Ferda Çetin
”The statement of Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Pervin Buldan, ‘When the time comes, we will announce what you promised to us in the solution process,’ was the hot issue of the past week,” writes Ferda Çetin for Yeni Özgür Politika.
Many people from each side blamed Pervin Buldan and asked her to make a clarifying statement “Can you explain, what are you waiting for?” Other than those who had good intentions in terms of their political stance, attitude and support for the HDP, it can be said that the purpose of the accusations have had malicious intentions.
The so-called “solution process” between the Turkish State and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) started in 2012 and ended in 2015. During this process, HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan was on the “official” delegation that participated in the discussions between the Turkish State, the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Administration, and at the same time official representatives provided by the various stake holder parties.
This delegation, defined as the “İmralı Delegation”, were burdened with a great responsibility and under such difficult conditions. It was not in secret but in front of the public, openly. But today, Tayyip Erdoğan, Süleyman Soylu, AKP deputies, prosecutors, judges and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) media outlets claim have never experienced such a process and are attacking the HDP by pretending to not hear about these events. Tayyip Erdoğan, Süleyman Soylu and AKP deputies want to create negative public opinion in the country and abroad; In order to legitimise their arbitrariness and tyranny, they act within the framework of a common plan and using the tired old arguments. They claim that HDP former and new co-chairs, parliamentarians and municipal co-chairs are “members of the organisation” and “supporters of the organisation”. The summary of ‘legal’ proceedings of HDP deputies, including Pervin Buldan, are pending. These proceedings, which do not have any constitutional nor legal basis are waiting for the approval of the Turkish parliament. Süleyman Soylu began a revenge operation against the HDP after the Garê attack. He explained that HDP elected officials acted on the orders and instructions of the PKK administrators, visited Kandil and Garê, took pictures together and called the prosecutors and judges to carry out their duty. He presented old photos to the media like they were new.
Should HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan and HDP executives expect the continuation of this policy by denying the meetings took place, these photos were taken in the context of the ‘peace process’ and within the approval of the state, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Tayyip Erdoğan and Süleyman Soylu?
In fact, it is not “very important and confidential” information that was discussed during the interviews, because these meetings were discussed under different headlines in AKP, Gülen movement and Kurdish media outlets.
Pervin Buldan said, “Whatever we did, whatever we talked about, we did it under your approval, and together. Since you are explaining with photos as if it were secret activities, then we will tell what we talked about, ” she said, giving a message.
The fact that the discussions and its reflection to the media was brought back to the agenda by the HDP still creates serious unrest for the AKP, Erdoğan and Soylu, who continue to, bizarrely, completely deny the process and seemingly unaware of the process.
For the government, which is hemorrhaging votes on a daily basis in the opinion polls, the best thing was to simply cover up this issue. And that’s what they did. Soylu and his team in the media covered the lie of “Dilan Dirayet Taşdemir’s visit to Garê” and the subject of the photographs of HDP members with the KCK Executives. Since the first day of the Turkish state-PKK talks, Kurdish People’s Leader Öcalan, the KCK Administration and the HDP delegation have insisted that the talks be conducted transparently; They demanded that a monitoring committee and arbitral tribunal be established in the talks. This demand was neglected by the Turkish state/AKP government.
At the meeting held in Imrali on January 3, 2013, Öcalan told the delegation:
“I am not against to end the armed struggle, in principal. But what do we put in its place? If the parliament does not play its role, if legal and constitutional arrangements do not work, how would the conditions for peace be created?’’
The Kurdish people’s leader Öcalan again touches on this issue in his meeting on 18 March 2013; “Now our work here needs a law. What’s that? Parliament will pass a law and put an end to this illegality. Because all of our work is illegal. Why did they want to question the two MIT undersecretaries? Because their work is illegal. Commissions will have to be established in the parliament for this job. The other is a commission consisting of wise people on behalf of society.”
He continued this insistence in a meeting he held in 2014; “… an arbitration panel is mandatory, for these interviews. A delegation that will supervise between PKK and the state.”
So, the problem is not about the statement of HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan. Since the State-PKK talks were conducted without the participation of the public, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, political parties, universities and non-governmental organisations, the substance of the dialogue and negotiations did not become public.
Naturally, the news, statements and reflections in the press did not satisfy the public opinion. But those who were supposed to be part of the negotiation process did not have minimal effort to get involved. They did nothing to establish observer-arbitration committees in and outside the parliament. Like the public, they watched all from the outside. The biggest problem is in the crowd of watchers who see everyone responsible but themselves, exempt from all responsibilities and duties.
