Araz news:President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again refused to recognize that Turkey has a Kurdish issue, contrary to previous statements which have acknowledged the problem, a move considered an attempt by Erdoğan to garner nationalist votes for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

En route back to Turkey from Kuwait on Tuesday, Erdoğan, for the second time, alleged that using the term “Kurdish problem” is a form of discrimination, arguing: “Those who still insist that the country has a Kurdish issue embark on this discourse to occupy the country’s agenda and garner more votes in the election. Calling the matter the ‘Kurdish problem’ is a step towards dividing the country, a type of discrimination.”

Erdoğan also accused the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of “engaging in illegal methods,” refusing to recognize the HDP as an interlocutor in the talks on the Kurdish issue, further claiming: “Who do you think you are, claiming to be an interlocutor? There is a state in this country. There is not a table that is being sat around. If there were, it would mean the collapse of the state. The state does not lay down its arms and if the terrorists take up arms, then the state will do whatever the situation requires.”

Ongoing talks between the HDP and imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan to find a solution to the decades-old Kurdish problem have apparently stalled ahead of the June 7 election amid criticism that the government is not sincere in its initiative due to Erdoğan declining to recognize the Kurds’ suffering and deprivation of rights. Thus, Erdoğan’s remarks have exacerbated a worsening situation amid fading hopes of a solution.

Erdoğan, in sharp contrast to his remarks in a historic speech in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in 2005 in which, for the first time, he acknowledged the existence of a Kurdish problem in Turkey, contended in March that Turkey never had a Kurdish problem, raising concerns about the talks and overshadowing the solution process.

“My brothers, there has never been any problem called the Kurdish issue in this country. Yet, there are intentional efforts to keep this on the agenda. … We ended it [the problem] in a speech I made in Diyarbakır in 2005 and that is it. My Kurdish citizens could have problems. They could have problems just like the problems of Turkish citizens. Thirty-six ethnic groups in the country have their own problems. There is constant talk about the Kurdish problem. Turkey has been kept busy with this for years — 40,000 people have been killed in this country for this reason,” Erdoğan argued during a speech in March.

The government, the HDP and the PKK agreed on a roadmap based on 10 articles, including a commitment to change the Constitution in order to solve the Kurdish problem after a meeting at Dolmabahçe Palace in early March, as Öcalan called on the PKK to lay down its arms.

All ethnic and religious groups’ demands fall on deaf ears

However, Erdoğan’s backpedaling on the Kurdish issue is not only specific to the settlement process but also the government’s previous, similar initiatives with Alevis, an orthodox sect of Islam that uses a different interpretation of Sunni Islam, and Roma people, which did not yield any results while Erdoğan was prime minister and leader of the AK Party.

Nearly 10 workshops with Alevi organizations in recent years to identify their demands yielded no tangible results, as conditions worsened for Alevis in terms of enjoying even basic freedoms and rights and their demands for cemevis (Alevi places of worship) to be recognized by the government as places of worship have been persistently rejected though the European court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently ruled that cemevis must be recognized by the Turkish government as places of worship equivalent to mosques.

In a similar vein, the government, which kicked off an initiative to follow the EU ideal and promised to follow the EU path for the democratization of Turkey after it came to power in 2002, abandoned the path after consolidating support in subsequent elections.

Promoting the idea of a “New Turkey,” which represents a real deviation from the EU ideal, while maintaining a sound relationship with Russia, China and the former Soviet republics rather than the EU, Erdoğan has thereby disappointed large parts of society that once backed him in hopes of a stronger democracy and more freedoms.

Erdoğan also did not hesitate to declare groups enemies that once declared their support for Erdoğan and a more democratized Turkey.

These civil society groups offered their support to scores of former changes to the laws that expanded the scope of freedoms but have been since been replaced by repressive laws that are intended to save Erdoğan and the political group he represents.

In this context, Erdoğan has labeled the faith-based Gülen movement (also known as the Hizmet movement), whose ideas are inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, as an “enemy” since the country’s largest corruption scandal — which implicated Erdoğan’s family, inner circle and high-ranking figures within the AK Party — went public on Dec. 17, 2013. Instead of backing the investigation, Erdoğan stifled the probe and made the movement a scapegoat by accusing it of plotting to topple the government via the graft probe.

As part of the crackdown on the movement, Erdoğan and the government have carried out intimidation operations against individuals and groups who are thought to have links with the movement. In this context, thousands of judges, prosecutors and police officers have been reshuffled, detained or arrested on charges of being members of a terrorist group, paving the way for a police state managed by the AK Party.

Hypocritical stance of Erdoğan and gov’t lambasted by HDP and experts

Erdoğan’s comments rejecting the existence of the Kurdish issue and problems related to the country’s other ethnic and religious groups, have been lambasted by the HDP and experts on the matter.

HDP Muş deputy Demir Çelik replied to Erdoğan’s remarks by saying: “The whole world recognizes the existence of the Kurdish problem. His comments imply that military options and security precautions will once again step in, as has been done for the last 40 years, and a total war will be waged against Kurds instead of seeking a solution to the subject based on peaceful talks.”

“If there is not an interlocutor on the Kurdish issue, then why do you continue to meet with Öcalan and send delegations to İmralı Island where Öcalan is being held? What do those meetings between the government and delegations mean? Denying reality is an empty effort,” Çelik emphasized.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman regarding Erdoğan’s U-turn over the Kurdish issue, Mesut Ülker, a retired colonel and strategist, said the government, Erdoğan and those circles who offer their support to the government are in a panic because they have realized that the government is, for many reasons, losing popular support. This has in turn urged them to engage in new election ploys to secure the votes that they appear to have lost.

“The Kurdish issue is a leading issue in terms of the democratization of Turkey. The real problem is in essence non-democratization. What Erdoğan is trying to do is regain the nationalist votes. Even though Erdoğan ignores the Kurdish problem, it is still a core issue. This is an indication of a serious inconsistency when the previous practices of the political authority are considered — a process of unlawfulness accompanied by many anti-democratic actions, such as silencing the free media and putting pressure on the judiciary. If the Kurdish issue had been solved, then it would upgrade Turkey’s level of democracy. However, society’s demands for more freedom and rights cannot be crushed anymore. More efforts on this path will face more reactions from the people. No one is eager to lose the rights that they have been enjoying for years. These demands will go further and they [Erdoğan and the government] are concerned with the increasing demand, that is why they are trying to block all channels to democracy,” Ülker added.

Professor Sedat Laçiner from Çanakkale 18 March University also highlighted similar concerns regarding the government and Erdoğan’s policy of denial regarding the country’s substantial issues, such as the Kurdish issue: “For years, the Kurdish side and the government have conducted negotiations around a table. Most recently, a declaration was reached at Dolmabahçe but Erdoğan undermined the process. The reason is simple: The talks made the PKK stronger and the people have realized this. The unease among the people has increased recently. Kurdish votes, which were previously secured by the AK Party, now show a tendency toward the HDP. Accordingly, nationalist voters have preferred the Nationalist Movement Party [MHP] in line with those election polls. After Erdoğan realized this, he changed his rhetoric on the matter and began to reject the existence of the Kurdish issue. He is weak in terms of developing solutions to the country’s problems but a good strategist in terms of dealing with his opponents. Instead of focusing on solutions to the problems, Erdoğan aims to collect more votes in an opportunistic manner.”

todayszaman