Changing Turkish misconceptions on Kurds critical for Kurdish solution

02 May 2011, Monday
LALE KEMAL

The Turkish government deserves all the credit for initiating a Kurdish solution process back in 2009. This is despite the fact that it has not yielded much in the way of results, such as introducing legal measures to ease the problem, but this process has, for the first time, raised public awareness of the necessity to resolve the issue through non-military means.

In the meantime, expecting a quick solution to this centuries-old problem would be too optimistic as well, but if all political parties had been more determined to resolve the question, the issue would have been eased by now.

One of the main underlying causes of obstacles to the solution of the Kurdish question hindering Turkey's democratization process is the Turkish public's misconceptions about Kurds and the Kurdish armed uprising.

A British diplomat who used to serve at the British Embassy in Ankara told me that one of the difficulties in solving the problem has been the fact that, beyond the Kurdish-dominated southeastern parts of Turkey, where most of the 26-year fight against terror has taken place, most of the country has not felt the heat.

“The devastating effects of the fight have mostly been felt in the southeastern parts of Turkey. This prevents the population as a whole from understanding the essence of the problem,” he said.

Added to the problem is the state's centuries-old practice of brainwashing people in the Western parts of the country about the Kurds, who have been remembered for their uprisings since Ottoman times and portrayed negatively out of fear of Turkey's disintegration.

The emergence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) back in 1984, was the product of ill-conceived government policies that left the solution to the military, which can only solve the issue through the perspective of security.

Fifty-thousand people, mainly security forces and PKK militants, have died as a result of the fight against the outlawed group.

Solving the terrorism angle of the issue through non-military means is perhaps one of the most critical elements in resolving the problem as a whole. However, it requires courageous policies, such as introducing general amnesty for the militants in order to allow them to lay down their arms. None of the political parties appear to have come to the point of making such concessions over the terror aspect of the problem.

How Turkey's Western regions perceive the Kurds also stands as an important question to be answered in resolving the problem. In this sense, a study conducted by the İstanbul-based Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) can contribute to changing misperceptions in the Western parts of Turkey.

Positively changing the Turkish mindset on Kurds and the Kurdish question will facilitate the work of decision makers and opposition parties in taking legal steps to solve the problems, including education in the Kurdish language.

As part of its democratization program, the liberal think tank TESEV on April 25 published a new addition of their Kurdish report called, “How Legitimate Are The Kurds' Demands? The Kurdish Question Through The Lens Of Turkey's West,” written by Yılmaz Ensaroğlu and Dilek Kurban. The report was prepared after several roundtable discussions held in İzmir, Ankara, Mersin and Trabzon, all cities where Kurds do not constitute the majority of the population.

“The path to a solution will not be cleared if the social dimension of the problem is neglected, if the non-Turkish members and segments of society residing in Turkey are not taken into consideration and if a blind eye is turned to those segments' perceptions of the problem and the demands of Kurds,” the report stresses.

It goes on to say: “Thus, with the exception of a few individuals and organizations that closely monitor the Kurdish question, Turks build their understanding and opinions on the issue through the mainstream media and address the question itself only when a soldier's funeral is held in their respective village or town. This sort of engagement with the Kurdish question, needless to say, is not only problematic, but also presents serious risks for social peace. Moreover, the open exchange and discussion of opinions between different segments of society will also help establish a democratic culture and create the necessary conditions for coexistence. Only with this and similar methods can policy proposals for decision-makers have public legitimacy.”

Those who participated in TESEV meetings concluded that, just like many other problems that that have become severe, the Kurdish question stems from the state's seeking to homogenize society. Therefore, the statist discourse is what needs to be targeted first in order to solve the Kurdish question.

“All told, however, the path to a lasting solution is easy to follow: We must manage to be fair, want for ourselves what we would have wanted for others, and not do unto others what we do not want others do unto us,” the TESEV report concludes.

There is no need to add anything to the above quote.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-242578-changing-turkish-misconceptions-on-kurds-critical-for-kurdish-solution.html.