The Turkish government launched an initiative at the end of July aiming to solve Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish question. The details of the plan are yet to be announced but the government frequently underlines that the initiative is a process that will take time and will be realized in phases, one of which will be the end of terror and the return of all PKK members to the country.The first group of 34 returnees affiliated with the PKK turned themselves over to Turkish authorities at the Habur border gate on Monday, four days after Öcalan called for the PKK to start to return. He told his lawyers that the democratic process is in a deadlock and to open it, “peace envoys” from the Makhmur refugee camp, from the Kandil Mountains -- where the PKK has a camp -- and from Europe should come to Turkey to discuss the conditions of living together. The group that entered via the Habur crossing was composed of people from Makhmur and eight PKK members.
Upon their arrival, they were interrogated at the border and were released after five were sent to court to be questioned by prosecutors.
A source familiar with the legal proceedings told Sunday’s Zaman that even before the arrival of the group, there were discussions between the officials and the group’s lawyers. The Turkish officials, including top brass from the Interior Ministry, openly drew red lines, including the stipulation that the returnees should not mention the name of Öcalan.
While the group gave their testimony, there was frequent crises, as some of the returnees, when asked why they returned, gave answers of “upon the order of our leadership” or “due to the wishes of the leader of the Kurdish nation.” Some of them even refused to sign their testimonies, since the written transcripts did not include the phrase “Mr. Öcalan” but just “Öcalan.”
Turkish legal authorities consider the expression “Mr.” a sign of respect and consider saying “Mr. Öcalan” as a clear sign of promoting the PKK, which is a criminal act. There have been many court cases launched over the expression “Mr. Öcalan.”
According to the same reliable source, some of the returnees, especially the last five who were released after the rest, insisted on their initial testimonies and all were on the verge of being arrested.
“The red line for the judiciary in the returnees incident was Öcalan. They did not want to give the impression that they are engaging him in the talks and for the process,” he said.
He added that the lawyers who were present at the border were trying to explain to these five and the others that if they were arrested the democratization process would cease and their return would not serve its aim, but the lawyers were not successful in convincing them.
Finally, one of Öcalan’s lawyers told the returnees that Öcalan wants the return process to take place without problems and that their names would be given to Öcalan as troublemakers if they continued to create obstacles.
This spurred them to testify, “I decided to return of my own will.”
“Anyway, everybody knows why they returned; there is no need to underline it in their testimony,” the same source said.
Ahmet Türk, the chairman of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), said at a press conference upon the arrival of the returnees that their return is a clear indication of how Öcalan can contribute to the process if he is given the chance.
According to Seydi Fırat, who guided the group from northern Iraq to Turkey, the return would never have taken place if Öcalan had not ordered it. He noted that the hopes of an end to the violence and a way to solve the problem by peaceful means have increased.
Fırat himself was a former PKK member and a returnee in 1999, when Öcalan issued a similar call after he was captured. But when Fırat’s group returned, he and his friends were not released but sent to prison instead.
Fırat told Sunday’s Zaman that there were similar legal requirements at that time, which could have been the base of their release, too, as took place last week.
“But the mind of the state at that time was not like it is today,” he said, admitting that returning from the mountains is not only the initiative of Öcalan.
Nihat Ali Özcan emphasizes that not only the state but the world order and the regional power structure has changed. According to Özcan, there are many indicators that make him to think that, directly or indirectly, there is a link between the state and Öcalan and some negotiations are going on behind the scenes, but their form is not clear.
But he underlines that whatever the form, the sides of this relationship and the relationship itself is asymmetrical.
“Since it is asymmetrical to think about the winners and rulers in classical terms, it is too early to say whether this process is successful or not,” Özcan told Sunday’s Zaman.
Another person who thinks that there is a channel of communication between the outlawed PKK or Öcalan and the state is the chairman of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, Emin Aktar. He thinks that now it is the government’s turn to regulate the process.
“The government says that it is not able to change the Constitution; however, it can make regulations on the Kurdish language and freedom of expression and prepare the legal ground for future returnees. It should not necessarily be an ‘amnesty’ but some other form could be easily found,” he told Sunday’s Zaman.
According to Aktar, implementing such regulations would improve the hand of the Kurds who are against arms, and the process might help legitimate Kurdish politicians emerge from under the shadow of the PKK and Öcalan.
İbrahim Güçlü, a Kurdish intellectual who knows Öcalan personally, thinks in a similar way. He believes that if politics are cleansed of arms, the loose monopoly of the PKK and Öcalan on Kurdish politics will be weakened, but this is one of Öcalan’s red lines -- he will never let this happen.
“Without getting anything for himself, he will not let this process be finalized,” Güçlü told Sunday’s Zaman.
He notes that the process already turned into a give-and-take issue; according to Güçlü, it is not a coincidence that after the return, the government announced that convicts will be sent to İmralı to join Öcalan, who has been serving his life sentence alone on the island.
“But the first statement about him was ‘If the newcomers threaten my security, I will protest it.’ This is a very good example of his personality,” Güçlü said.
According to Güçlü, Öcalan might pretend that he is listening to others, but he is a dangerous actor, and if he sees any opportunity, he would not hesitate to use it for his personal interests.
“For me, in this process, Öcalan is not the main actor, but he is not a bit player either. He is the understudy of the main actor, which is the state for the time being, but he might do anything at any time to change his role,” Güçlü said.
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