Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Central Executive Board member Derya Arslan said that the greatest expectation of the public in Newroz areas is the end of uncertainty and the taking of concrete steps. She emphasized that for the process to progress in a healthy manner, Abdullah Öcalan must be provided with free working conditions and that this situation must be placed on a legal status, stressing the need for “legal guarantees” instead of “de facto possibilities.”
Arslan said that peace cannot be sustained unilaterally and added that it is of vital importance for the government to share a roadmap tied to a clear timeline with the public in terms of social trust and the future of the process.
You say that the recommendations in the commission’s report must now be put into practice. At this point, as the DEM Party, what concrete and legal first steps do you expect the state to take?
The report prepared by the commission does not consist of abstract wishes, but of concrete legal and administrative steps. Putting these steps into practice will increase the momentum of the process. I have been in Newroz areas for days. Young people ask, mothers ask, people who have paid a price for this cause for years ask: “Where is this process heading, and when will concrete steps be taken?” It is no longer possible to give the public vague answers. The public now expects not words and wishes, but action. And the one who must take that action is the government.
Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdish Freedom Movement have shown great and historic will for the silencing of weapons and the building of a climate of non-conflict. Now, for the second stage to begin, that will must be answered. There is no example anywhere in the world where peace has been sustained unilaterally.
The commission report is not a document that will resolve the Kurdish question in its entirety. But it is a bridge that will carry this question onto political and legal ground. For that, the first essential step is for Mr. Öcalan, the chief negotiator of the process, to be granted free working and free communication conditions. The critical point here is this: regulations concerning Mr. Öcalan must be placed on an official and legal status, not a de facto one. A framework in which an opportunity granted today can be withdrawn tomorrow is not a guarantee; it is uncertainty.
In addition, a framework of law must be enacted that will guarantee the right of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members to engage in democratic politics and provide protection against any judicial process. As for the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Constitutional Court rulings, there is no need even for a new regulation; it is enough for the government to take a clear position, and for those rulings to be implemented swiftly. Trustees must also be removed from the country’s agenda once and for all.
You often emphasize “legal regulation.” In this context, in which areas do you specifically demand urgent changes?
First, a framework of law. Without any “ifs” or “buts.” Other regulations made without securing democratic integration are no different from a swampy ground on which a structure is attempted to be built; no matter how solid it may appear, it cannot carry the weight.
Immediately after the special law, democratization laws must come onto the agenda. The threefold framework that Mr. Öcalan has expressed for years is the compass here: free politics, democratic consensus, and universal law. Freedom of politics and organization, education in the mother tongue, local democracy, and a definition of citizenship in which everyone can see themselves… All of these may not be realized at once. However, for these steps to be implemented, there must be a strong political will and a clear direction. If the state and the government demonstrate this will, with the support of the main opposition, weeks, not months, would be sufficient for some of these legal regulations.
I also want to state this clearly: today, Turkey is in a conjuncture that history rarely offers. The fragile structure in Syria, the deepening war in Iran, increasing instability in Iraq, and uncertainty and concern in every capital of the Middle East. This picture is both a warning and an opportunity. The warning is this: facing this wave with an unresolved Kurdish question could negatively affect Turkey in every respect. Each new center of instability in the region expands unresolved issues at home and makes them open to provocation.
The opportunity, however, is this: with a resolved Kurdish question, Turkey can withstand any harsh wave. A Turkish state that the Kurds in all four parts can look to with confidence can become a decisive actor in the transformation of the Middle East. If the Turkish state can transform the increasingly strengthening Kurdish geopolitics from a threat into a ground for alliance, it can become the shining star of the region. A Turkey that has postponed peace, on the other hand, may be forced to merely watch this historic conjuncture unfold.
No concrete step has yet been taken by the state beyond the commission. Do you expect a timeline or a roadmap in this process?
Experiences of conflict resolution around the world offer a very clear lesson: without a roadmap and strong political will, peace processes do not reach completion; they wear down and ultimately fail. Turkey can also draw this lesson from its own resolution experiences. The importance of a timeline is not only technical, but also psychological and social. A predictable process nurtures public trust. A society that trusts is more resilient against provocations and attempts at sabotage. Unpredictability, on the other hand, feeds uncertainty, and uncertainty is the greatest obstacle to peace processes. For this reason, we expect the government to share with the public a concrete roadmap tied to a clear timeline.
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