Saturday, 28 November 2009
By Prof. Dr. Ihsan BAL (USAK Security Studies)
The Democratic Society Party (DTP), which announced proudly that it would take into account the sensitivities of the Turkish society, would want democracy for everyone and would go beyond doing politics based on ethnic nationalism, fails to contribute to the democratic opening process at such a critical time when Turkey needs restraint most. Apparently, the process intensive provocation, which began at the Habur border crossing when a 34-person group of militants surrendered, spread to Izmir.
It is striking that the DTP, which expresses its expectations of others to control their nerves and make an effort to consolidate democracy in Turkey, itself does not put forth any effort in that regard. It is hard to understand the following: How can those claiming that they accord significance to trying empathy with different sections in society and societal consensus are not aware of the deliberate efforts to create more tensions in Izmir when PKK flags are waved and Ocalan, the cruel leader of the PKK terrorist organization, is praised? True, our societal memory is weak, but it has not totally collapsed to lead us to forget the atrocity of June 20, 1987 when 30 innocent civilians, of whom 16 were children, 6 were women and 8 were men, were massacred by the PKK in Pnarck village of Omerli town in Mardin? Can Ocalan be dissociated from that massacre? How can people have an image of Ocalan independent of that slaughter? Or, can atrocities similar to the one committed in Basbaglar village of Kemaliye town in Erzincan where 28 civilians including women were massacred on July 6, 1993, be dissociated from the PKK and Ocalan?
That said, these words should not be misunderstood. Our intention is not to rub salt into the past wounds in order to create new tensions. However, trying empathy and facing the past mistakes cannot be restricted to revealing the ‘acid wells’ used illegally during the most heated years of the fight against the PKK terrorism. While the west in Turkey is getting prepared to unclench its fist for the east, advocates democracy, raises its law standards and gets closer than ever to facing its past mistakes, it is an unacceptable provocation for the supporters of a political party, which ostensibly claims to represent group of people in the east, to open PKK flags and praise the leader of a terrorist organization showered only with blood. The 'sincerity test' amidst the democratic opening indeed requires empathy; but it also necessitates conceiving the process as ‘the story of us’. If we are going to look back into our near history we will do that together so that we will understand each other’s pain to construct a happier, stronger and freer Turkey all together. None the less, such a process cannot be constructed upon the legitimization of terrorist acts massacring the innocent civilians.
The violent reaction in Izmir, the stoning of DTP supporters should and will of course be criticized. I am undoubtedly one of those who could never approve of such a reaction; yet, claiming those throwing stones to be fascist shows that the DTP is unable to read the sensitivities in Turkish society. The leader of the DTP, Ahmet Türk described the attacks as reflecting the “fascist mentality” to recall racist politics and fundamentally anti-democratic attitude associated with Mussolini and Hitler. Such a description is nothing but just an easy way of denying your responsibility by blaming the other side. If the DTP could try to understand the ire of the crowd and why they were provoked, they would also see that not only in the west in Turkey but also in the east, more and more previously silenced people are condemning the efforts to normalize violence that was associated with Ocalan and the PKK. Responding to a mass that says ‘yes’ more and more to conceding Kurdish people’s rights with a terrorist organization and its leader, which are identical with the massacres and atrocities they committed in the minds of many in the west, neither contributes to the democratization process and more freedoms nor helps internalize the rule of law.
The reaction the crowd in Izmir gave is admittedly unacceptable but they cannot be described as ‘fascists’ either. Unless it tries to understand the factors behind this reaction and recognizes its responsibility for its occurrence the DTP cannot help bring more democracy to any region in Turkey. Fascism? That has recently been the easy label used in Turkey by those who cannot (perhaps do not want to) look at themselves in the mirror.
