Democratic Rights and Ornamental Plants of Turkey
A friend of mine told me that a Greek friend of his, who is now living in Greece, responded to those who, in reference to the Greeks in İstanbul, said: "You are the beauty of this country.
You are the ornaments of this land," by saying: "Why? Are we ornamental plants? Would you have respect for us if we had been cactus?"
I hold that giving up a view of communities with different languages and cultures as ornamental plants is the fundamental condition for a healthy democracy in Turkey. We will be fulfilling the requirements of coexistence when we regard all flowers as part of the flora of this country, without distinguishing between cactus and thistle, and when we become convinced that even citizens who are not nice, sweet, favorable or friendly have rights.
Last week, an answer was sought at the Abant Platform in which the Kurdish issue was discussed with a focus on the question "How is coexistence possible with differences?" The point that attracted my attention most throughout the sessions was that some of the participants who took action to pursue a common future together adopted a stance that put emphasis on similarities alone and neglected differences. I am saying that there were no participants at the meeting who emphasized differences without demonstrating any personal complexes and who sought to lay the foundation for coexistence. However, a dream of Turkey where we all see each other as equal individuals and we are not afraid of our differences may lead us to give more meaningful answers to the question of how coexistence is made possible.
Bolu Governor İsmail Hakki Akpinar used an anecdote in the opening address of the meeting in which he touched upon his childhood memories. "I vied with a gypsy friend of mine who was known as Abdal to become class captain. He won. We, the Kurds, Turks, Alevis and Sunnis, were living together in peace and happiness," he said. This situation was certainly impressive. But one cannot help but ask why the skills and abilities of this Abdal, who was clearly able to govern the class, were limited to the primary school years. What is the likelihood of this Abdal becoming a governor or another high-level administrator? Why is a Turkey where the Greek, the Kurd and the Armenian are able to become military officers or governors without giving up their Greek, Armenian or Kurdish identity still a chimera? Is it possible to overlook the fact that the famous cliché "The Kurds can even become ministers in this country" (Isn't the entire tangle found in the expression itself?) became a reality only after great challenges and difficulties?
I can tell that the Kurds feel this very deeply. Actually, the Kurdish question, which has become the subject matter of grandiose theorems and projects, is based on a very humane and innocent demand for existence. We all know the point that the tension starting with the call of the Kurds: "I exist. Appreciate my existence. Recognize my rights," has reached. The reason for the bloody encounter between the Kurds and the Turks is the clashes based on these feelings of existence and non-existence. In other words, Kurds in Turkey do not completely feel as if they exist in this country.
Equality and honor
Is the problem more about the pain that has been experienced than the feeling held by people who became alienated because of the accumulated fears and failures? The fears, which have greater and more destructive impacts than the pain, have been generated in the region as part of a method. What the Kurds need most at the present time is to feel that they are equal and honorable individuals and citizens. Nobody should have to deal with the burden associated with being a second-class citizen. For this reason I strongly believe that the efforts such as the Abant Platform should be multiplied.
These attempts offer meaningful opportunities to promote an awareness of rights among the people. They teach us that it is a natural right to lead a life in this country without being an "ornamental plant" because the language we have used so far to talk about and discuss our problems embodies a hierarchy, even though we are not aware of it. If we would like this hierarchy not to be recreated, we have to open alternative paths that had previously been blocked by excessive ideology and excessive emotionality. We have to accept that what we call Kurds and Turks are not homogenous facts and to ask without fear "Which Kurds, which Turks?" For instance, we may start with the fact that it is not the Turks but the state which should respond to the Kurdish demands for rights. This is the only way to achieve the awareness that will eliminate the hierarchy.
It is also necessary to underline a very important fact pointed out at the Abant meeting. Despite all theories and suggestions, we still lack the required scientific data to discuss the Kurdish issue. The statistical data on the predominantly Kurdish regions are insufficient. Even the figures on the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) explained by the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce at the meeting were quite different from the figures that we thought we already knew. This sort of concrete and key information is very important because only in this way can we explain that the data alleging that the people in the region are a burden on the people living in the west of Turkey are actually inaccurate. It will become possible to view the humane side of this giant problem, which is discussed mostly in the abstract, only if we rely on true reflections of concrete data.
We must strip off the nationalism that serves to widen the gap and dispel myths that feed off of one another. Viewing the human as the focal point of the pain and the realities of this human is possible through accurate use of a language by which these stories are narrated, because the language of pain, mercy and conscience is the sphere of reality. And, unlike common perceptions, this is not an apolitical approach. What will change one's views on the issues and transform this person is his or her conviction that a human exists there. The power of a person who is able to see the human as the focal point of pain or trauma and sets no barrier before himself or herself cannot be compared to any other power. If we are to fear, we should be fearful of this power. The power of a human who recognizes the rights of others connected to their very existence is enough not only to correct the malfunctions in a democracy but also to change the entire world.
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