Öcalan to make another historic call on Nevruz

The reconciliation process, which was initiated on Jan. 3, 2013, is the greatest political project of the Turkish Republic conducted in its 90 years of history. It aims at ending the 35 years of armed conflict with the PKK and making PKK members leave Turkey. It is possible to date this process back to the early 19th century when the Kurdish issue started to emerge. When Turks arrived in Anatolia in the second half of the 11th century, the two great groups they allied with were Kurdish rulers and Armenian princes. This alliance became one of the most significant sociopolitical aspects enriching the Ottoman Empire up until the early 20th century.

It is known that the bridges were burned with Armenians after the Great Tragedy in 1915, and this also goes for Kurds since the promises given to them were not kept. The violent incidents kicked off with the Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and never slowed down. Between 1935 and 1938, the conflicts settled down for a while following the Dersim Massacres. And after the 1980 coup, the latest Kurdish uprising began with the emergence of the PKK.

Particularly the inhumane practices imposed upon Kurdish politicians in Diyarbakır Prison formed a critical point in this uprising. Kurds actually used to have a wide array of peaceful political organizations before the 1980 coup. However, the armed PKK stood out among those civilian formations due to the cruel practices of the coup. While the PKK was clashing with state forces, it also cleansed the Kurdish political scene, removing diversities. The process got even more violent with the state executions that started in the mid-1990s.

Then President Turgut Özal and then Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan tried to resolve the issue. Süleyman Demirel also took some serious steps while he was president. But the authorities of those figures could not exceed the authority of the military, or better phrased, the deep state, with profound domestic and international connections. Now, at the last phase of the process, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's determination in his remark: "I would resolve this issue even if it costs me my political life," has overcome many provocations. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has invested everything it has in this process on the basis of democratic citizenship and by leaving the former objecting and assimilating the state mindset.

Just after the start of the reconciliation process, we experienced a harsh period with the murder of three women from the PKK in Paris, who were known to have been close to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. The nationalists, who were in a sovereignty fight with the AK Party, resorted to every means possible by using their media tools and cooperating with the "parallel structure" in order to dissuade the PKK. The İmralı Island reports were leaked, the Gezi Park protests were attempted to be turned into a coup and Kurds were provoked to hit the streets. We have witnessed all kinds of disinformation and provocation. Recently, on Oct. 6-8, just after the newly elected Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu formed the government and announced that he would accelerate the process, some 52 citizens were brutally killed in the street demonstrations that began upon the call of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the PKK's headquarters in Iraq's Qandil Mountains. Everyone was sure that the process was at a dead-end after that.

But the government did not leave the table, displaying serious determination and composure. It indicated that public authority would not make any concessions and re-established the dialogue on a new concept. And eventually, on Feb. 28, a historic meeting was organized at Dolmabahçe Palace where Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan, Interior Minister Efkan Ala and some members of the HDP were present. With the HDP delegation, a disarmament call issued by Öcalan was announced to the PKK and convening a congress on this matter was proposed.

Now it is expected that this call would be repeated more clearly at the Nevruz events in Diyarbakır on March 21. A supervisory commission is about to be formed. The release of ailing PKK members from jails is on the agenda. A secretariat set off to İmralı Island for Öcalan, where he is serving his sentence.

Despite all the provocations, Turkey is determined to conclude this historic peace project. The cease-fire, which has been in effect for the last two years, has created a peaceful atmosphere in the southeastern region of the country. The actual owners of the project are the people themselves: Turks and Kurds. Consequently, there is no return from this path. Turkey is mentally ready for all possible provocations.