A group of Muslim intellectuals recently made a statement on the discussions on the solution of the Kurdish issue in Istanbul. In the statement, Muslim intellectuals emphasised the constitutional guarantee for peace and listed items. Muslim intellectual writer Ümit Aktaş and Dr Fatma Akdokur, retired from Düzce University Faculty of Theology, made evaluations on the solution of the Kurdish issue and the construction of peace.

 

Stating that the Kurdish issue is Turkey's most important problem for a hundred years, Aktaş reminded that Kurds took part in the War of Independence on the side of Turks both in the parliament and at the front and established the republic together. Stating that after the establishment of the Republic, the dominant powers made strategic changes and excluded the Kurds, Aktaş said, "The Sheikh Said rebellion, which opposed this, was suppressed in a very bloody way. Again, Seyit Rıza rebellion and Dersim massacre took place. These were not enough, resettlement policies against Kurds were put into effect. Turks no longer accepted the Kurds as comrades on the path they had embarked on with the Kurds at the beginning of the Republic. This led to marginalisation, denial of the Kurds' language and basic rights, and even denial of their existence. This hundred-year period has been characterised by continuous conflicts."

 

'DENIAL IS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS'

 

Emphasising that one of the most important responsibilities of intellectuals, writers and thinkers in Turkey is to eliminate the factors that cause the Kurdish issue, Aktaş said that the continuation of this problem is against human rights. Underlining that everyone who is sensitive to human rights should address this problem, Aktaş added, "The denial of a society is against human rights. While Turkey's resources are largely spent on the 'armed struggle' against the Kurds, the Turkish and Kurdish people are experiencing the distress, pain and losses together. The Kurdish issue is an issue of marginalisation and self-existence based on this marginalisation, which was assumed by the Kemalist ideology established at the beginning of the republic. This must be eliminated. Without this ideology, the society in Turkey would be able to coexist and live together. The only thing to do here is to eliminate these policies."

 

Emphasising that there is no problem between the peoples, but that the strategy produced by the official ideology to exist itself separates the peoples.

 

Aktaş reminded that although there have been attempts to find a solution to the Kurdish issue since the 90s, these have ended negatively and said, "In the 2012-2015 period, some negotiations were held again. Some people who were involved in a process initiated by the state, who made sacrifices, were arrested and some were tried without arrest. In other words, a law was passed at that time to prevent these people from being punished, but that law was not respected. Since Turkey is not a state of law, it is not governed only within the framework of laws. The state and political parties must also be involved in the process. Abdullah Öcalan also said in his statements that ‘political parties, parliament should be involved in this process, and most importantly civil society should be involved in this process’. The society itself must take on this situation and the Parliament must take responsibility. These problems cannot be solved only by laws and the state. They can only be solved with a great social participation. If there is strong participation and support, this problem will be solved."

 

Stating that the rights of Kurds, which have been usurped in the centuries-long process, must be restored, Aktaş continued, "The most important of these is that all kinds of restrictions on the mother tongue must be removed. The state must not be disturbed by the local governments writing the names of neighbourhoods and road signs in Kurdish."

 

'UNIQUENESS IS AGAINST THE NATURE OF GEOGRAPHY'

 

Dr Fatma Akdokur, a member of Muslim intellectuals and retired from Düzce University Faculty of Theology, noted that imperialist powers have been establishing nation states in the Middle East for centuries in the form of divide and rule and have been trying to design societies in this way and said, "It is against the nature of this geography to fit the nation state into a structure such as one state, one language, one religion. The people of this ancient geography endeavour to live together with their different religions, languages and cultures."

 

"We can easily build peace in this geography with our differences," said Fatma Akdokur and added, "Çlood and violence must end in this geography, We don't know when the rulers will stop enjoying themselves and bring peace, but as peoples we will always continue to be the defenders of peace. We say peace is now, whether they want it or not. We express our demand for the establishment of a basis where all peoples, especially the Kurdish and Turkish communities, can live together under equal, free and constitutional guarantees without any conditions.+

 

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

 

Underlining that women have an important role in peace processes, Dr Fatma Akdokur continued, "Peace itself is the focus of goodness and solidarity. Woman symbolises this. The opposite of peace is war and the effects of war directly destroy the lives of women. Women are the biggest victims of the war in the Middle East. In Syria, Yazidi women are the target of ISIS attacks. Thousands of women were subjected to migration. Therefore, we women have to object to war more than men. Peace must be an indispensable hope and way of life for our geography. We do not want to postpone this by calling it hope. On the contrary, we should include it in our own lives by calling it a way of life."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal