This document was submitted to the 4th General Congress (1996) of the Workers’ Party and it was adeopted as a Congressional Resolution.
Doğu Perinçek, Chairman of the Workers’ Party, submitted this document to President Süleyman Demirel on January 13, 1995. It was published in TEORI, February, 1995.It was also submitted to the 4th General Congress (1996) of the Workers’ Party and it was approved there as a Congress Resolution.
Constitutional principles and policies tested in the independence war
I. REASON
The Kurdish question has been globalized
Today the most important development in Kurdish question is that the problem has been global zed. This is the process running since the Gulf War. Even during the Gulf War, Kurdish question in Iraq was transformed to a world problem by the imperialist states, particularly the U.S. As a result of this, the Poised Hammer (Operation Provide Comfort) was deployed to the region as an international military power.
Kurdish question in Turkey too, as connected with this process, departed from a domestic problem of our country. Today, all the big states of the world have their fingers in the Kurdish question. Thus, the question is rapidly going out of the control of Turkey-based-powers and sliding into the intervention field of the big world powers.
While this is the situation, Turkish state has not yet determined why the West intervenes the Kurdish Question. All the bourgeois parties either in power or in opposition avoid giving a clear answer to this question. Whereas, the solution of Kurdish question primarily requires that this question should be clearly brought up and answered.
The big Western states, as to the every problem in the oppressed world, claim that they show interest in the Kurdish question for “human rights”. Here lies a big lie. The big states don’t strive anymore for the democratic values of the revolutionary West represented by the French Revolution. On the contrary, the Western capitalism gained imperialist character has been strangling the democratic values all over the world. As a matter of fact, Turkey, in the beginning of the century, had to battle against the Western imperialism in order to build an independent and democratic society. The great reality of our age is as such: To the extent you want to approach to the democracy, you must have to have a definite attitude against imperialism to that extent. There were the puppets of the U.S. imperialism at the head of fascist regimes collapsed in the last 20 years like in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile and Philippines. In Turkey, too, there were elements that the U.S. intelligence experts called “our boys”, at the head of the March 12 and September 12 regimes(1). Setting a stage for suppressive and fascist regimes, not “human rights” and “democracy” can be expected from the imperialist world of West. This fact is much more valid regarding to the Kurdish question.
It is necessary to be clear for the solution of the question in that: The West is not intervening in the Kurdish question for the sake of democracy and human rights. The aim of imperialists is to expand and solidify their spheres of influence, to colonize the oppressed world countries beyond mere dependency, to gain new fronts against the rival imperialists. That is why, the “human rights” has become the doctrine of this imperialist policy. The Western-centred various associations, organizations and committees, too, function as the imperialist policy means under the civilian disguise.
The big Western states’ policy on Kurdish issue can be identified as such:
The U.S. firmly capturing the control after the Gulf War, evidently, has established a Kurdish puppet state that is dependent on the U.S. in all aspects. All the guaranties of the U.S. related to the territorial unity of the countries in the region are only words. “Pentagon’s Kurdish Scenario,” revealed in detail in the “2000’e Doğru” magazine in 1988, is in force especially since the Gulf War. According to the scenario, the U.S. wants Turkey to take the Kurdish state in the Northern Iraq under her protection. Thus, Turkey would turn her front toward the poor countries of the South; would be pushed into endless conflicts with Arabic countries and Iran, Turkish-Iran war and “water wars” would come to the agenda as the Pentagon’s plan proposed; in summary, our country would be the gendarmerie for the U.S. in the region.
As a matter of fact, some in the Turkish State have identified themselves with such a role. The President Turgut Ozal, in the threshold of the Gulf War, after the U.S. Foreign Secretary of State James Baker’s visit to Çankaya (Presidential office), advocated that Turkey should supervise Iraq Kurds and wanted it to enter the Gulf War through land. Thus, Turkey would “put one and get five.”
It was not only Ozal identifying with the U.S. Kurdish program, the ex-chief of Staff Doğan Güneş, too, in the “Aviation and Defence” magazine, shortly before his retirement, declared that “one of the main duties of the Turkish Military Forces is the intervention to the regional crisis” in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasian. As it is seen here too, the contractor ship imposed on Turkey by the USA includes the interventions in the crisis regions around us, beyond Kurdish state in Northern Iraq.
This is a package program. As a result, Turkey would give up the Republic’s traditional policy and fall in the whirlpool of endless adventures outside the country’s borders. As a matter of fact, National Intelligence Agency (MİT) Undersecretary Lieutenant-General Fuat Doğu, as he brought the policy to the agenda in the mid 1980’s, indicated that “peace in the country, peace in the world” motto should be given up. This attitude that takes its inspiration from the U.S., as Fuat Pasha’s word, heads towards the “world Turkism and Islam” policy. The U.S. experts formulate the issue as “the fashion of Kemalist Revolution expired; the identity of ‘moderate Islam’ is necessary for Turkey”. It seems that the U.S. has captured an important power base in the Turkish state and puts into the service of her own Kurdish policy; if we explain more comprehensively, to the service of intervention policy for the regional crisis. Tansu Çiller, as a requirement of this new tendency and as continuation of Özal, was placed in the True Path Party (DYP- Doğru Yol Partisi) as the head and in the administration.
Here, Turkey, today on the axis of Kurdish question, in fact, reached the threshold of the more comprehensive program choices in domestic and foreign policy. It is obvious that the intervention to the regional crisis cannot be run within the frame of a parliamentary regime, when submitted to the U.S. scenarios. The political regime of the policy presented as “human rights” and “freedom” can only be a militarist- fascist dictatorship. This choice, which is compelled to use police methods in order to apply the privatisation program of the world capital, is also named “the Second Republic.” It is more appropriate to name it “Counter-guerrilla Republic.” In short, Turkey will pay for its dependency to the U.S. and nearly 70 billion dollars of debt with blood, both at home and outside.
The other Western big state Germany fundamentally that concentrates in the Eastern Europe sees it as “life field” and waits in ambush for the failures of the U.S. in the Middle East. Germany, since the Malta agreement, as the requirement of competition with the U.S. which is in cooperation with Russia, has been developing relations with Ukraine and Iran. The Bonn administration remains silent and underground in Kurdish question and waits for the U.S.’s foot slips.
The third state intervening Kurdish question is Russia. Lands previously controlled by the Soviet Union, nowadays, have become a main competition field among the big states. Chaotic geography of this field shows the extent to which competition has reached. Hegemonic conflict among the imperialists is commissioned to the oppressed world and it is directed by national slaughtering among small nations and religious wars. Russia, despite heavy economical problems, still one of the four of main superpowers of the world and is the party in the share-taking war. Moscow, after Bush-Gorbachev summit, while engaging in cooperation with the U.S, is in the struggle to protect the lands previously controlled against the U.S. expansionism.
The inclination of Turkey to undertake the contractor ship of the U.S. in the chaos-geography makes Russian administration apprehensive. Yeltsin regime counters by using Kurdish card against Turkey’s cooperation with the U.S. in Caucasians and Turkish Republics. Russia, furthermore, claiming to be the superpower, considers herself as the part in Kurdish question as in the Yugoslavian question.
In addition to the interventions of imperialist states, narrow-minded nationalist policies of the countries in the region has a role in the globalisation of the Kurdish question. Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, in Kurdish question, often engage in practices directed to domestically destroy each other. Iran supported Kurdish movement in Iraq. Iraq reacted to the Iran’s policy by helping Kurdish movements in Iran. Syria is behind the Kurdish movement in Turkey and Iraq. Turkey gave hand to the Kurdish movement in Iraq and from time to time in Iran. The policy of “beat up your Kurd but love neighbour’s Kurd” deepened the conflict among the regional countries, divided Kurdish organizations into opposing fronts and made them peons of the competition among the countries in the region. The narrow-minded nationalism of these countries and “ego-centralism” of the Kurdish organizations finally segregated the oppressed world:
PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party led by Abdullah Öcalan), too, after the Gulf War, steadily came to the line of serving the globalizing the Kurdish question. Leadership of PKK, first, lost its ability of independent policy as a result of the ties with the countries in the region. Then, both as parallel to the reproach of Syria to the U.S. and to overcome the problems of the increased war and solve the mistakes in the accumulation, PKK turned to Russia and the big Western states in order to seek for support. The imperialist countries administered the westernisation operations of PKK and gained important headway. Today, at the point reached, PKK leadership openly demands for roles given to PKK.
The policy to depend on the big Western countries naturally brings cooperation with religious power. It can be said that PKK leader has recognized the Northern Iraq model. According to the model, Kurdistan state is not established based on military victory. Contrarily, military defeat brings the West’s “human rights” intervention.
PKK leader’s letter recently sent to the leaders of the imperialist states and imperialist organizations like NATO indicates the point reached. Abdullah Öcalan, in his letter, invites the imperialist states for “urgent intervention” to the Kurdish question and indicates that his organization would “totally support” such an intervention. This means that PKK leader enters the Sevr line(2).2 PKK’s practices like execution of peasants in Erzincan Başbağlar village and Erzurum’s Yavi village for only being Turk, slaughtering the ordinary people in coffee-houses and buses coincide with that line. PKK leader prefers the imperialist West, not Turkish people as an ally.
The state’s denial and terror policy is in dead-end
Turkish administration doesn’t clearly determine why the Western big states intervene Kurdish question. Because the administration itself is in the pivot of cooperation with the Western imperialists. The cooperation, after the September 12, 1980, has set in an integration line with the world capital in Evren-Özal-Çiller administrations. The policy joining the U.S.’s New World Order project helps globalizing the Kurdish question. Hence, the powers in administration themselves are positioned in supporting, at least easing the imperialist intervention to the Kurdish question which is Turkey’s domestic problem. We can sort the state policies making the Kurdish question open to the imperialist intervention today as below:
– Denial of Kurdish reality: Turkey later denied the Kurdish reality that was openly recognized during the Independence War. Whereas the world states have been producing policies based on this reality and capturing superiority in intervention to the problem right at the beginning.
– Assimilation: It has been pursued to assimilate Kurdish reality whose existence had been denied. It is a fact that all the nations are made by swallowing multi-ethnic groups. This is also true for the Turkish nation at the Door of Tribes. However, it is clear that Kurds can’t be assimilated. Turks and Kurds can unite under a single nation in the future. It has become clear now that the way to unity passes through not forced-assimilation but equality, freedom and brotherhood.
– Violence: Denying the reality inevitably has brought violence policy against the reality. National-democratic demands of Kurdish people has met by state terror. The policy of Turkish administration’s insistence on solving Kurdish question via military methods has created and is still creating a suitable condition for foreign intervention. The oppressive and lawless character of Emergency Law Region, Special War Forces’-namely “counter guerrilla”-practices reflecting establishment a state within a state, people-aimed terror of special teams as uncontrolled forces, so called unknown killings, setting villages and forests on fire, the policy of depopulation etc., all these provide more than enough materials for the “human rights” lie of imperialist states. Besides, the question is the problem that of people in Turkey live peacefully free and happy.
– Support of feudal-landownership, sheikship and tribary leadership: The state has tried to put the masses of people under the control via medieval forces such as feudal-landownership, religious sheikship and tribe leadership. These dependency relations prevented integration of people of Turkey on the freedom, equality and brotherhood basis. The practice of Koruculuk System (local armed civil militia paid by the government) today is a continuation of the same reactionary policy and determines the position of the state against the creation of a democratic and modern society.
– Nationalism: Turkish nationalism excluded the Kurd, couldn’t embrace, thus played a divisive role on people. As a result, Turkish nationalism has created suitable basis for the development of Kurdish nationalism.
– Using religious ideology as glue: When the state couldn’t create a common identity on Turkish nationalism, then, it applied an ideological glue which remains from medieval age. Turk-Islam synthesis policy of the September 12 administration transformed into Kurd-Islam synthesis. State using military and police distributed millions of religious leaflets; destroyed the unity of secular education by means of medreses, Koran courses and imam hatip (religious schools) schools; developed cooperation with religious organizations like Hizbullah.
– Free market economy: Today’s economic system in which distribution of resources is determined by capital’s rule and according to the profit motive, grows the unevenness among the regions. Profit is where the infrastructure is built, qualified labour exists, and consumer demand is high, in other words, at the west of Turkey. Because of private interests system, yearly mean income at the Emergency Law Region is 382 dollars, at the Bangladesh level. The West of Turkey is trying to catch up with the Greek level. The recent privatisation program of the administration will further increase the economic gap among the region. Market system divides Turkey and destroys the brotherhood and peace.
All these policies of the state is fragmenting our society and nation in economic, social, ideological, political and legal terms; hence, creating condition for Turkey’s integration into New World Order of imperialism.
Necessity for an urgent solution
Turkey has been living a process of building an independent and democratic society for a century. Kurdish question, in today’s conditions, has gained a chain character in which our country’s domestic and external problems blend.
Today, the initiative on Kurdish question is not anymore in the hands of Turkey’s domestic forces, but the imperialist states. The process making the local forces of Middle East dependent and dragged behind the happenings came to its turning point with the Gulf War. If the independent and democratic forces of Turkey don’t reach to a definite position by joining together with the countries and peoples in the region, grave developments are at the door both for the people of Turkey and for neighbouring peoples.
There is no solution for Kurdish question of the Western states. A solution appropriate to the New World Order project is not solution, but desperation; it is Yugoslavization. There is only a single solution for Kurdish question; it is people solution, brotherhood solution. In a situation in which the Western centred control develops, the place to which Turkey arrives will be a fight of brothers and national slaughtering. If globalisation process of the Kurdish question continues and those who rule Turkey submit to the U.S. demands, it is not augury to say that bloody adventures are waiting for our country. If Turkey does not solve Kurdish question via democratic method, it will be entered into a minefield in foreign policy. Turkey-Iran war, Turkey-Greece wars, Water wars, intervention adventures in the Caucasian and the Balkan crisis, then, will emerge from the hypothesis. The ballads of Yemen will re-enter the daily lives of people.
Keeping the parliamentary regime alive and possibility of democratisation will disappear in the Turkey that inculcates the U.S.’s Kurd scenario. The Second Republic Project integrated in the world capital and the U.S. contractorship can only reach to a counter-guerrilla republic.
If we can’t actualise the need of voluntary unity based on equality, freedom and brotherhood of people of Turkey, the imperialists’ demands eventually will come to the foreground. Then, Kurdish question, as lived in Northern Iraq and Yugoslavia, will come to a dead-end and sustained the New World Order which brings the U.S. peace and order indeed requires such disorder and disturbance. It can be too late, under such conditions, to solve the problem responding people’s expectations. It must be realized that return roads under chaotic environment created by imperialist fights for share-grabbing and national slaughtering can not be found in a few decades.
The brotherly solution to Kurdish question is here and at hand.
Fundamental perspective for brotherly solution:
Kurdish question is Turkish question
When we look at the state’s policy and practices as a whole, we see that unfinishing of Independence War and Revolution of Republic in the source of Kurdish question. We waged a great struggle of independence against imperialism at the beginning of the century and gained a worldwide success. But today we are again in the system of imperialist-capitalist system. We destroyed a medieval state; realized certain thrusts in the direction of democracy, modernization and secularisation. But we are no able to solve a Kurdish question and totally eradicate the relations remaining from the medieval ages. On the contrary, at the latest period, we have been pushed into a process at the direction of demolishing of revolutionary gains we held at the beginning of the century.
In sum, Kurdish question is a part of independence from imperialism and democratisation. From that point of view, the futures of Kurdish and Turkish peoples are clamped together.
If we arithmetically view, for not remain under the foot in a competitive imperialist environment and for reaching great aims like democracy and independence, there is a need a sum of total powers of our people Kurds and Turks. All the solutions setting the Turk and Kurd against each other or putting not plus but minus sign between the two, brings disaster for the both people. The independent and free life of people of Turkey is tied to this equation. In other words, history and geography have obligated and committed Turk and Kurds to be unification and brotherhood. Because of the historical need, Kurdish question is Turkish question at the same time.
Kurdish question is Turkish question from the angle of daily situation of people of Turkey. People of Turkey are paying the price of remaining the problem unsolved with its blood. The share get Turkish labourers out of the administration of Special Warfare is the high cost of living, getting fired, heavy economical burdens, getting poorer and inmost sufferings.
Also, the problem is Turk question from the moral and ethical point of view. Terror environment shedding brother blood provokes the cruel nationalist feelings, destroys the accumulation and values of brotherhood of people of Anatolia and Trace. Honourable people of Turkey won’t be morally in peace and won’t be able to look at the face of the world head up as long as Kurds are oppressed. People of Turkey who didn’t come in line with the provocation of prejudice nationalism up till today, have moral accumulation to come out with success from the brotherhood test. “Turk has no right to enter heaven if a single Kurd remains in hell” thinking will find it’s repercussion in the consciousness and practice of people of Turkey.
Kurdish question, as it remains Kurdish question will be globalized and continue to be the basis for imperialist intervention. When Kurdish question is handled at the same time as the fact of Turkish question, then and only then a peaceful and permanent solution road opens.
The brotherly solution of Kurdish question, beyond the enlightenment of Turkey’s future, carries regional and universal values. Turkey is in the key position in chaos geography extending from Balkans to Pacific Ocean and being subject of influence-fights among imperialists today. A certain portion of nearly all peoples in Balkans, Caucasians and Middle East who have been pushed into national and religious wars live in our country. Bosnian, Rumanian, Albanian, Macedonian, Pomak (Bulgarian Muslim), Azerbaijanian, Armenian, Georgian, Caucasian, Abbazha, Tchetchen, Ingus, Arab and a section of Central Asia Turkic peoples are in Turkey. Break-up of the mosaic in chaos geography negatively influences Turkey too. A brotherhood model developed in Turkey can exemplify a peaceful solution to conflicts in the whole chaos geography. Turkey has accumulation and dynamics, as it had in the Independence War, to kindle the fire of brotherhood and struggle of the oppressed world against imperialism.
Tested solution:
Constitutional principles and policies of Independence War
The New World Order project wants our planet to return to the conditions in the beginning of the 20th century. In another words, imperialism is after to take back all the accomplishments which mankind acquired in the process started with Soviet October Revolution and Turkey’s Independence War in this century. From this vantage point, the conditions in another level, reminds before the 1919 for Turkey. The World Bank and IMF’s privatisation program, aims at ruining the domestic market of our country. Hence, economic foundation of the state of Turkish Republic is drilled for the interest of the world capital. Prime Minister Çiller explains it as “We destroyed the last socialist state”. In fact, what the institutions and relations which the most dependent powers to the U.S. want to destroy is our gains in the Independence War and Revolution of Republic. It is not void to indicate that the process being lived is a move to the Sevr. The forces in our country are taking sides again exactly like the pre-1919, as either defenders of Independence War gains or Pro-Sevr.
In this situation, to unite the people of Turkey like in the Independence War and mobilize against imperialism are risen to the agenda again. The unity is again a historical and great need. But the unity against whom and why?
The unity for the New World Order against people or for independence against imperialism?
Unity for the policies of national privilege and oppression, inequality or for equality and freedom?
It is now necessary to answer these questions, and unity and brotherhood solution to the Kurdish question is in urgent importance. If the unity is for independence, we have a tested and successful experience, the constitutional principles and policies of independence war that was later abandoned are matchless historical resource.
Mustafa Kemal established the equation of the Independence War, as soon as he landed in Samsun. On June 17, 1919, in a letter to 15th Army-corps Commander Karabekir Kazİm Pasha, he stated: “I have decided and am determined to unite Kurds and all the nation around a single point as a single nation. In reality, I can’t imagine such a power emerging from the national moral.”
The next day, this time in a telegram to Edirne Army Corps Commander Cafer Tayyar bey, he restated the arithmetic that brought success to the Independence War: “Kurds too joined Turks.”
On which programs and policies was this unity, clearly indicated that derived from the need for resistance against imperialism, actualised? We can find these policies in our Independence War and, thus, in the early documents of the constitution of the Republic. Declaration and decrees of Erzurum and Sivas congresses(3), Minutes of Amasya Meeting (Amasya Mülakatı Tutanağı), Mustafa Kemal’s addresses recorded in these documents and Üsmet Pasha’s official explanations in Lausanne(4), put forward fundamental principles of the solutions brought to The Kurdish question then:
-Common motherland of Turks and Kurds: It was defined that our country as “the land Turks and Kurds reside” in the Minutes of Amasya Meeting that was signed by Mustafa Kemal on behalf of the Representative Committee of the Defence Rights (Müdafaa-i Hukuk). Mustafa Kemal in his later speeches reiterates: “Motherland region Turk and Kurdish elements reside,” “National borders of brother nations,” “place Turks and Kurds reside.”
-Acceptance of self-determination and voting for Kurds: Mustafa Kemal indicated that they recognized “national self determination” for Kurds. He declared that, when Kurds casted their votes, they had their wish, they declared they considered living under the administration of Turkey Grand People’s Assembly.
-Identity of being from Turkey: The solution of Independence War had determined that national elements making up people of Turkey was more than one and combined these elements within the identity of “Turkish” (Turkish refers to Türkiyeli which means not an ethnic group but person from Turkey). It seems that Mustafa Kemal and other leaders then were quite sensitive to this issue. They were making special emphasis on using concepts which include Kurds. Mustafa Kemal, later, from time to time concretely defined the nation with a formula that included everybody living in the land of Turkey, as “people of Turkey establishing the republic.”
– Common interest, common future, living together: According to the Independence War administration and Mustafa Kemal, Kurds and Turks were so much intermixed that “it was not correct to attempt to draw a separate border”. What was right was “the two brothers having common interest and future should live together.”
– The common assembly and administration of Turks and Kurds: İsmet Pasha indicated in Lausanne that the Turkish Grand People’s Assembly administration was the administration of Turks and Kurds. It was explained in various speeches in TGPA that the Assembly and administration represented Turks and Kurds.
– The self-governing of Kurds in local administrations: The 1921 Constitution had brought a “people’s administration” system giving large power and authority to local administrations. Mustafa Kemal had advocated this administration system from the point of view of the solution to the Kurdish question. It was preambled that “the local administration in internal and external politics in the regions where Kurds reside.” “In every city that comprised of Kurds, they will autonomously administer themselves. “ To do so, Kurds “will complete their organizations for local administration.”
– The guarantees to the racial, social and geographic rights of Kurds: The Regulation of Association of Eastern Region of National Rights Defence (Nizamname of Vilayeti Şarkiye Müdafa-i Hukuk-u Milliye Cemiyeti) indicated in its aim clause that, “freely development of the national and political rights of Kurds will be provided.” The same guarantee took place in the Declaration and Nizamname of Erzurum and Sivas Congresses. Mustafa Kemal restated this constitutional-like principle in his various speeches using the same words. He indicated that Turks and Kurds “are full of respect and self-sacrificing feelings toward each other’s racial and social situations and environmental conditions.” As a requirement of this constitutional principle, the Assembly of Independence War freely discussed the “cruelty”, injustices and bad applications done to Kurds.
The solution brought to the Kurdish question, during the Independence War period, in sum, was based on Turks and Kurds who had common interest and future, in their common nation, joining in the identity of being from Turkey, living together with their free will, establishing a common Assembly and administration, respecting each other’s national rights and brotherhood. The constitutional principles and policies tested during the Independence War cannot be explained solely as requirement of the condition of the time. In fact, the solution had been forced by the realities of Turkey. However, the principles of the Independence War were abandoned after 1923. Here is the result… The receipt for the denial of the Kurdish reality and oppressive policy that accumulated throughout the whole history of the republic is being paid today with dependency to imperialism, brotherly blood, fascist climbing, sheriats, threat, economic collapse, social depression, cultural deterioration, coming to the threshold of bloody adventures outside. The most important of all, as indicated above, globalisation of Kurdish question and pushing Turkey into a process going back again to 1919. Under such conditions, the brotherhood solution for Kurdish question became a burning need.
II. PROPOSALS
1. New Constitution
Turkey is in a situation to complete its 100 year democratic process and should prepare a new constitution. The needs and struggle of our people will inevitably bring about a democratic constitution to the agenda.
The initiative of a democratic constitution is faced with duty to keep in mind that Turkey is the door of the tribes and to make the arrangements for the Kurdish question on the basis of equality, freedom, brotherhood and voluntary unity. We have a tested inspiration resource. The solution of the Independence War unifying Turk and Kurd against imperialism, mobilizing and gaining victory in the heat of war should be permanently ordained this time. According to this, the following principles should take place in the new constitution:
– Unifying identity: Historically no power can make Kurd a Turk or vice versa. That’s why, being Turk or Kurd, especially Turkism and Kurdism is not a unifying identity in our country now. We are people who are compelled and convicted to brotherhood in a geography in which various nations intermixed throughout the history and created great civilizations. Therefore, we have the historic accumulation and geographic position which will play vanguard roles in the development of humanity to its great future beyond the nations. Here, with this vanguard accumulation, Turks and Kurds can form citizenship assembly of a state of free will and as brother with a unifying identity nourished with the reality of sharing a common motherland, a common life, a common past and future. This common identity is being from Turkey patriotism, brotherhood and working for a common life. “Kurdish reality” should be totally recognized by a constitutional clause as an expression of a unifying attitude, not denying the national realities.
– Common motherland: It must be stated in the constitution that Turkey is a common land of all peoples living in it, and Turks and Kurds as the main builders of the Republic.
– Common republic, assembly and administration: The Republic, Assembly and Administration must be defined as common republic, common assembly, common administration of the whole people living in the land of our country, and amongst these, Turks and Kurds.
– A single democratic administrative system from local administration to the central:The twin administration system called local and central administration which is in force today in Turkey should be removed and a single democratic administrative system from local to the central should be established. Accordingly, the central administration institutions, like city and town governorate (Valilik and Kaymakamlİk), appointed by the central administration and administered via codes, should be removed. Instead, a single democratic administration system in the form of, beginning from the villages and suburbs up to the centre, village and suburb assemblies and administrations, county assembly and administrations, city assembly and administrations; Turkey Great People Assembly at the centre; elected by vote in every level, responsible to the people at that level and commanding the security forces of that level. Slow, oppressive and ineffective administration of today should be ended; administration must be simplified and cheapened; laws, decrees and orders must be nominally decreased; a productive and effective administration that enlarges control of local administration, thus, applies decentralized democracy, includes all the units of society in administration, produces work and services, should be established. Since it will develop the people’s control and participation, this democratic system will play important role in Kurdish question.
– National equality and freedom: The legal system and social life that does not provide means for national oppression and privileges, in which national equality and freedom are realized, should be under constitutional protection.
– To spread and strengthen the peaceful, secular, democratic and brotherhood culture that unify our society with universal values of humanity: Rights to have secular and democratic education in native language, freely developing democratic culture, and press and broadcasting rights must be realized with constitutional guarantee.
It must be a duty of all the state, especially educational and cultural institutions to eradicate totally medieval and prejudice nationalist culture that blesses violence and aims at solving societal and inter-national problems via force, and to spread among people a secular and democratic culture that is peaceful, respectful to human beings and contemptuous for violence and sides with brotherhood and values of the labour.
The imprints of prejudice nationalist culture that starts our history with Malazgirt War, divides and alienates us from the lands we live in should be eradicated; a patriot and universal cultural policy that seeks for cultural resources emerging from the historical deepness of our country, enriched by participation of nations, and protects them, nourishes these resources and shares humanity’s cultural values, should be stated in the constitution. Changing the names of places that reflect our country’s cultural and historical richness must be ended and every place should be called by their known and established names.
– Free will: The new constitution must be prepared in a contesting environment in which every portion of the society participate, and must be presented to the popular “yes or no” voting where propaganda is free. Thus, the decision to live together as brothers and create a common democratic political institutions must be made with the free will of Turks and Kurds.
Dynamics which will bring about a democratic constitution to Turkey has come to the historic stage. Besides the labour movement steadily developing since 1989 Spring, mass struggle of public employees reaching advanced dimensions, demands and expectations of villagers, movements of students and intellectuals, the struggles of our Kurdish people for equality and freedom have been practically creating the new constitution of Turkey. There is a people’s movement behind every democratic constitution. The first constitutions of Republic, too, had risen up on the shoulders of people’s participation. Just as Müdafa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti and Kuvva-i Milliye (anti-imperialist national forces) of 1919’s, the new people’s assemblies is emerging, starting from Zonguldak and Karabük. Unifying leadership of the labour movement, these assemblies established by the participation of the whole classes of people, beside the future constitution, shows that democratic rule organs, too, spring from the chest of people’s movement.
That’s why, at the same time, the new democratic constitution and institutionalisation that will solve Kurdish question is a process now has begun to occur, not an utopia. Today, since the parliament is locked in impasse, it is this people’s movement to stand up to the military coups and to renew the parliament that fell into the situation in which it can’t defend itself against military interventions.
2. Reforms and Policies
The urgent brotherhood solution to the Kurdish question, beside the constitutional principles, include various reforms and policies.
– Free discussion environment without prohibitions: The necessary legal regulations should be made for freely discussion of the Kurdish question and solutions, outside all kinds of prohibitions and punishment threats, in an environment cleared off terror. For this aim, beside the law named “Anti-Terror Law” that aims at the expression of thought and organizing, Turkish Penal Law, Political Parties Law and limitations and punishment threats in the other laws should be removed.
– Kurdish political parties can be formed and legalized: We don’t see it beneficial to our people to establish parties on the nationalistic basis. However, just as the parties that advocate Turkish nationalism and Turkish masses-based could be formed and engage in activities, Kurdish political parties should be established and freely participate in the country’s political life. Kurdish groups organized illegally today should be legalized. Necessary constitutional and legal amendments should be made.
– General amnesty: General amnesty is necessary to guarantee the processes that will end shedding brother blood.
– Emergency Law Rule, Counter Guerrilla, Special Teams and Koruculuk System should be removed: The state should open the way to peaceful solution by ending terrorism.
– Poised Hammer (Operation Provide Comfort) must immediately leave our lands, The U.S. bases be removed: The Poised Hammer which is a means of oppression and imperialist threat over Turkey and the whole Middle East countries should be removed immediately from the lands of our country; all the U.S. bases, beginning with İncirlik (biggest US military base in Turkey), should be removed.
– Emphasizing public investments in order to eliminate interregional imbalance and state patronage: The market system and privatisation is deepening the gap between the West and East and various regions of Turkey. Public investments must be emphasized in order to remove the disequilibria. By nationalization, Public Economic Enterprises should be expanded, strengthened and made productive.
– Land reform: Medieval land ownership, tribe leadership, sheikdom and every kind of medieval age relations and institutions, besides wrecking the national and social development and unification, becoming an obstacle in front of brotherhood too, should be removed with all their social and economical foundations. Land reform should be based on mobilization of villagers and should be run by village assemblies.
The clauses of the Settlement Law dated 1934 and numbered 2510, on removing the “tribe leadership, beylik, ağalİk, sheikdom and their organizations and organs” with all foundations and distributing these property to the landless and less-landed villagers (clauses 10/A,B,C) should be applied.
-To determine the realities of Turkey related to the configuration of nationalities and religious sects: Statistical information that shows Turkey’s nationality and religious sect configuration should be determined via a general census. National identity should be found out as well as native language. For this respect, our citizens should be asked what identity among Türkiyeli, Turk, Kurd, and other identities with which they identify themselves, and the assessment should be made according to the residential area.
– Peaceful solution together with countries in the region and Kurdish organizations against imperialist initiative: A decisive attitude should be taken against imperialist states intervention in the Kurdish question. The conflict and problems in the region should be resolved by participation of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Kurdish organizations, excluding imperialist states and protect the freedom of Kurdish people, on the basis of common interests of the people of the region, in peaceful ways via meetings.
– Removing the embargo on Iraq: The loss of Turkey for participation in the embargo applied by the U.S. pressure is figured as totalling 40 billion dollars. The foreign debt of our country is 70 billion dollars. Not only Iraq, Turkey is destroying its economy. Our country should quit participating in the embargo, must free its relation with Iraq from the U.S. control and must vitalize it. Thus, the strengthening the regional economies in common interests’ basis will be possible and the U.S. intervention which sets countries in the region against each other will be weakened.
– Decisive attitude against national slaughtering, active peacemaking policy: Turkey should take no side in the national and religious conflicts which imperialism provokes in Balkans and Caucasians, and should pursue an active policy directed towards peace-making among nations and peoples. Peace and brotherhood must be advanced against the New World Order policy directed to destroy the mosaic of peoples in our east and west.
-Solidarity with the oppressed world, evaluation of the conflicts among the big states:Turkey must pursue a foreign policy primarily valuing friendship for neighbours and oppressed world, in order to pull a set against imperialist intervention in general and Kurdish question in specific. Because of these policy requirements, Turkey must develop solidarity with Turkic republics in the Central Asia, Caucasians including Armenia, Middle East countries and Peoples Republic of China. Our country shouldn’t take sides on the imperialist conflicts; instead, it must evaluate them to the end for an independent policy.
(1) The Army took power on March 12, 1971 and September 12, 1980 in Turkey. Both coups were supported and organized by USA. Former CIA Chief Paul Henze said “Our boys has done” about 1980 coup. Both coups attacted left its forces.
(2) The Treaty of Sevres signed between the Ottoman Empire and imperialist states after the First World War on August 10, 1920. According to the treaty Turkey was divided and invaded by the imperialist countries. The anti-imperialist Liberation War freed Turkey from this treaty.
(3) Various resistance forces with different ethnic and geographic backgrounds were unified against imperialist states during Erzurum, July 1919, and Sivas , September 1919, congresses.
(4) In July 24, 1923, a treaty signed between the Government of Turkish Grand National Assembly and imperialist states in Lausanne following the Liberation War. The treaty consolidated Turkey’s independence.
