Friday, March 14, 2008 | GÖKSEL BOZKURT | ANKARA - TDN Parliament Bureau
The government’s investment program and social initiatives to address the Kurdish problem fail to satisfy the pro-Kurdish DTP in Parliament that calls for constitutional amendments, cultural measures and progressive amnesty.
The Kurdish problem can only be resolved through a broader definition of citizenship, progressive amnesty and the granting of more cultural rights, a senior member of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) said in response to the government's announcement of economic and social initiatives in the Southeast.
A political solution to the problem should include reintroducing the definition of citizenship as stated in the Constitution, by replacing the terms “Turkish nation” and Turkish state” with “nations of Turkey” and “the state of Turkey,” the DTP's Şırnak deputy, Hasip Kaplan, told the Turkish Daily News.
The DTP's proposals, that came soon after the end of the military incursion into northern Iraq to wipe out the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases there and the announcement of the government's $12 billion investment program in the region over the next few years, are believed to aim at reaching a comprehensive agreement on the matter.
Delegations from the DTP have already met President Abdullah Gül, Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, and were reportedly waiting for an appointment with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who openly refused to hold talks with the DTP's representatives during a press conference yesterday.
"I refused a request for a meeting by the DTP. As long as the DTP, a party in Parliament, does not admit that the PKK is a terrorist organization, I cannot meet with them as Turkey's prime minister,” Erdoğan said, noting that he tasked Toptan and Çiçek to meet with the DTP's parliamentary group deputy leader, Ahmet Türk, and DTP deputy, Aysel Tuğluk, instead.
Meanwhile, Türk said Erdoğan's refusal to personally meet with himself is wrong, and accused Erdoğan of creating tension. “The prime minister is in a position of responsibility. He does not have the right to ignite tension while our dialogue efforts are apparent,” he said. “Maybe he is sending signals to some places while closure and immunity cases are high on the agenda,” Türk added. He said that debates on the DTP's position on the PKK have been left behind.
Türk said he had asked Gül to play a key role in their proposal, adding that the DTP would support him if he assumed responsibility.
Kaplan, who for a time was the lawyer of the PKK's imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, said the DTP's proposals involve a three-tier process that could be categorized as "Constitution," "acceptance of the cultural presence" and "the language of education," adding that an economic package in the Southeast would not be enough.
Kaplan said they defend Turkey's sovereignty, its flag and the fact that its official language is Turkish, all noted in the Constitution, but apart from the constitutional amendments they seek, they also want Kurdish to be allowed as a language of education as well as broader democratic rights.
When asked if all these were enough to establish peace in the country, Kaplan said: “The Kurdish problem is a sensitive one. It can't be solved in a month or five years. Dialogue and political solutions will establish peace.”
He said, the groups that voiced nationalist rhetoric on both sides need to renounce such a stance, adding, “a lot was lost in the past 25 years. The government and the opposition carry a lot of responsibility. We are doing what we can.”
When asked if their demands for a political solution were limited to those stated above, Kaplan also mentioned “progressive amnesty,” dismissing the penitence law as insufficient.
“You can't tell a person with a gun to surrender and go to jail for 30 years. There are similar cases in South Africa, Latin America, Ireland and Spain.Progressive amnesty may be effective,” he said.
He said everyone can see that military operations did not solve the problem and asked that political measures be given a chance.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are against any measure that may grant an amnesty to leading members of the PKK.
When asked about the calls that came from senior U.S. generals for a dialogue with the PKK, Kaplan said, “the solution will be found in Parliament. We are the people's representatives. We can solve the problem in Parliament. We believe peace and dialogue can solve it.”