Silencing Guns Important New Opportunity

While Turkey has lost a vast opportunity between 1999 when outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured and about a year and a half ago when the organization intensified its attacks, the period ahead could be an important new opportunity to address the country's Kurdish problem, says Prof. Dr. Beril Dedeoglu of the Galatasary University International Affairs Department.

Speaking to bianet on the possibility of the silencing of guns in Southeast Turkey, Dedeoglu said "addressing the Kurdish problem and waiting for the guns to be silenced are different issues. The state does not have the luxury to wait for the guns to be silenced to address the Kurdish problem".

According to Dedeoglu a number of issues have to be addressed properly in finding a solution to the ongoing crisis. On top of these are the problems of the Kurdish people in integrating in the system itself and the perception by authorities of their role as alleged PKK-supporters.

"The Kurdish people have problems stemming from not being able to be integrated in the system" she explained.

"An understanding pretending this is not the case is not meaningful. Those who are not made part of the political, social mechanisms are almost pushed to express their demands through different channels. What this leads to is that decision makers regard them as a community sharing the same action".

But not all is lost even though a greater opportunity to address these issues existed immediately after Ocalan was put behind the bars and up till 2005 when the PKK revived and intensified its armed actions in the Southeast.

"If winning over, demands of structuring, development, addressing political demands are paid attention to, there are the grounds for a lasting solution" she said. Dedeoglu gave as example a step to lower the national electoral barrier of 10% which would allow for better and wider representation of the people and political parties in Parliament which could be a starting point.

Correct policy through discrimination

Dedeoglu noted that with the USA, Iraq and Turkey appointing representatives to solve the Kurdish problem, the problem itself had two dimensions.

"One side of the PKK problem is in Turkey, the other side is in Northern Iraq" she said. "It is not correct to attribute the problem only to north Iraq".

The most successful policy in making peace and the silencing of guns lasting, Dedeoglu argued, "is by discriminating between the Kurdish population in Turkey and the PKK militants".

"In other words, one should stop the conception that a large majority of the whole of the Kurds are in similar lines with the PKK. It is not meaningful to see the political demands of various Kurdish sections as if it was the PKK or separatism. These demands, the movement, should be brought into the political mechanism. Otherwise, the more they are excluded, the less there will be chance for a solution".

According to Dedeoglu, there is the need for the country's security forces to recognize whether they are fighting the people or the organization, which goes through creating confidence, and trust among the people.

"It is important that the Kurdish population have trust in the state and not in the persons or individuals inclined towards terror" she said. "If one thinks that this relationship of trust has not been formed, no matter how much you control the borders, or control arms smuggling, it will not be possible to get out of this situation, a situation where the guns are talking, in a lasting way". (TK/EK/II/YE)