“On the one hand the Kurdish Workers Organization (PKK) need to be told that these attacks increase the polarization in the society and on the other hand we should know that giving permission to the Armed Forces to conduct operations in the northern Iraq is not the solution”, says Necdet İpekyüz, former president of Diyarbakır’s Chamber of Doctors, about the PKK attacks to the Gendarmerie Border Post at Aktütün in the eastern Turkey and extending the permission given to the Turkish Armed Forces to have operation in northern Iraq.

Yağmurdereli: We need to continue talking

Eşber Yağmurdereli, one of the spokesperson for the Peace Assembly of Turkey, thinks that this situation reduces the chances of success for the peace initiatives.

“We need to continue talking. It has become important to put on the agenda the topics of peace and democracy and to emphasize the need to remove the obstacles in front of the struggle for democracy through politics with the support of the people and within the framework of society’s general needs”

“It has become difficult to say no to the extension of the letter of permission”

According to İpekyüz, it has become difficult to say no to the extension of the letter of permission, which will enable the Turkish Armed Forces to have operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, and to bring up the issue that the Kurdish problem cannot be solved by violence.

“Polarization is our biggest concern”

İpekyüz says their biggest concern is polarization.

“That the Altınova incident [between Kurds and Turks] and the attack by the PKK came at the same time should make everyone think. There could have been 15 or 20 death in Altınova, too. We should realize that these incidents create problems for people to understand each other. This attack made it more difficult to say the right things, to speak for peace such as the Peace Assembly initiative.”

“The solution will not come with the letter of permission and the development plan for the region

İpekyüz says neither the operations nor the development plan of the Justice and Development Plan for the region could solve the Kurdish Problem: “One year has passed. The clashes with the PKK are still occurring in spite of the intelligence support from the USA. The solution will come only if we concentrate on the political dimension. It cannot happen with the GAP development plan. As long as inequalities exist, some will be richer than others.”

“The government and the political parties should reach consensus on not fight against the terror, but what can be done. They should think about the military clashes and Altınova, because young people from Gaziantep and Diyarbakır (eastern provinces where mostly Kurds live) are also among the soldiers who get killed in the military engagements with the PKK.”

“The political parties should work with every institution, from the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) to the Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions DİSK), that is capable of making a contribution in solving the problem. There is an initiative like the Peace Assembly. We should listen to what they have to say.”

“Otherwise, making heroic speeches will increase the polarization.”

“Direct intervention in politics”

Yağmurdereli says “For those working for peace, it does not matter from which side the violence comes.”

“That this violence is experienced by the society helps those who are not interested in peaceful means with their agenda. Since the democratic forces of Turkey do not have the power to intervene directly in the politics, the situation does not look good. But still, the demand for peace and democracy needs to be raised.” (TK/EÜ/TB)