Journalist Mehtap Orak: constitutional amendments are Turkey’s fortress of survival

A year and a half has passed since leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call for “peace and a democratic society,” and one year has passed since the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) decided to lay down arms. However, the Turkish state has yet to take any legal steps. The issue of this process has occupied an important place on the agenda of Turkey, the Middle East, and the world.

In this context, Kurdish journalist Mehtap Orak spoke to ANHA's agency about the matter.

At the beginning of her remarks, Mehtap Orak highlighted the steps taken by the Kurdistan Freedom Movement over the past year, saying:

“The decision to dissolve the PKK has become the strongest document proving the sincerity and intent of the struggle for freedom. This decision demonstrated in the clearest possible way that armed struggle has definitively ended, and that from now on the struggle will be conducted solely through democratic politics.

The phase that began with the statement by Devlet Bahçeli leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) should not be reduced merely to that declaration. Leader Abdullah Ocalan has been living through and undergoing a long phase of intellectual deepening and preparing the groundwork before taking any sensitive and fateful decision.

We can say that this call opened the door to these intellectual transformations and provided the possibility of building the proper foundation. Despite mutual steps being taken, the Turkish state has still not taken any concrete and serious measures corresponding to the steps taken by the leader.”

Orak continued by referring to a question that had been frequently asked a year ago: “Why Bahçeli?”

She added: “Why was this step taken by Bahçeli rather than by the ruling party? Bahçeli is viewed as representing the ‘mind of the state.’ It is clear that a step coming from this state mentality carries far greater significance than one taken by the ruling party.

And what was this state mentality like? It was a mentality that for many years insisted on denying and exterminating the Kurds. Therefore, a statement coming from this mentality at this particular moment was a major development and left an impact that could not pass without response.

Alongside the step taken by Bahçeli, the process that began was too important to be confined to him alone. In order for this step to continue and for the process to reach a solution, everyone agreed that this was only possible through the participation of the government, the opposition, democratic circles, and society.

However, the necessary steps have still not been taken, because the government’s strategy based on the idea of ‘moving forward quietly and cautiously’ has effectively pushed the process toward deadlock.”

“If the process does not end on a legal basis, a severe crisis awaits Turkey”

Adding: “What steps should have been taken? What strategies should have been implemented? For an entire year, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in particular explained these issues in detail.

However, neither parliament nor the main concerned parties implemented what was necessary. The ‘Parliamentary Committee’ that was formed became merely the first step toward procrastination, while the most sensitive legal and constitutional steps were never taken.”

She pointed out that Abdullah Ocalan took this step under conditions of severe isolation and continuously emphasized the following message:

“The end of armed struggle can only become permanent and stable through legal and constitutional guarantees.”

She went on to say “Yet the calls stressing that words are not enough and that concrete measures are necessary have always gone unanswered something also emphasized in the statement issued by "APO" movement.”

She explained that:

She explained that “If this process, which has continued for a year, does not conclude on a legal foundation, then a situation characterized by crises and conflicts far more dangerous than before awaits Turkey. History has repeatedly proven what happens when promises are not fulfilled.”

“‘The unity of Syria’ has become a cover for the extermination of the Kurds”

Journalist Mehtap Orak also evaluated the attacks by factions of Syria’s interim government, supported by the Turkish state, against North and East Syria, linking them to the current phase:

“At the very height of this deadlock, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham HTS launched attacks in Syria against Rojava, specifically the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods.

The statement issued by the Turkish Ministry of Defense showed that the stalled process had begun sliding back toward the military arena. The slogan of ‘the unity of Syria’ once again became a cover for the extermination of the Kurds.

This scene clearly revealed that no real will or transformation has yet formed within the mentality of the Turkish state.”

She added “Although the Turkish state may have realized the flaws in its approach to the Kurdish issue, it remains extremely weak when it comes to changing its mentality. It still has not accepted that this transformation can only be achieved through constitutional steps.

There is insistence on confining Abdullah Ocalan’s manifesto of change solely to the issue of disarmament.

Constitutions built on denial in the Middle East have caused enormous suffering, and with the intervention of dominant powers, the region stretching from Palestine to Iran now threatens neighboring states as well.”

She continued “Turkey is compelled to change the language and identity of the republic that was founded on denial.

It is living in such a state of political blindness that it cannot see that a multilingual, multi-identity, democratic republic is what would breathe new life into it.

It has not moved beyond the phenomena and methods of a century ago. Old military policies and methods will not be able to save Turkey from this storm.

For 100 years, the state operating under the same paradigm has suffered severe blows at every stage. Through the steps taken by Bahçeli, we can now see that they have begun to recognize this reality.

We are currently passing through a historic phase similar to the First and Second World Wars. The capitalist system, led by globally dominant powers, is living through its final stages and therefore needs new crises and conflicts in order to sustain the cycle of its system economically and ideologically.”

“Constitutional reform is the fortress of survival against destruction”

Journalist Mehtap Orak explained the path out of these crises, saying:

“The golden road to this renewal passes through the Middle East.

When Europe withdrew from the Middle East after the First and Second World Wars, and in order to maintain a foothold in the region, it planted issues and problems that have remained impossible to fully understand or resolve for a hundred years.

The best examples are the Israeli–Palestinian issue and the Kurdish issue planted across four states.

This has brought no benefit to the peoples and states of the region. On the contrary, it empowered and strengthened the dominant powers.”

Adding “Solving this century-old issue would bring stability to the region and end wars and conflicts in the Middle East.

In short: either we prepare ourselves for a new century through constitutional reform, or we will pay a very heavy price.

Societies can preserve their existence and continue even if the state’s reason disappears, but if social stability collapses, it becomes impossible to speak of a state structure.

If the state does not democratize itself and does not base itself on the will of society, it will collapse.

The state must now understand this and move immediately, because it is impossible for it to survive on its own in the event of a war erupting in the Middle East.”

Mehtap Orak concluded her remarks by saying: “If Turkey believes it will emerge safely from this war and therefore adopts tactics of delay and buying time, it should know that today’s war of national liberation will not resemble the war fought a century ago.

It will be far more destructive and will leave devastation from which there will be no escape.

Constitutional reform will be our most effective fortress for protecting ourselves from dominant powers and their partners.”

ANHA