Monday, 19 October 2009
Security and terrorism expert Ihsan Bal has said the Turkish government has focused on grassroots level measures to combat the problem of terrorism and as a result adopted a democratization program involving social, economic and cultural reforms.
Answering questions for Monday Talk, he said this is a fresh approach for the “new Turkey.”
“The new Turkey is about a more confident country where people sincerely believe in democracy and democracy's ability to overcome difficulties such as the prevention of terrorism and some other long-lasting social problems, including not only the Kurdish issue but also some other religious and ethnic problems that can be cured within a state that has the rule of law.”
But he added that this understanding of democracy and the rule of law puts pressure on the state bureaucracy to abandon its old habit of maintaining the status quo.
The government and the main opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have been engaged in a fierce battle while the government has been seeking public consensus on the issue. The Kurdish part of the democratic initiative is expected to grant cultural and linguistic rights to the country's Kurds.
In the process, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has broken his policy of not engaging with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) -- because the DTP refuses to declare the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a terrorist organization -- and had a meeting with its leaders.
Professor Bal, who teaches at the Police Academy, has come under the spotlight after organizing a workshop with intellectuals on the Kurdish issue in relation to the government's democratic initiative. It was hosted by Interior Minister Besir Atalay at the Police Academy in August. MHP leader Devlet Bahceli characterized the participants as “bad men.”
What would you say about the workshop that has been harshly criticized by the nationalist leader?
We had several other conferences and workshops on the security issue. At that time we had brainstormed on the issue of terrorism with people mostly from the media. Our main topic was about how Turkey would be able to handle its democratization issues. We concluded that having a democratic approach to solve problems in Turkey is a new approach. In order to achieve success in that regard, there should be an environment conducive to free and constructive debate. One participant had an important comment.
What was it?
The participant said that if the state is no longer an opponent regarding a democratic initiative involving Kurds, then it is the opposition that would be against it. Obviously, the opposition MHP has taken on the role of being an ardent critic of the government's Kurdish initiative. Without knowing anything about the content of our meeting, MHP leader Bahçeli uttered the expression "bad men" for the participants of the workshop. His criticism towards us can be considered gentle in comparison to his criticism of remarks made by President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Erdoðan since he went so far as to accuse them of treason.
This was a serious charge. How do you think these words can be used so easily?
This is related to having a restricted vision of Turkey and about not being able to understand the direction where the new Turkey is going. His remarks present a populist approach. The late President Turgut Özal faced similar criticism when he offered a reformist approach to solve the Kurdish problem.
Where is Turkey going and what is the "new Turkey" about?
The prevention of terrorism and the democratization initiative comprise a number of things in the new Turkey. Obviously, when there are some people who engage in acts of terrorism and commit crimes, the government responds with police operations in order to maintain law and order. However, terrorism not only means that some terrorists are shattering authority with indiscriminate and ruthless violence. Terrorism also challenges state authority with some political views. In this regard, terrorists exploit some economic, cultural and social problems within society. They fuel their propaganda with the government's mistakes. In order to respond to a terrorist propaganda campaign and curtail the root causes of terrorism, the Turkish government focused on grassroots level measures. This is mainly social, economic and cultural reforms, but also the democratization of the country from top to bottom and bottom to top. The new Turkey is about not only paying attention to end products and results but also to the causes of the problems and trying to cure causes with an understanding of democracy. The new Turkey is also about a more confident country where people sincerely believe in democracy and democracy's ability to overcome difficulties such as the prevention of terrorism and some other long-lasting social problems, including not only the Kurdish issue but also some other religious and ethnic problems that can be cured within a state that has the rule of law. But new Turkey's understanding of democracy and the rule of law puts pressure on state bureaucracy to abandon its old habit of maintaining the status quo. That's why when Özal announced a Kurdish initiative in the 1990s, he garnered very little sympathy on the streets. Özal was a lonely man as the head of state.
Erdogan-Baykal meeting will foster dialogue
The CHP leader and the prime minister finally exchanged letters of good will about a meeting to discuss the government's democratic initiative. Do you think they will be able to really have a constructive debate about it?
Their meeting will have a positive influence on the process of the democratic initiative for sure. When there is such a need for consensus in society about the issue, the opposition should also adopt a positive stance. Baykal must have been persuaded to have this meeting following pressure from leftist and social democratic forces in the country in addition to the prime minister's all-encompassing speech at his party's latest congress. The meeting of these two leaders is important because it is going to send a message to the public. In the past, leaders adopted an attitude of not talking with each other, let alone speaking the same language. And that attitude had taken the country backwards as seen in the 1980 military coup. It has been widely accepted that one reason for realizing a coup d'état in the county was the uncompromising attitude of political leaders, so even the fact that these two leaders are able to come together is an important development. It fosters dialogue instead of polarization.
Do you think this "dialogue" will produce results regarding how to solve the Kurdish issue?
Frankly, looking at Baykal's press releases and interviews I am not very optimistic that there will be sustainable and constructive dialogue between the opposition and the government on the democratic initiative. However, I still maintain my previous view that if the meeting takes place, even that would be a great thing for Turkish democratic habits considering that deeply rooted and polarized political matters have caused irreparable division between the government and opposition parties in Turkey. The Baykal-Erdoðan meeting is important in this regard because it will present a united picture to society.
Polls show that most of the CHP voters desire a solution to the Kurdish problem.
This is normal for the grassroots CHP voters. The CHP has long been developing policies to address the problem.
Then, where does the uncompromising stance of Baykal come from?
Baykal opposes everything that is started by this government.
But could Baykal ignore the grassroots members of the party that much?
His stance is probably due to his evaluation that the government is not capable of supporting that much democracy. He probably thinks there must be something wrong if this government is so supportive of democracy.
There are some views that the military is behind Baykal's strong opposition.
I don't think so. On the contrary, there are some CHP officials who are not so happy with the military's support of the government's initiative. If Baykal continues to be unsympathetic to the initiative, then this attitude will be to the benefit of Mustafa Sarýgül [mayor of Ýstanbul's Þiþli district who once declared his candidacy for leadership of the CHP and then announced an ambitious plan to bring his new Turkey Movement for Change (TDH) to power in elections].
‘Terrorism should not stop democratic initiative'
A former high-ranking official from the National Intelligence Organization [MÝT] recently said in a newspaper interview that officials from MÝT are probably in contact with PKK leaders to have them lay down their arms. What do you think about that?
Intelligence agencies always have contact with terrorist organizations, but this does not have any relation to the democratic initiative because at the basis of the democratic initiative lies public demands for democracy, the rule of law and human rights. In other words, it requires a new order between the ruler and the ruled; it brings new standards.
So what is required in order to bring these new standards, new laws or maybe a new Constitution, which would break the country's ties with the past military regime?
New laws would not make much difference. Turkey has been struggling even in implementing the existing laws that have been changed in recent years to be more democratic. What is required is a new mentality to interpret, implement and enforce laws correctly. It is important to have the rule of law in the country.
Do you think the government should continue to go ahead with its Kurdish initiative if the PKK continues its armed attacks?
Yes, it should. The government must have realized that the democratic initiative is for people, not for terrorists. If this is the way the government understands it -- and I hope that it is -- even if there are terrorist activities, the government should move forward with the initiative. The important thing is to grant citizenship rights to the people. In the long run, this move would eliminate terrorists who use arms in the conflict. So the government should definitely go forward with the initiative with full force to combat terrorism. If the government does not act this way, then that means that terrorism rules the country and bombs have a voice.
This interview is conducted by Yonca Poyraz Dogan and firstly published on Todays Zaman on October 19, 2009.
