[lg policy] TURKEY: ANKARA WRESTLES WITH CIVIL SOLUTION FOR KURDISH ISSUE

[Harold Schiffman]

TURKEY: ANKARA WRESTLES WITH CIVIL SOLUTION FOR KURDISH ISSUE
Yigal Schleifer 12/09/09



Official rhetoric in recent months has fostered hope that Turkey can
implement a civilian - rather than a military - solution to its
decades-long Kurdish problem. Those hopes, however, remain fragile --
a fact underscored by the opening of a court case that could result in
the banning of the country’s major pro-Kurdish political party. Over
the summer, Turkish Interior Minister, Besir Atalay, speaking during a
nationally televised news conference, said that the government is
actively working on a comprehensive plan, one based on democratization
and expanded rights. "We have the intention to take determined,
patient and courageous steps," he said. "This can be seen as a new
stage."

On November 13, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government
unveiled in a historic debate in parliament parts of this
"democratization initiative," which include the easing of restrictions
on private Kurdish-language television stations and Kurdish language
faculties in universities, as well allowing towns and villages to use
their original Kurdish names once again. "Today is the beginning of a
new timeline and a fresh start," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
told parliament. "We took a courageous step to resolve chronic issues
that constitute an obstacle along Turkey’s development, progression
and empowerment, and we are very sincere."

But now there are growing concerns that the government’s efforts could
be undermined by renewed tensions in Turkey’s predominately Kurdish
southeast.

Protests were held in several cities in the region this past weekend,
including one where a 23-year-old university student was killed by a
bullet to the back. The trigger for the protests were reports that
conditions have worsened for jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
leader Abdullah Ocalan since he was moved into a new facility on the
island prison that has been his home since 1999.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s highest court on December 8 started hearing a case
which could lead to the closure of the Democratic Society Party (DTP),
the only pro-Kurdish party in parliament. Prosecutors contend that the
party has violated Turkey’s constitution and has acted as a front for
the outlawed PKK. An indictment seeks not only the party’s closure,
but also the banning of some 220 of its members from participating in
political activity.

The DTP is the latest incarnation of a string of pro-Kurdish parties
that have been previously closed by court order, and observers worry
that its closing could further stoke tensions among Turkey’s Kurds.

But there is also concern that the party itself is standing in the way
of the government’s Kurdish reform program. Although party leaders
initially supported the government’s initiative, members are now
distancing themselves from it, with DTP chairman Ahmet Turk recently
calling it "insufficient."

"For us, the ’democratic initiative’ is over," Emine Ayna, a top DTP
official recently told the Radikal newspaper.

"Instead of keeping the masses and youth out of the streets, instead
of supporting the moves to make life better for its voters, the DTP
has lately been in the lead in the escalation of violence," columnist
Yavuz Baydar recently wrote in Today’s Zaman, an English-language
daily.

"It now appears as a party with one single mission: Amnesty for, and
the release of Ocalan. It seems, too, that the diverse rhetoric from
the top echelons of the DTP has disappeared, silencing even moderate
and venerable figures such as the leader Ahmet Turk."

Despite the new tensions and the possibility of the DTP being shut
down, the government has insisted that it will continue with its
Kurdish reform program. But the recent violence in the southeast could
make it tougher for the government to push some of these reforms
through parliament.

For example, following the recent protests in the southeast, the
government put off a scheduled parliamentary debate over an amendment
that would make it harder for prosecutors to jail children who
participate in violent demonstrations.

Despite the recent hardening of the DTP’s rhetoric, observers say that
shutting the party down would be a mistake. "I totally disapprove of
their behavior but I oppose the party’s closure," said Sahin Alpay, a
professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University.

"It was such a mistake to close down these Kurdish parties in the
past," Alpay continued. "Had they not been closed down, they would
have become much stronger than the armed wing of the Kurdish movement.
But what we have here now is the opposite."


Editor's Note: Yigal Schleifer is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav120909.shtml

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