Ihsan Bal Head of USAK Science Committee printable version send your friend

Friday, 11 December 2009

Turkey has been witnessing severe clashes in the streets since last week. In various cities, that DTP has directed groups of people, mostly children, to set fire to banks, stores and busses and attack everyone and everything. Why do they use such a method? Why is this method – contrary to the explanations of DTP – totally different from the situation encountered in Izmir? The street demonstrations reflect the desire to create both an anarchic and chaotic atmosphere. While some do not care about hurting people in the street that are unrelated to the incident, these actions are still being rationalized as a way of seeking justice, as well.    

Above all, Turkey’s illness of resorting to the use of violence in order to seek justice has to be left behind. What happened to the sayings about founding the future Turkey by integrating grievances with hope? Where are the people chasing after the unidentified murders while damning the Diyarbakır Prison? Isn’t it necessary to have a principled stance rejecting the use of violence as a means? The understanding of “if the person who uses violence in Turkey belongs to my group then it is a justified action, but if he is not then it is unjustified” is not only an unprincipled move but also it palls.    

If there are ones saying “No, we reject all these” in such an environment sincerely providing easy access to different social and political channels varying from parliament to media, and arts for seeking justice, then it can be called an imposition of bullying and violence to the society. The method of pushing for the improvement of the conditions of Ocalan’s prison cannot turn the streets into hell. The method of eliminating the barriers against Kurdish language is not threatening, blackmailing and terror, either. Citizens ought to act in line with democracy like demanding the Higher Education Council (YOK) open departments on Kurdish as Mardin University did or providing Kurdish plays in theatres as Van Theatre did with the allowance of the Ministry of Culture. It has to be known that Turkey is running out of patience against the people who try to mix the bad with the good and to create trouble by taking advantage of every opportunity. In short, we have to know that we cannot impose our secret agendas on society by testing their patience.   

If the politicians really think that they lack the power to stop the street unrest, then the state should use its authority within the framework of laws. Yet, some of the DTP members declare that all these actions are democratic reactions. If throwing stones at a DTP convoy is seen as a “fascist attack”, how can the violent actions of the organization-directed youth in other parts of the country be interpreted as a “democratic reaction”?   

The real point to be agreed on is that the road going to a powerful democracy and a strong rule of law based on human rights mainly passes through bettering the system in sync.        

Sharing the grievances of the past does not mean transferring the habits of yesterday to today. There cannot be any excuse or reason for using violence in Turkey anymore. No one should be under the illusion that the problems can be solved or concessions can be made by resorting to violence. In today’s Turkey, no “secret” agendas can be kept secret, and it can be observed that the ones who hide behind the violence or do not share the grievances of the Kurds panic more and more every passing day. Lately, some of the attitudes of defending the provocations as “democratic reactions” are noticed by Turks and Kurds. The period of letting some people, who forget that they live in a more transparent country, take advantage of the situation is left behind.    

Prof. Dr. Ihsan Bal
Director of USAK Center for Security Studies

Translated by Gamze Coskun
Edited by Kaitlin MacKenzie