Turkey cannot give what PKK wants

Again, the same scenarios are being experienced. 

A force of 300 people has attacked an outpost in the middle of the mountains that somewhat “invites” assaults and took eight lives. The public has reacted fiercely. 

The chief of General Staff wept at the funeral ceremony. 

Television stations have broadcast both the raid and the funerals with wide coverage. Politicians made harsh statements and said their revenge would be taken. 

We have lived this scenario thousands of times. Well, are we going to continue living like this? Will there ever be an end to this? 

Again, we have been asking the same questions for years. 

I have an answer to these questions: 

- We can only solve this issue with this government in the next two years ahead of us, until 2014. After 2014, it will become much more difficult, and there will be much more bloodshed then. 

What the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) wants is obvious: to form an autonomous region where it can rule and that it can have under its control. 

Turkey cannot meet that. 

I wonder if the PKK has enough power to reach this target. Are its armed forces and the support it enjoys from the people of the region enough to accomplish this aim? 
No. The result is that: 

 - The PKK must adopt realistic targets. 

 - Turkey should thoroughly determine its general policy on the Kurdish issue (not the PKK). The way should be cleared for freedom of expression and thought, democracy and politics. 

Turkey’s occupation of Kandil is very, very difficult 
The same question is asked over and over again: 

“…look, we are accommodating a huge army. Why don’t they just cross the border and invade the area and finish this business?” 

This is easy to ask but very, very, very hard to do. 

I have discussed the matter with several chiefs of general staff at different times. Both former chiefs of General Staff retired Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and retired Gen. İlker Başbuğ have listed these reasons: 

1- In order to invade Kandil (Mountain), Washington’s approval is required. No other course of action is possible. 

2- Kandil cannot be destroyed by an air operation alone. A land operation is also required and the region must be kept under occupation for a long term, for years. For this, both the United States’ and Barzani’s approval are needed and none of them would want a long-term invasion. 

3- A Kandil operation would cause major casualties. In the case of such an operation, clashes with the PKK forces in the region and with the people who sympathize with the organization would erupt and the northern Iraqi peshmarga would also join the war. 

Now, you put yourself in the place of the prime minister and the chief of General Staff and decide yourself. 

In short, the invasion of Kandil is maybe not impossible but the price is very, very high. Also, after an invasion, the same forces would return to the same places and this very expensive operation would have been done for nothing. 

Kurdish intellectuals should come out 

Are the Kurdish intellectuals doing what is expected of them? 

A portion of them are truly involved in a self-sacrificing struggle but the majority of them have a strange attitude. They deliberately keep silent. Some of them are afraid of the PKK and keep quiet.

Some share the same views as the PKK. They may indeed share them, but they do not contribute at all. 

Actually, we should all resolve this process together.