Hang this sentence on the wall

“If there had been a commitment to the political will of the government, the punishment of the person who dared to remove the flag would have been given immediately.”

This historic sentence, this historic confession did not come from just anybody; the utterer of this sentence is Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. This sentence is the key to this era.

One sentence explains it all: The fact that the “resolution process,” the ceasefire is in fact over, the seizure by the civilian prosecutor of the weapons of the gendarmerie to determine, which weapon fired the bullet that killed the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) member during a clash, the removal of the flag and all whatever has happened there. In plain language: “As in line with the will of the government, the soldier did not fire; this is the instruction of the government.”

This is logical in terms of the “resolution process” at first glance. But the other side is continuously firing. For weeks, it has been blocking roads, kidnapping teachers, soldiers and village guards; Blowing up roads with dynamite, torching vehicles; attacking the police and soldiers in cities; setting everywhere on fire. The ceasefire has in fact come to an end.

On the other hand, a “workshop” was organized and nobody knows what that means. What kind of a process is this that Tayyip Erdoğan swears unreservedly at the other side at every opportunity, but says “the resolution process is being sabotaged?”

When the members of the Cabinet were talking bitterly in the workshop, other participants immediately opposed: “This is the language of war, no resolution will come with this language; the process will not work. The authoritarian structure has penetrated the east after the west. There is seemingly a ceasefire, but it does not actually exist. There cannot be swearing and negotiating at the same time.”

None of the members of the Cabinet could say anything against the criticisms; the questions were left unanswered.

Vote calculations

And, the instruction “not to fire,” because you are swearing, why do you seize the gendarmerie’s weapons? Since you say “do not fire,” then why do you continuously swear?

The calculation is that by not firing, just in case there is a second round in the presidential elections, “At least I will get the votes of the Kurds in the second round,” but at the same time, by charging at the PKK, just in case, “Maybe I will get the votes of the nationalists at least in the second round.”

I believe the government was sincere when the resolution process was launched. But now, today, the resolution is intertwined with calculations for the presidency.

Again, it is a must that we should frame Arınç’s words and hang them on the wall. That historic sentence is indexed to the election.

Epicenter Lice

The town of Lice is the key spot in the southeast; it is so geographically, and in terms of the importance the PKK attributes there. The most experienced members of the PKK have settled in Lice. The PKK never wants to let go of Lice. This town is one of the main centers of all actions; the PKK is led from Kandil Mountains and also from Lice. It is not a coincidence that Öcalan founded the PKK in Lice.
Many police and military stations were built in and around Lice years ago. Now, those stations are being reinforced to transform into fortified gendarmerie stations (kalekol). 

Many of the officers who were active in the building of these gendarmerie stations in the ‘90s and who were involved in clashes with the PKK in the region then are now either in Hasdal or Silivri prisons.
What else can happen?