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Leyla Zana greets supporters
The world’s media is taking stock of the strong showing for the BDP in the Turkish general election and its likely impact on negotiations for a new constitution.
“After more than 25 years of conflict between the Turkish army and the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), the Kurdish movement is now a part of mainstream politics” writes Delphine Strauss in the UK Financial Times (FT).
“The BDP, the latest incarnation of a string of pro-Kurdish parties closed down by the courts for links to terrorism, exceeded even its own most optimistic expectations” she continues. “Its candidates – running as independents to get around election rules that tend to exclude smaller parties – not only swept the board in the mainly Kurdish south-east but also won seats in Istanbul and other cities with big Kurdish communities”.
Meghan L. O’Sullivan, a Harvard professor, and Bloomberg View columnist, is enthusiastic. “In Turkey, Kurds may be on the cusp of the most promising moment in decades to address their grievances” she writes. “The U.S. should support rejuvenated efforts to find an acceptable solution on an amnesty for Kurdish militants, to establish the right of Kurds to be educated in their own language, and to provide greater autonomy for the Kurdish region of Turkey”.
In an article headed ‘Kurdish Conflict Looms Large’, Burak Akinci of the AFP reminds us that real reform for the Kurds is not guaranteed:
“In the run-up to the polls, Erdogan markedly toughened his tone, declaring that ‘there is no longer a Kurdish problem’ and insisting on ‘one country, one nation, one flag’ “.
And a UK Guardian editorial cautions that, following the Turkish prime minister’s remarkable electoral triumph, “it is vital that Turkish society is able to place some limits around Mr Erdogan’s formidable ambitions”.
Voice of America News also strikes a cautious note in an article by Henry Ridgewell:
“The leader of the rebel Kurdish group PKK warns of a return to conflict in Turkey if the newly re-elected government does not meet the group’s demands for Kurdish autonomy. Much of the focus in the election campaign was on the economy. The long-standing Kurdish issue could derail Turkey’s political progress”.
“Erdogan is categorically opposed to education in Kurdish in schools, the main Kurdish demand,” says Deniz Zeyrek, a writer for the liberal daily Radikal. But he adds: “The political forces have no other choice but to overcome their differences and work towards a compromise on the Kurdish issue”.
The FT article also foresees a reasonable prospect for negotiations, partly because talks have already taken place between government party officials and the incarcerated leader of the PKK.
“The AK party has not denied media reports that officials have been visiting Imrali for talks with Mr Ocalan, who may no longer be able to control the PKK but is still a hero among the BDP’s supporters.
“Co-operation with the BDP may also become easier, as the newly elected deputies include moderates, rightwingers and religious politicians who are closer to the AK party’s thinking and do not share the BDP’s original ideology of Marxist militancy”.
The FT continues: “However, the party still includes firebrands who will take a much harder line.
“Among its deputies is Leyla Zana who first entered parliament in 1991, taking her oath in Kurdish and later spending a decade in jail for her links to the PKK.
‘Supporting us means supporting Ocalan, supporting our comrades in the mountains’, said Bengi Yildiz, another newly elected deputy”.
Lale Kemal in Today’s Zaman says a ‘Choice Between Peace and War’ now faces Turkey:
“People in the war-torn, Kurdish-dominated southeastern parts of Turkey where the fight has been felt intensively have gone through serious trauma. The fight is taking place between the Turkish security forces and the militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has shifted its policy from the creation of an independent Kurdistan to the achievement of wider autonomy, which Kurdish politicians describe as democratic autonomy.
“Ertuğrul Kürkçü, the symbolic name of Turkey’s socialist movement, who was elected as an independent deputy from Mersin with the support of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), says they seek equal citizenship and a joint nation (with the Kurds and Turks living together) that should be reflected in the new constitution. He stated during a press conference in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern province of Turkey that Turkey is at a crossroads. It will either find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question or the new Parliament will not last long. This is a very challenging statement but it is also true that Turkey is at a crossroads concerning the Kurdish issue”.
We give the final word to Ayla Akat Ata, a newly elected BDP deputy: “The people have answered those who say, ‘There is no Kurdish issue’ “.
