If the judiciary of a state is biased and clearly operates outside the law to serve the goals of those in power, then no matter what is said, which constitution, rule, or decision is made, the outcome will only be sustainable if it serves those who govern. Otherwise, there can be no talk of rights, equality, or justice in any way.
The current agreement between the PKK and the Turkish government in Turkey is also a part of this issue. In the present situation, where the AKP has lost its voter base and legitimacy, it has engaged in such an initiative to gain votes from Kurds and extend its political life. The Kurds, on the other hand, are contributing naively and senselessly, thinking that this might lead to democratization of the Turkish Republic.
Despite the fact that PKK’s founder Öcalan is held hostage by the Turkish state, the PKK laying down arms, showing passivity, and taking steps that serve the Turkish nation without gaining any rights or achievements, in my view, is a repetition of a historical mistake.
Throughout history, the Kurds have never had a sustainable state. The reason for this is that every time, they believed in the promises of other states and tied their existence to the existence of others. The most striking examples of this are the Kurds who did not secede during the Iranian revolution, those who remained with Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, and now the Kurds in Rojava who did not gain freedom after the collapse of the Syrian regime. The Kurdistan Regional Government, established under U.S. pressure, is today being dismantled under pressure from the Iraqi government. The single reason for all this is that the Kurds have always left their attempts to establish their own state unfinished and relied on other nations.
Dissolving an experienced army like the PKK, discarding that experience, handing over the 100,000-strong Kurdish army in Rojava to the jihadist ISIL-aligned Syrian government are the last mistakes the Kurds have made in this century. That such decisions are made under the orders of a captive leader held by enemy states is incomprehensible, irrational, and inconsistent policy.
I’m not saying be without a leader, but failing to see the current condition of the leader and not properly evaluating the possibility that an aging leader might prioritize his own life over an ideology is purely naive and inexperienced.
For centuries, the Kurdish people have given unconditional support to organizations that claim to defend their language and culture, believing they would bring liberation; they shed blood, endured torture, sacrificed personal lives – and every time, those organizations ended up surrendering unconditionally to the enemy. Now the same scenario is repeating. While we hope to escape from the murderous Turkish state and dream of seeing Kurdistan as a unified and independent country, our organizations are handing us over to the enemy with their own hands.
What will happen is clear: Erdoğan, who has entered into these games for his own interests, will, once he has gained all he can, return to his tortures, bombings, and massacres – and the Kurds will once again end up with nothing, just like throughout history for both sides.
No matter what the PKK or Öcalan say, I will never forget the pain of Dersim, Zilan, Roboski, Maraş, Sivas, the Ankara Train Station Massacre, and the people massacred in Hewlêr and Rojava, and I will never trade any enemy's rule for the independence of the Kurds. I know that millions of Kurds feel and think the same way I do.
Ünal Zeray
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