a new generation of progressive
politicians takes over the party. "Otherwise, heroes of the Dersim
crisis would be in power in the party taking it to further ruin," he
said.
Meanwhile, Hubyar Sultan Alevi Cultural Association chairman Ali
Kenanoğlu said that there is a need to establish a commission in
Parliament to reveal what exactly happened in Dersim. He also said
that families who suffered as a result of the elimination campaign in
Dersim need to be compensated; in addition, the original name of
Dersim should be given to Tunceli.
"This apology has been pleasing to Alevis, especially to the people of
Dersim. The apology means that the savagery, the massacre were
accepted," he said. "But if you use the apology just to corner the
opposition, it would lose its meaning. In order to prove that this
apology is sincere, results of the massacre should be eliminated as
the victims need to be compensated."
However, Democratic Party (DP) leader Namık Kemal Zeybek said the
prime minister does not have a right to issue an apology because the
authority to represent the state belongs to the president.
In addition, MHP's Kayseri deputy who formerly headed the Turkish
Historical Society (TTK) said that in order for the prime minister to
issue an apology, there needs to be a decision made Parliament.
----------------------------------------------------------------
EU's Füle welcomes Erdoğan's apology over Dersim
European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle has welcomed a
recent apology offered by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
for the killing of thousands of people in the Kurdish-Alevi region of
Dersim during the 1930s.
"All gestures aiming to address divisive issues of the past in a
spirit of reconciliation strengthen democracy and tolerance in Turkey
and are thus most welcome," Füle told Today's Zaman. The Dersim
massacre concerns the deaths of tens of thousands of Alevis at the
hands of the military in 1937. In a historic move on Wednesday,
Erdoğan said he "apologizes for Dersim on behalf of the Turkish
state." He also called on the main opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP), who was part of the single-party government of the time,
to offer an apology as well, referring to the party as "the actual
culprit" in the massacre. Selçuk Gültaşlı Brussels
From: Baghdasarian