Kışanak: Do not instrumentalize the Kurdish issue

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  • 21:08 17 January 2024
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ANKARA - Completing her defense in the Kobanê Case, politician Gültan Kışanak called on the authorities to stop instrumentalizing the Kurdish issue and the people of Turkey to stop the bloodshed in the country and said: "Let's gift the peace to Kurdish and Turkish mothers."
 
The Kobanê Trial continued with the defense of former Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality (DBB) Co-chair Gültan Kışanak in the hall of Sincan Prison Campus.
 
KURDISH ISSUE IS THE REALITY OF THIS COUNTRY'
 
In the hearing she attended via SEGBİS, Kışanak said:  The Kurdish issue is a reality of this country. It is necessary to understand that no issue is one-sided. In this regard, it is necessary to be principled and independent. If there is a issue; There are at least two sides to this. We were given an opportunity to both know ourselves and see the other. In principle, it is necessary to know that there are two sides to a issue and that no issue can be experienced one-sidedly. I am definitely a part of that issue. When we look at it from a principled perspective, the state can see itself, our people can see their shortcomings, and the parties can see their shortcomings. The President came to Diyarbakır in 2015 to solve the issue and said, 'The Kurdish issue is my issue too'. If we look at it this way, we will understand where this issue can be solved, this will enable self-criticism.
 
THERE IS NO LOSER IN PEACE
 
We must adopt another slogan for ourselves, 'There are no losers in peace.' This is a basic principle that all societies put forward as a result of both political and social fights. You earn little, you earn fully. We more or less saw this in the ceasefire and solution processes. During the solution process, funerals stopped coming. Mothers were not that worried. The mothers were starting to sleep a little more comfortably. There are no losers in peace, peace brings benefits to everyone. Where in the world did two tribes drift away from each other because of peace? Peace does not bring division, peace strengthens unity and the desire for a common future. It unites, not divides. We see how the war divides us. The saying 'If we make peace, we will be divided' is a lie, a made-up story. On the contrary, as we fight, we become divided in emotion, in pain, in creating a new path. In order to eliminate the process of division, this lie must be thrown into the trash.
 
STOP TURNING THE KURDISH ISSUE INTO A MATERIAL
 
There is one thing politicians must do: not to provoke. I've seen this for years. Especially when it comes to power, it manipulates public opinion. Their image directly affects society. It directs the influence and emotion of society. We saw the clearest process of this in the solution process. The solution process received 80 percent support because the Prime Minister's language was different. His language has changed; Currently the process is elsewhere. Regardless of the reasons, this is a reality. Political leaders in Turkey have the power to direct and influence society. They must use their power for solutions, not for antagonism. As they change this language, issues in the country are solved. The society is ready to participate in the solution, as long as political leaders use that language. The Kurdish issue is too serious a issue to be turned into a matter of domestic politics. It is such a heavy action that it will cost thousands of lives. Stop using the Kurdish issue as a material for domestic politics. Talk about the economic issue of this country, the issues of the people, the future of the young people. Why do you instrumentalize the Kurdish issue for yourself? When AKP tries to solve it, CHP interferes, and when CHP tries to solve it, AKP interferes. We are tired of these. We are not anyone's tool. 
 
THE KURDISH ISSUE CANNOT BE REDUCED TO THE SEAT
 
The Kurdish issue cannot be reduced to one seat. This is a terrible thing. No one should play a game wondering 'Will I win or lose votes over the Kurdish issue?' This includes everyone. The Kurdish issue is an apocalyptic issue. It is not a place to recruit votes. If you want to gather votes; go and explain how you will bring democracy to the people. Why are you doing this through the Kurdish issue? Stop being enemies of democracy in this country. If democratic politics were left free, it would establish its own course much better. But by putting obstacles in the way of democratic politics, they prevent democratic politics from establishing its own politics. Let me know what you want from democracy. When Kurds open a party, the party is closed down and when they are elected as MPs or mayors, they are thrown into prison. Why are you fighting, why are you interfering with the representation chosen by the people of their own free will at the ballot box? Stop this intervention! Stop obstructing democratic politics so that democratic politics can be strengthened to solve the issues of this country. Despite everything, it is necessary to explain to the country how valuable it is to insist on democratic politics.
 
CALL TO TURKISH SOCIETY: LET'S STOP THE BLOOD IN THIS COUNTRY
 
Now the DEM Party is waging this struggle. Despite all the pressure and insistence, they insist on democratic politics and try to do politics with the promise of peace, democracy and solution. I make the same call to political actors, NGOs, institutions and organizations; Let's stop the bloodshed in this country. Let's present the peace to Kurdish and Turkish mothers. We have a promise of peace to the whole society, to the Mothers for Peace, to the mothers of soldiers who have lost their children, to those whose children are still in the mountains or in the military. I will stand by this promise of peace for the rest of my life. Because I encountered this everywhere I went, they expected this from me and said this. Countless times, mothers said: ‘I don’t have a children anymore, don't let others' hearts be broken.’ The young women said to me: 'Let my brother, my husband, my uncle and my father be at peace on the mountain, let them come too.'
 
THE MYSTERY OF ÖZAL IS STILL NOT SOLVED
 
There are many reasons why the Kurdish issue has grown so much, but the most important one is that throughout the 200-year history, including the last 100 years of the Ottoman Empire, there has been no alliance within the group called the deep state or state mind to solve this issue. There is always a group saying 'Let's do it this way' and another group saying 'Let's do it this way' and bickering. The fights of the Ottoman Empire in the last centuries, the fights and different views of the Committee of Union and Progress are also known. An obstacle was placed in front of everyone who tried to take steps for a solution. We have witnessed, experienced and know what has happened since the 90s. When Özal tried to solve this issue, the price was death. This includes Eşref Bitlis and what happened during that period will be revealed when the archives of this state are opened in a transparent manner. The most serious processes we have seen in '93 took place and it was the closest to completion, but it was wasted. On one hand, 33 unarmed soldiers were shot, on the other hand, Eşref Bitlis's plane crashed suspiciously and died, the mystery of Özal is still not solved. 
 
ERBAKAN IS SOMEONE WHO SENT A LETTER TO PKK LEADER ÖCALAN
 
The late Erbakan is someone who sent a letter to PKK Leader Öcalan. Everyone knows this. But when he sent a letter for a solution, the bombs exploded. Then the February Coup took place. This is the fight in the deep structure of the state. That's why they published a newspaper with the February 28 Coup as the headline. We are aware of these. When the final solution process started, like some people, there was a dialogue process. While negotiations were being held in Oslo; Here, under the name of various operations, all the party's executives, members, women, and those in local administrations were arrested on absurd charges. Despite this, the dialogue did not cease. There is currently very detailed information on the internet about where and how Hakan Fidan and the Oslo meets were leaked and how the process was provoked.
 
THE GOVERNMENT COULD NOT PROTECT THE SOLUTION PROCESS
 
Those who organized the provocation in the Kobanî events also implemented the government's 'collapse Action Plan' in 2014. The government can no longer support the solution process. The government, which did not get the results it wanted in the June 7 elections, started the conspiracies by destroying everything. Afterwards, we explained with all our sincerity that, although the issues we call trenches and barricades could have been solved without such great and heavy destruction, they were knowingly and deliberately extended and enlarged by the coup plotters, our cities were destroyed and burned, our people lost their lives. The fact that anti-solution forces are so active in this country scares us. But as I said yesterday, fear is man's greatest weakness. If we fail to cope with it, we cannot solve anything. That's why we have to overcome this fear and confront these different approaches within the state. Because this brings the issues to another point. In this respect, a state mind in favor of a solution must emerge.
 
THE KURDISH ISSUE IS A DEMOCRACY İSSUE
 
This century-long, 200-year period, including the last century of the Ottoman Empire, is, on the one hand, the state's fight with the Kurds, and on the other hand, the state's fight within itself. That's why the issues don't fall into place. Isn't it a shame? The latest stage we have reached has become the ground for discussions at the expense of eliminating the constitutional regime. The solution of the Kurdish issue will also mean that the republic will be placed on a stronger foundation and that a democratic state of law will be established with all its institutions and rules. The Kurdish issue is a democracy issue. If the Kurdish issue is solved, democracy will develop, if democracy develops, the Kurdish issue will be solved. If there is democracy and human rights, the Kurdish issue will be solved, if the Kurdish issue is solved, democracy and human rights will develop. These two mutually affect each other, both positively and negatively.
 
THE ONLY REASON WE ARE IN THIS HALL IS THE KURDISH İSSUE
 
The Kurdish issue is a issue of rights and freedom, a issue of democracy, a issue of human rights. It is a question that underlies our answer to whether this country will be a democratic republic. If we look at it from here, it becomes easier to solve this issue. This issue is not something that cannot be solved or resolved. Yes, in one sense, this issue has deepened and turned into a very different, multi-layered issue, but it is not a issue that cannot be solved if there is the will to solve it. What can we do, how will we solve it? I don't have a ready answer. There are established principles for solving both international issues and characterizing them. If a decision is made on this issue, we can also play a role. First, we accept the existence of the issue. We have a issue, we will stop pretending that it doesn't exist. You know, after Erdoğan put the solution process on the refrigerator, he said 'if you don't think about it, it doesn't exist' when he returned to Russia, but that doesn't happen. There is. There is only one reason why we are in this court today; Kurdish issue.”
 
 While Kışanak's defense was coming to an end, the hearing was adjourned to continue tomorrow after the defense of Kışanak's lawyers.