There is a debate on whether CHP members in the commission established as part of the new solution process will take part in the delegation that will go to İmralı to meet Abdullah Öcalan. There are different opinions within the CHP on this issue. A significant number of people think that this would cause a reaction among nationalist voters. In the short term, yes, but in the medium and long term, the CHP would benefit the most from an end to terrorism.
Öcalan holds the key to ending the PKK's activities. Yes, Demirtaş is very important for Kurds and he is an important actor in the solution of the Kurdish problem in general. However, Demirtaş cannot make the PKK lay down its arms, whereas Öcalan can. Therefore, the PKK cannot be made to lay down its arms only by taking Demirtaş as an interlocutor and ignoring Öcalan. The CHP's priority should be the end of the PKK, followed by democratic breakthroughs to solve the Kurdish problem. Because it is not easy to move on to the other without dealing with the first one. If this happens, the CHP will benefit from the process.
Here are the reasons:
- The PKK's armed activities feed nationalist and nationalist currents in Turkey. In this situation, it is difficult for a healthy social democratic movement to develop and in many provinces the CHP can only exist with a nationalist language.
- No matter what the CHP does, it cannot compete with the MHP or the AKP on nationalism. Every election season, more voters believe the unfair allegations of these parties that the CHP is “in cahoots with the PKK”. The CHP's counter-accusations do not have as much impact.
- The end of the PKK would at least take the conflicts and deaths off the agenda, thus ending the possibility of the AKP's attempts to pin the CHP down over terrorism and its ties with the DEM almost every election since 2015. The last time we experienced the negative effects of such accusations was in 2023.
- The PKK's actions also complicate a possible open cooperation between the CHP and the DEM. The end of the clashes could strengthen this cooperation and reduce possible reactions.
- The end of armed conflicts will also reduce the ideological sharpness of the “urbanized” Kurdish voters who have been living in cities for many years. Even if there is no alliance with the DEM, the possibility of some of these voters turning to the CHP in the AKP - CHP competition will increase.
In short, rather than worrying that DEM will go and make a deal with AKP and change the Constitution, CHP should first of all give its best efforts to complete the process of the PKK's complete disarmament.