31 March 2008 | IHSAN DAGI

It is certainly interesting to note the coincidence between the emergence of the current crisis in Turkish politics and high hopes for a final solution to the Kurdish question.

I tend to think that the case for closure of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and the activities of the Turkish Gladio (Ergenekon) to prepare the ground for a possible anti-Western military coup have something to do with the increased possibility of a grand solution to the Kurdish question. In November I noted that a new state policy on the Kurdish issue was being developed. There were some positive signs coming from various circles from within the "state." Some retired generals admitted they had made mistakes by not recognizing the Kurds' identity and imposing unreasonable restrictions on Kurdish language usage. They also started to confess that military measures alone would not be successful against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and that people in the regions had to be won over. In the criticism of traditional policy on the Kurdish issue, the emergence of a regional Kurdish government in Iraq with US support played a central role.
In this context the AK Party's electoral victory in southeastern Turkey was eye-opening. For the first time in a long time, a political party from the center had emerged as a significant challenge in the region to the Kurdish nationalist party. Thus the AK Party's ability to resolve the Kurdish question was taken seriously by the security establishment. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's claim that in the coming local election they would take over Diyarbakır from the Democratic Society Party (DTP) turned the AK Party into an opportunity to restrain Kurdish nationalism in the region. Some in Ankara came to believe that the AK Party could be the last chance to resolve the Kurdish question within a unitary, yet democratic Turkey.

As a result, we witnessed a great harmony between the military and the government after Parliament passed an authorization for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq. In cooperation with the Americans the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) conducted air and land operations into northern Iraq against the PKK camps there. Interestingly, the land operation in northern Iraq took less time than expected, which created friction between the military and opposition parties, including the pro-military Republican People's Party (CHP).

Meanwhile the Turkish government made it known that it was in preparation for a grand package to resolve the Kurdish question, going beyond mere economic measures to embrace social and political steps.

It seemed that the cross-border operation had been planned as a final offensive ahead of a step to be taken for a comprehensive solution to the Kurdish question. The understanding of the Bush administration and the Kurdish regional government was secured by such expectations. The visit to Turkey by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the meeting of DTP leaders with the parliament speaker and the president just days before the opening of the closure case against the AK Party indicate a sea change concerning the Kurdish issue in state circles.

In these circumstances it appeared that a "grand peace" between the military and the AK Party was being forged giving a free hand to the AK Party to bring its priorities to the Turkish political agenda. Thus we had the constitutional change to lift the ban on the headscarf on campuses.

This last move provided a perfect ground to launch an attack on the AK Party by the judiciary under the influence of some pro-status quo circles. The closure case was expected to disable the AK Party from pursuing a comprehensive solution to the Kurdish question, which was proved right, as the AK Party seems to have already shelved the Kurdish package.

Why do some nationalists circles want to prevent solution of the Kurdish question? The fear is that any political solution would damage their understanding of "unitary-nation state" that imagines the nation as homogeneous denying all ethnic identities in Turkey.

They rightly calculate that once the Kurdish question is settled and a full democracy is established, the state model based on centralism, authoritarianism and elitism that they advocate will be terminated.

So they do not want to see the Kurdish question settled. The authoritarian elements in the state and outside need a Kurdish question to justify a militaristic regime and culture. Thus the recent developments over the Kurdish issue have provoked these circles to make a move to stop the process. The closure of the AK Party is part and parcel of this project.