Autonomy?

Let me say this at the outset: The only factor that’s strengthening in the Middle East earthquake is the Kurdish movement. 

There, while Masoud Barzani is giving signals of independence, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) is escalating terror to transform the southeast into a “Rojava.”

Let us leave the party and ideology aspect to one side and take a closer look. The totalitarian system called “democratic autonomy” was theorized by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan and was accepted at the Kongra Gel meeting at Kandil in 2005. In this “autonomy” model that rejects democracy as we know it and is a combination of Stalin and Gadhafi, there are legislative, executive and judicial organizations as well as armed forces called “self-defense.”

In July 2011 in Diyarbakır, during the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) meeting, Aysel Tuğluk read the “declaration of democratic autonomy.” 

During the resolution process, the practice was suspended; it was sufficient just to put it in Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) election manifestoes. While the resolution process policy was ongoing, the organization took advantage of the relaxation of the government, using the period “to stock up weapons and ammunition,” as the president has said a couple of times.

In the June 7 elections, they did not bring this topic up very much. After the elections they started terrorism. KCK co-chair Bese Hozat published an article in the organization’s newspaper titled; “A new era is starting,” giving the instructions for self-administration, (Aug. 16, 2015).

With weapons and ammunition stocked during the resolution process at hand, they formed “self-defense areas” with ditches and barricades. 

Well, the state has been trying to eliminate the “self-defense” and “democratic autonomy” structures by declaring curfews for three months. 

According to Interior Minister Efkan Ala’s statement dated Dec. 17, 2,240 weapons, 862 of which are heavy ones, 10,000 Molotov Cocktails and 10.5 tons of explosives have been seized in the operations.

Who knows how many more weapons and stocks of ammunition have not yet been seized. 

Can you see how they have stocked up and created new organizations during the resolution process? 

Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chair of the HDP, has tolerated all this by saying they were “light weapons.” Are these fireworks? While the resolution process was continuing with all its fanfare, why did they stock up on these weapons and bombs? 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Dec. 17, “Their intention was to start a civil war.”

Yes, the organization has used the resolution process for this aim. Seeing this grave picture, one must be blind or “engaged” to still believe that the PKK believes in a solution through talks like ETA or the IRA. 

The aim of Kandil is to make a Rojava out of southeast Turkey. During and after operations, neighborhoods and towns in the southeast look like Syrian towns. Thank God, people are not participating in this. 

People are not joining this, but the issue is growing politically. The DTK, which declared autonomy for the first time in 2011, is now staging an extraordinary meeting. Demirtaş said the DTK meeting was “very important,” and that “the framework of topics such as autonomy and self-administration will be drawn.” This will not stop there; they will receive unofficial but active support from Russia. 

The disrupted equilibriums of the Middle East look favorable for this. 

Also Barzani, who has seen that the international and regional environment is suitable, has stated that he has given instructions for a referendum on “independence.” The thought that borders may change will encourage Kandil as well. Those ruling our country must see that Turkey has entered a very difficult period; the heavy issues in foreign policy are absolutely making this much tougher.

We must put political ambitions and fights over the system to one side and put our heads together and think because we cannot afford a bigger problem.