Notes by Ahmet Türk
Dear Friends,
Dear Participants,
Dear Members and Executiven of EUTCC,
To begin with, in the name of myself and my party I like to congratulate and appreciate all friends and comrades for their great efforts during working for and organizing this fifth international conference. Moreover, I vail in front of remembrance of dear intellectual dear friend Harold Pinter. Mr Pinter was a real intellectual and courageous friend. He was representing the true intellectual conscience that we need the most nowadays. We know that being suited to his dear remembrance is to go on struggling for democracy and peace from who we inherited.
This international conference organized under the name of "EU-Turkey and the Kurds" corresponds to a quiet important period in the context of the timen particularly through which we have been living. Historical changes have been occurring worldwide including either in Europe and USA or in Middle East and Turkey.
The state of global economic crisis having influence on all the world, caused by neo-liberal politfies of economics, and the warn, conflicts and by-social protests occurred by both domestic and foreign security based political approaches of nation-states have required new govemmental approaches and power structures for the stability of the system. We have been needing to a juster, more equal and more controllable political economy for a more democratic, more tolerant and more pluralistic governmental approach as an absolute necessity for the sustainability of system.
There have appeared the societal and political conditions in order to constitute a new order for the whole world pioneering by the leftists, socialists, social-democrats and progressive democrats. From this point of view, the new American government leading by presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, and the success level I have been hoping from Party of European Socialists (PES), European Leftist Party, Greens and progressive Democrats at the prospective elections in June can be evaluated as indicators of this new order.
We have attached a great deal of importance to this forthcoming European election to the extent of triggering a recontact process for EU and its foundation philosophy, I mean, moving forward towards a union of regions and communities rather than a union of nation-states.
After making a brief evaluation of the present conditions our world has experienced, I am going to try sharing my views with you on EU-Turkey and Kurdish Question in this broad perspective.
First of all, as a political party, we always advocated and have still supported EU-Turkey accession process. Dear people of whose we are representatives is the most crowded population supporting the accession process among the Overall Turkey population. When we glance at the results of the related surveys, we nee that EU-Turkey membership process is esteemed most in Kurdish geography. The reasons of this level of support is very clear: governing of Turkey with a perfect democracy, adopting the diversity as a richness, honoring to the fundamental rights and liberties, guarantying cultural and political rights of all communities including Kurdish people, and finally, following a more contemporary, equitable and fairer development program.
However, after constituting partial reforms in 2002-2003, in its very firnt governing years and immediately afterwards of starting accession talks for füll membership process, AKP government laid reforms aside. In particular, AKP almost forgot the Copenhagen Criteria which is the fundamental condition of being a füll member EU for Turkey. Instead of fit, she strengthened Anti-Terror Act and Police Authority Act with completely anti-democratic and anti-human rights articles. As a result of this authoritarian governing experience, a great rise came about at the numbers of torturemistreatment-death and injury under surveillance conditions. Principally, the level violence applied by police against Kurdish people living in Kurdish geography and metropolises came into existence in a very striking and public way that there has probably neuer dope before. In skort, the democratic and legitimate struggle of Kurdish people for getting her cultural and political rights was considered under these acts and defined a criminal and security problem.
. In this context, let me share with you our one and half-year democratic struggle adventure as DTP in parliament.
Following of 2007 July Elections, as you know, we succeeded to exist a political group in Turkish Grand National Assembly in spite of all sorts of barricades. In this one and half-year legislature period, as DTP, we went through with a strikingly amazing parliamentary struggle for democracy and rule of law. Additionally, we went on being together with our people physically supporting their democratic activities.
Yet, we could not fulfill the mission we took upon ourselves completely due to the govemment's exclusive and otherisation attitudes directed towards us, whereas TGNA had a relatively pluralistic composition, firnt time in its very history, thanks to our existence. Seen, a closure case was opened by Constitutional Court, and pogroms campaigns started against us. Though, we succeeded to exist by going en struggling democratically en the grounds of always legitimste and lawful principles.
I can say this very frankly we showed and made evident by our struggle in parliament that AKP, achieving to the power by seeming very reformist and libertarian movement to electorate massen, has very reactionary-conservative and authoritarian inclinations. We brought to light her oppressive and discriminative potentials by holding en stubbomly our democratic and societal political live. At the end, Mr. Prime Minister acted very insolently by meaning "love it or leave it" to our people who carried out democratic civil disobedience activities for protesting government applications. This molto, as you know, has no longer been used in even political dictionaries of chauvinistic parties.
Democratic Society Party besame very insistent of enlarging the Limits of classical political arena, drawn by Status quo, by arguing solution programs and studies for Turkey's primary structural problems leading Kurdish one, en a hand. She functioned as a litmus paper for showing to all public eye the true face of AKP govemment, en the other hand.
The aim of me by analyzing characteristics of government is to make evident for anyone to sec the AKP's iselation politics against Kurdish Question's peaceful and democratic solution opportunities.
Honestly, if AKP had been a government believing in values of EU, She would have used the solution opportunities of a political party that was democratically elected and existed in parliament potentially has in order to open a way of settlement for the most buming question of republic history. She would have constituted Copenhagen Criteria by getting our Support. She would have taken European public eye attention to the progressive changes in Turkey. She would have taken the steps of democratization and pluralisation. Unfortunately, AKP did not act in this way.
On the other hand, when we consider the dominant EU's stance en accession, we nee that an approach, awakening nationalism in Turkey, takes over gradually. In particular, the fast that EU has been ruled by conservative and rightist politics in recent years has a great deal en making this sort of approach. The sorts of expressions like privileged membership have been causing a great deal rise of popular nationalism, which has been either blinked en or supported evidently by AKP govemment.
As a party, either during our visits to Brussels or periodic meetings with EU Commission authorities, we have always mentioned a reality that Kurdish Question is characteristically a universal Set of all structural problems which are main handicaps for democratization of Turkey. lt is not to be considered as a terror problem with a very skort and narrow political horizon. Unless there occurred a direct political Intervention for settlement of the question, it is very clear that any of linked handicaps will not be solved. Therefore, we have mentioned an immediately need for establishing an Observing Committee of Kurdish Question in order to make periodic meetings with the sides having potential to influence the nature of the case. We talked about this Suggestion with Mr. Barosso as well when he visited Turkey last year.
Dear Friends, Dear Fellows,
An other issue that I like to mention is about "Democratic Autonomy Project" that we suggest to attention of public eye and TGNA en settlement of primary democracy Gases including Kurdish Question as well. At the very essence of this project, there is an oller en comprehensive reformation of Turkish public and administrative structure in accordance with "subsidiarity" principle for making a participatory and decentralized new administrative system. Turkey, exceeding more than 70 million populations and suffering in a "misgovernment" cycle due to the centralized and gross bureaucracy, thus, with this style of administration, can not be a member of EU. Thereby, a re-rebuilding process is a raust for Turkey in accordance with the concept "regions of Europe", an essential approach of foundation philosophy of EU.
We foresee that an inclusive citizenry notion will carried about through regional councils. Citizens will participate to the goveming system at cultural, societal, economic and political aspects more than before, and they will not be a target of up to down transforrnation politics by assimilation and otherisation applications. Briefly, we believe that constituting this project will strengthen the union and harinonization of peoples en equal ground, and thus, prevent the rise of nationalism.
There are no political parties including AKP govemment as well who offer these kinds of project either for speeding up EU accession process or achieving contemporary civilization values. From this point of view, as DTP, we are a party making the most important attempts coinciding with EU aims on the grounds of offering both this kind of comprehensive administrative and public reforms and a new constitution.
Besides, for the democratic transformation and peace of Middle East, EU-Turkey and Kurdish people have a very great potential and role. The membership of Turkey to EU will have a direct affect on the process of political and societal democratization and meeting with the values of EU of the countries like Iraq, Iran and Syria. As you know, Kurdish geography and Kurdish people was divided among four nation-states during establishment of Middle East Order at the beginning decades of last century. With its actual presence, the Kurds is approximately 40 million populated people. It is clear that Kurds will be a bridge of democracy and peace in between EU and Middle East during accession process and, if it is succeeded, aftermath of füll membership period.
Dear Friends, Dear Fellows,
Kurdish Question has achieved a very crucial nature by the period we have lived. Comparing and contrasting the 1990s years to the present time, we observe that there have appeared the signs of ethnical and sensual disengagement, and conflict trends, between our peoples. The organized forces of dominant Turkish nationalism have tried to make pogroms and violent attacks against Kurdish people. In 90s, despite there was a very dirty war, experienced as everyday facts in the way that countless murders and assassinations, tortures, buming of thousands of villages and so on, there was still no kind of societal lynching atmosphere against Kurdish society. Thereby, in this period, we face a very different condition of facts. The urgency of this period has made it a raust for the solution of problem through peaceful and compromise methods as soon as possible.
The obstacles of a possible settlement are based on ongoing denial and destructive mentality. This people, whose even the least national rights have not been recognized, has no longer endured in this mangle of denial and destruction. We, as a party, have been offering the most logical and most sustainable settlement prescription. We have been struggling to deactivate the violent methods and achieve a peaceful environment as soon as possible.
The demands we have been offering are to make guarantee the cultural and political rights of Kurdish people as free and equal citizens of the republic, to make possible teaching and education with mother tongue, and lastly, to carry out a decentralized ruling apparatus giving them the opportunity for participating to the goveming process from down to upward. Let me ask you; is there a more acceptable Suggestion more than this? Moreover, we say that "let's just Start to talk directly; we are sure we will achieve a consensus." But yet, putting aside the contemporary national rights, these demands are at the very lower base of even the rights and liberties of native peoples. The related UN's documents and conventions are the best examples of this fact.
To sum up my Speech, I should mention again that we like to feel and see the triggering force of EU accession process for saving our people from the vicious cycle of denial and violence and to get a way of peaceful-compromise and common logic solution process. I believe that we will see this kind of approach and practical application at forthcoming period.
Kindly Regards and Yours Sincerely
AHMET TÜRK
Group President in TGNA and Co-Chairs of Democratic Society Party, Turkey
Courtesy of Mezopotamian Development Society
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February 1 , 2009
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