Last October, MHP Chairman Devlet Bah\u00e7eli\u2019s speech\u2014in which he addressed Abdullah \u00d6calan, the founding leader of the PKK who has been held at \u0130mral\u0131 Prison for 26 years, suggesting that he could be granted the right to hope if he disbanded the organization\u2014generated great excitement.
\nHow could this not generate excitement? The long-serving chairman of a party that is the stronghold of nationalism in Turkey not only spoke of an amnesty for the first time, but also said that, if necessary, \u00d6calan could even make this appeal by coming to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and addressing the DEM Group Meeting.
\nInitial reactions suggested that Bah\u00e7eli\u2019s statement could not have been made independently of President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan. According to reports, the ruling party intended to use the MHP to soften reactions among nationalist circles and then launch a new process of rapprochement.
\nHowever, the process did not unfold as expected.
\nFirst and foremost, even though Bah\u00e7eli\u2019s statement was well-received by the AK Party\u2019s Kurdish-origin lawmakers or prominent figures, it did not garner much support across the entire party.
\nWhile a softening was expected in the process that began with Bah\u00e7eli\u2019s statement, on the contrary, there has been no decrease in the number of operations targeting DEM-affiliated municipalities and related organizations.
\nFinally, a large number of people were detained during a raid on the Democratic Congress of the Peoples (HDK), an organization with DEM at its core.<\/p>\n
There are differing views on the reasons behind these operations. According to the first view, while the government is trying, on the one hand, to persuade the organization to lay down its arms through talks with \u00d6calan, on the other hand, it is seeking to force an agreement by increasing pressure.
\nIn addition, there is an allegation\u2014which is by no means far-fetched\u2014that by targeting individuals who represent the more left-wing faction of DEM in these operations, the aim is to force the party to end its cooperation, particularly with the CHP and other left-wing parties. A DEM that distances itself from the opposition\u2014or at the very least remains neutral in the rivalry between the ruling party and the CHP\u2014would, of course, serve Erdo\u011fan\u2019s interests. Erdo\u011fan may well take steps in this direction to ensure that happens.<\/p>\n
While I do not take either claim lightly, I believe there are three reasons why Erdo\u011fan, unlike in the past, does not want a new peace process. These are, in order:<\/p>\n
1. Erdo\u011fan has been winning elections through polarization for the past 10 years. In this context, his rhetoric labeling the opposition as \u201cterrorists\u201d and accusing them of \u201ccollaborating with terrorists\u201d is his strongest argument. A peace process would cause him to lose this weapon.<\/p>\n
2. The rhetoric of \u201cWe are fighting terrorism\u201d gives Erdo\u011fan the opportunity to implement security-oriented policies. These policies are particularly effective among certain segments of the public. News of a surprise operation can instantly shift the agenda. A story of heroism that emerges, a wave of anger, or new weapons systems used in the fight against terrorism all provide the government with an opportunity for propaganda.<\/p>\n
3. Erdo\u011fan manages to win votes\u2014in part through religious arguments\u2014from Islamists or Kurds who identify as right-wing. Although they occasionally voice complaints, this segment does not take much issue with Erdo\u011fan\u2019s hardline rhetoric. The segment from which Erdo\u011fan fails to draw votes consists of Kurds who vote for DEM. People in this segment come from more secular, left-leaning circles in terms of their lifestyle. Even if there were a peace process, there is no guarantee they would direct their votes toward the AK Party. Furthermore, it appears that Kurdish voters who have lived in major cities for many years and have become urbanized are acting more independently due to the impact of economic problems and are leaning toward the opposition. This trend was evident in the most recent local elections as well.<\/p>\n
For these three fundamental reasons, I believe that Erdo\u011fan does not think the peace process will yield any significant political benefit for him. For these reasons, not only will it be difficult to implement a potential peace process, but even if it were to begin, sustaining it would not be easy either.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MHP Genel Ba\u015fkan\u0131 Devlet Bah\u00e7eli\u2019nin ge\u00e7ti\u011fimiz Ekim ay\u0131nda 26 y\u0131ldan beri \u0130mral\u0131 Cezaevi\u2019nde bulunan PKK’n\u0131n kurucu lideri Abdullah \u00d6calan\u2019a seslenerek \u00f6rg\u00fct\u00fc la\u011fvetmesi halinde umut hakk\u0131ndan faydaland\u0131r\u0131labilece\u011fi y\u00f6n\u00fcndeki konu\u015fmas\u0131 b\u00fcy\u00fck heyecan uyand\u0131rm\u0131\u015ft\u0131. Nas\u0131l heyecan yaratmas\u0131n ki? T\u00fcrkiye\u2019de milliyet\u00e7ili\u011fin kalesi olan bir partinin k\u0131demli genel ba\u015fkan\u0131, ilk defa bir aftan bahsetmekle kalmam\u0131\u015f, gerekirse \u00d6calan\u2019\u0131n bu \u00e7a\u011fr\u0131s\u0131n\u0131 TBMM\u2019ye […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":279280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[15,78,288],"class_list":["post-279278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-yazarlar","tag-chp","tag-kemal-kilicdaroglu","tag-ozgur-ozel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279283,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279278\/revisions\/279283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}