What is the real deal of the Ocalan-Erdogan peace process?

By Ahmet Abidin Ozbek:

“I was kept in prison for exactly two years without knowing why I was arrested”.

Political prisoner, Fusun Erdogan, January 2013, Gebze, Turkey

One thing we can be sure of is that the people of Turkey are hungry for peace and democracy. Nobody wants to see the dead bodies of soldiers, guerrillas or anyone else. An old woman tries to find her son’s body but no one knows where the mass grave is. Another lady tries to delay her husband’s service as a soldier in the Kurdish area. Businessmen or farmers are tired because they can’t make any investments. The people of Kurdistan can’t live peacefully in the western cities any more. The lynch-mob mentality has become routine from fascist gangs against the Kurdish people in Turkish cities.

I always believe that any problem can be fixed by negotiation or peace talks without killing each other. Unfortunately, the Turkish state has spent all its energy against its own people. This is one of the longest conflicts in human history. It is very clear that when regimes are strongly against full-democracy, they will create their own enemy as a matter of fact. So that’s why the PKK became a serious problem for the state.

In my opinion, regardless of conflicts, and ignorance, peace talks between the government and the PKK are a positive thing. Conversely, I have to be realistic about the circumstances. This is not first time we have tried to apply peace in Turkey and Kurdistan. It could take maybe years.

If we look to other countries, any kind of peace talks must be regulated by international authorities. We cannot achieve peace while one side is free and the other isn’t. Ocalan is a head of the PKK and yet he is in prison. On the other hand, the AKP is the government party that represents certain elites in the state. We don’t see if the other Kurdish groups or other political parties or unions of the Turkish state will be involved the process. In other words, we have started the peace talk process in very limited and fragile conditions. Limited because we don’t know of any details or benefits for Kurdish citizens. Very fragile because, if promises become empty, the PKK will find another way to start the armed conflict again. Or else the PKK will sooner or later split and continue the armed struggle.

I would like to state some of my concerns about the Turkish side. For example, there are political parties such as the MHP still in parliament. The MHP is not just a party but also a sophisticated mafia-style criminal organization which is responsible for massacres, disappearances and extrajudicial killings since the 1970s. The state didn’t close the party in spite of its wholesale crimes in the past. The MHP is one of the most fascist and criminal parties in the history of Turkey. The MHP’s Grey Wolves or armed militants targeted and killed many progressive, liberal, democrat and socialist people before the 1980s. They also re-organized after the last coup d’état particularly to target Kurdish people.

Actually, the official killing machine called the Special Forces has mostly hired its assassins from these fascist organizations since the 1980s. And, while the PKK declares a ceasefire, what about the military or police force activities in the Kurdish area? It is not clear.

My second worry is about the secular-democratic process. The AKP government party is strongly against secularism, while they are talking about a reform or peace process. The Christians, Alevis or Jewish people of Turkey are still not trusting the government because of what happened in the past. Especially, the Alevis believe that the AKP government doesn’t recognize Alevi minorities as a religion and will not approve any financial support for them. In fact, most of the Alevi people are secular and democratic and that’s why they are against the AKP political Islam regime. I don’t think it is so practical to separate secularism and democratic reforms. How can the AKP party apply the peace process only under the name of Islam or Gulenism? (By the way, it is unfortunate that my hero Siwan Perver said Fettullah Gulen is a good man without understanding his ultimate goal).

Sadly, Mr. Erdogan has become such a cult leader of the country. As we remember, a lot Kurdish guerillas, leaders or ordinary people lost their lives due to Ocalan’s orders. Ocalan became a cult figure for some people because of mixed feelings between respect and fear. Erdogan cannot give orders to kill people or execute them (even if he wishes this). But he has sent people to prison for years without real evidence.

I can’t dismiss the significance of what has happened between the government and the PKK recently. You might ask me if I am hopeful for peace. My answer is ‘yes and no’. Because the peace is a long process: it doesn’t come to fruition overnight. Yes, it sounds good to have peace in the land. But it is still too early to say what will happen. While the PKK has carried out Stalinist violence and unjustifiable crimes, the state has never been democratic in the last 100 years. We are talking about one of the longest wars in human history. The Kurds revolted many times against the Turkish state. This was the most recent revolt and it continued for about 30 years. The good point is that the PKK has finally decided to call a ceasefire (actually they have done this a couple of times before). The peace talks mean both sides must agree to radical decisions and changes. Of course, nobody expect these changes to happen suddenly. It is depend on a lot of factors.

I am an intellectual, scientist and political activist. I am looking positively for these changes in Turkey. I strongly believe in non-violence, and any kind of peace process is helpful for my people. On the other hand, I am realistic and sceptical about the situation. We are talking about a war that has continued over decades. The Kurdish question is not only a matter for the Turkish state also for Syria, Iraq, Iran and other places. So it is an international matter. But, if it is international matter, where are the third or fourth countries in the process? In other words, as the writer Ismail Besikci has said, Kurdistan is not a national but an international issue.

That’s why I don’t really understand what is the real deal of the Ocalan-Erdogan peace process.

The people of Turkey need to know what is the agenda or road for the peace process. Personally, I don’t see a chance for peace if the Turkish government is not willing to demilitarize Turkey and Kurdistan, change the constitution and democratize the press, court and judicial system. Also, the fundamental Islamic ideology has become more important than secular-democratic values.

There is huge hypocrisy by the Turkish regime. There are thousands of political prisoners held (kidnapped) without any clue or reason. Some of them are terminally ill or have already died in custody and this can be only due to a fascist system. There are thousands of killers – assassins who are responsible for mass graves, massacres and extrajudicial killings – allowed to go free. This same hypocrisy is displayed in Turkey’s international politics, such as in Syria. While Mr. Erdogan talks about democracy in Turkey, he is supporting openly Islamic radicals in Syria and he also talks openly against any form of Kurdish autonomy in Syria.

I would like end my article with the words of the American Indian philosopher V.E. Cordova*:

“My value system is built around the concept of human being that says all humans are equal and therefore deserving of respect”.

*How it is. 2006. The Native American Philosophy of V.E. Cordova.