Peace, a resolution and the process in spite of the malice

Peace is there, the process is there, the resolution is there…

Those men, in such an environment, at such a time, cowardly and viciously fire bullets at three soldiers in plainclothes who were unarmed, who were strolling in the city center. There cannot be any lower act than this.

The aim of these cowards, the ones who martyred three of our soldiers in Yüksekova, is obvious. They want to make us utter these three sentences: There cannot be a peace like this. There cannot be a process like this. There cannot be a resolution like this.

Even worse, there is a segment of the population in this country that is ready to immediately absorb this horrendous message.

In fact, they should know that if the hope of peace is lost or if the hope of the resolution process is finished, a terrible domestic clash will restart. On top of this, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) curse, the Syria trouble, the Bashar al-Assad issue, the trouble in Iraq, the sectarian wars issue will not settle down. A period will start that will make us crave for the severely troubled 1990s.

What are we going to do at this stage? Are we going to lose hope for peace, a resolution and the process?

No, we cannot do that. We can never do that.

Of course, we will be outraged at those who treacherously lie in ambush, who do not hesitate to massacre people who are unarmed and cannot defend themselves. We will also be outraged at those who protect these cowards by producing excuses. 

Of course, we are going to criticize the government that does not conduct an open, clear and transparent policy, that cannot manage the process well, that has taken the process to these levels.

However, our rage cannot and should not be against peace, the resolution and the process.

You don't say, “Why are you reconciling?” to the person making peace; you can only say, “Why are you not capable of making a proper peace?”

You cannot say, “Why are you solving this?” to the person who has moved forward to solve a problem; you can only say, “Why are you making a mess of the resolution?”

You cannot say, “Why are you conducting a process?” to those who are conducting the process; you can only say, “Why are you causing the process to be stained with blood?”

What will stop the bloodshed is not war, clashes or hostility again.

The bloodshed can only ever be stopped by a proper resolution, a properly conducted process and a proper peace.  

Full agreement with the Diyanet

Addressing the Validebağ grove dispute on Istanbul’s Asian side, where local activists are opposing the cutting of trees to build a small mosque, Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) head Mehmet Görmez said the following: “On one hand, you see people who are about to build a small mosque. On the other hand, you see people who are demonstrating to protect trees from being cut.”

He went on, “The love of nature and the love for prayer are not two contradicting loves. It does not suit us when we put the love for worship and the love for nature in contradiction with each other and when we worry each other. It does not suit us to show our anger to each other over these two loves. I hope that this will come to an end as soon as possible.”

The place where I stand on the Validebağ grove debate is exactly where Diyanet head Görmez stands.