A recent crisis over the Kurdish question may turn into an opportunity for a durable solution.
I see an open window of opportunity with two components. Firstly, the military has realized the limits of a security-based approach. It is clear to them that a new approach is required to address the social and political aspects of the Kurdish question. Some high-ranking generals now talk of past mistakes and the need for “bringing down the PKK militants from the mountains” and “making them lay down their arms.” These could not be uttered a few months ago.
Secondly, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has understood that it is no longer possible to ignore the Kurdish question in the face of increasing terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) coupled with developments in northern Iraq. Well, I do not think that the government has a comprehensive plan to settle the issue. Yet an inclusive dialogue that recognizes the Kurdish identity, an emphasis on democratic representation and social-economic measures might be the basis of a more detailed program to be developed.
The fact that the AK Party has recognized the Kurdish question as central to the government of Turkey is a breakthrough in itself. The AK Party is clearly in a position to push for a solution to the Kurdish question. Recently two developments have encouraged the AK Party leadership to take some initiatives on this issue. Firstly, the AK Party’s stunning election victory in the Kurdish-populated cities boosted the confidence of the party leadership to tackle this thorny issue. Secondly, it seems that the military has come to regard the AK Party as the last chance to resolve the problem within a notion of a unitary state given its electoral performance in the region. The AK Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is immensely popular among the Kurds of Turkey, can play the role of a broker in the settlement of the Kurdish question. This, to my understanding, is the prevailing view both in the security establishment and the AK Party circles.
The AK Party government used to be silent on the Kurdish question with some minor exceptions, a policy prompted by its search for acceptance from the security establishment. What the government could do was introduce some reforms within the framework of the process of EU accession. Moreover, economic policies and social spending by the government have certainly improved the economic situation in the region -- but that is it; the AK Party has never had a separate plan for the settlement of the Kurdish question.
In order not to increase its vulnerability in the eyes of the state elite, the AK Party has refrained from pursuing assertive policies on the Kurdish question. But what seems to be emerging today is that the AK Party can bridge the gap between the Kurdish people and the Turkish state and by doing so also make itself indispensable to the state elite. I think this is a historic opportunity for the AK Party government to prove that it is a party that unites all, Turks and Kurds. This is also a chance for the AK Party to resolve its sense of insecurity and vulnerability within the system.
Yet it is not only up to the government and the security establishment. Turkey’s western friends can and should play a constructive role in the process by separating the PKK and the Kurdish question and displaying their commitment to a democratic, inseparable and EU member Turkey.
The Democratic Society Party (DTP) is another player that needs to demonstrate its goodwill and democratic maturity by distancing itself from violence and defining itself as a capable political agent. By then the Kurdish question may be debated and eventually resolved without being seen as an existential threat to Turkey.
22.11.2007
I see an open window of opportunity with two components. Firstly, the military has realized the limits of a security-based approach. It is clear to them that a new approach is required to address the social and political aspects of the Kurdish question. Some high-ranking generals now talk of past mistakes and the need for “bringing down the PKK militants from the mountains” and “making them lay down their arms.” These could not be uttered a few months ago.
Secondly, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has understood that it is no longer possible to ignore the Kurdish question in the face of increasing terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) coupled with developments in northern Iraq. Well, I do not think that the government has a comprehensive plan to settle the issue. Yet an inclusive dialogue that recognizes the Kurdish identity, an emphasis on democratic representation and social-economic measures might be the basis of a more detailed program to be developed.
The fact that the AK Party has recognized the Kurdish question as central to the government of Turkey is a breakthrough in itself. The AK Party is clearly in a position to push for a solution to the Kurdish question. Recently two developments have encouraged the AK Party leadership to take some initiatives on this issue. Firstly, the AK Party’s stunning election victory in the Kurdish-populated cities boosted the confidence of the party leadership to tackle this thorny issue. Secondly, it seems that the military has come to regard the AK Party as the last chance to resolve the problem within a notion of a unitary state given its electoral performance in the region. The AK Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is immensely popular among the Kurds of Turkey, can play the role of a broker in the settlement of the Kurdish question. This, to my understanding, is the prevailing view both in the security establishment and the AK Party circles.
The AK Party government used to be silent on the Kurdish question with some minor exceptions, a policy prompted by its search for acceptance from the security establishment. What the government could do was introduce some reforms within the framework of the process of EU accession. Moreover, economic policies and social spending by the government have certainly improved the economic situation in the region -- but that is it; the AK Party has never had a separate plan for the settlement of the Kurdish question.
In order not to increase its vulnerability in the eyes of the state elite, the AK Party has refrained from pursuing assertive policies on the Kurdish question. But what seems to be emerging today is that the AK Party can bridge the gap between the Kurdish people and the Turkish state and by doing so also make itself indispensable to the state elite. I think this is a historic opportunity for the AK Party government to prove that it is a party that unites all, Turks and Kurds. This is also a chance for the AK Party to resolve its sense of insecurity and vulnerability within the system.
Yet it is not only up to the government and the security establishment. Turkey’s western friends can and should play a constructive role in the process by separating the PKK and the Kurdish question and displaying their commitment to a democratic, inseparable and EU member Turkey.
The Democratic Society Party (DTP) is another player that needs to demonstrate its goodwill and democratic maturity by distancing itself from violence and defining itself as a capable political agent. By then the Kurdish question may be debated and eventually resolved without being seen as an existential threat to Turkey.
22.11.2007
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