Permanent period of peace

One of the most critical thresholds of the reconciliation process has been passed. Turkey celebrated Nevruz in an atmosphere of peace. The letter written by the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan, was announced to the public in both Turkish and Kurdish. The letter did not disappoint expectations. Rather, it made a definite call for a congress for peace, emphasized that the period of armed conflict has come to an end, mentioning "the spirit of Eşme," and promising to live together in brotherhood, which clearly demonstrates that the reconciliation process has evolved into a permanent peace period.

This was achieved after a long and winding road. In the early 2000s, when I started working as a journalist, people used to be afraid of even uttering the word Nevruz in relation to the Kurds. Whenever I paid a visit to Diyarbakır, Silopi or Yüksekova, the tanks trundling around the cities on Nevruz used to be described. In 2004, when Songül Erol Abdil was elected mayor, she said flowers would replace armored vehicles on Nevruz days. Celebrating Nevruz was only a dream during those days.

So we started at the bottom, and have climbed up to where we are now. Even addressing Öcalan as "Dear Öcalan" used to be a matter of dispute, speaking Kurdish used to be treated like a terrorist activity; children could not be given Kurdish names. Now, Turkey has evolved into a country where Öcalan's Kurdish letter can be publicly read, visual records of it can be viewed on a huge barcovision, and the terrorist group leader curses terrorist groups and speaks about peace.

How have we been able to reach this point? What are the differences between Öcalan's recent letter and the letters he issued in 2013 and 2014? This point should be emphasized in order to see the evolution of the process.

One of the most distinguishing points that marked his 2013 letter was his call for the PKK forces to retreat from Turkish borders. He said "guns shall be silenced and ideas and politics shall speak. Now it is time for our armed elements to move outside [Turkey's] borders... This is not giving up the fight; but rather starting a new and different one." After this positive call, the process was confronted with serious challenges. A short time after that letter was released, the Gezi Park incidents broke out. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) faced a serious threat. Afterwards, another chaotic situation was attempted with the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 judicial coup efforts. Of course all these negative incidents slowed down the process, but could not stop it. Despite it all, the reconciliation process continued. And for the 2014 Nevruz celebrations, Öcalan issued another letter.

This letter demonstrated that Öcalan is able to interpret the phases correctly and shape his politics accordingly, but it was also a pessimistic one. "The most urgent question that needs an answer is whether we would continue our path with successive coups or a complete and radical democracy," he said, implying that he sided with the government during Dec. 17 process. He also demanded the introduction of a negotiation phase. Following the letter, the Middle East was impacted by the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Then the Kobani besiege and the Oct. 6-7 incidents followed. And although the process slowed down numerous times, it settled with the meeting of the parties and the 10 articles issued for the process.

Up until this year's Nevruz when Öcalan's latest letter was announced, we experienced all those incidents. At the point we have reached, the PKK leader reminded his organization that a period of peace has begun, and now a congress must meet in order to negotiate laying down arms. I do not think anything can stand against that. Turkey is now entering a brand-new period.