Turkish democracy can rise to the Kurdish challenge

Turkish democracy can rise to the Kurdish challenge

With a new civilian constitution, Turkey may be able to show the world that full democracy is possible in an Islamic country

Yavuz Baydar
guardian.co.uk

Kurdish demonstrators throw molotov coktails

A Kurd throws a molotov coktail during a clash with riot police in Istanbul on the anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Ocalan. Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Last Sunday’s elections in Turkey, won with a sweeping victory by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party, brought the country much closer to conclusively tackling two major challenges: finding a solution to the chronic, and traumatic, Kurdish conflict; and replacing the restrictive constitution with a new, civilian one.

With an 88% turnout, the voters managed to shape a parliament where the female deputy rate increased to 15%, comparable to France and the US Congress. This means the conditions are now ripe for facing these challenges, and completing what can be called the “deepening of democratisation” – the final phase of a process strongly influenced by negotiation with the European Union.

But there have been two winners of the elections, not one. The AK party consolidated its power base, but the Kurdish “independent” candidate list, in effect representing the BDP – the political wing of the PKK – almost doubled its seats (from 20 to 36).

It is apparent that both challenges require fair play from both sides: AK enjoys massive public confidence as a key player in the transformation of Turkey, and the driver of the transition to democracy. Clearly, the very existence of the Kurdish conflict, involving in varying degrees some 14 million Kurds in the country, is a powerful reminder of the inevitability of a new constitution, since the current one is in full denial of their existence and demands. So after the elections Turkey will be watching an interesting tango for two, with an extremely difficult choreography.

In order to understand the picture let us look closer at these two winners.

The AK party – with a clear identity as “post-Islamist”, and a globalist-pragmatist coalition around it – is now the choice of every second voter. No other party in Turkish history has managed to stay in power three times in a row, let alone increasing its vote, as it did on Sunday by 25%. Remarkable success indeed.

The Kurdish “independent” list managed to turn the elections into a choice between voting for the list of its radical demands (linked with Kurdish identity and collective rights) and voting for what it sees as “parties of the system”. Although it could not raise its vote, it stands solid as an interlocutor of the former. Results show that the Kurdish vote in the country was shared almost 50:50 between AK and BDP.

Communication between the two parties are now vital if a peaceful solution is to be found – by no means an easy task. It will involve tough issues such as a ceasefire with PKK fighters (some 7,000 in the mountains of Turkey and Iraq), disarmament, a general amnesty and, certainly, placing Abdullah Ocalan – the jailed PKK leader – under house arrest.

That will have to go hand in hand with the main challenge facing the victorious AK party: a new constitution. The parts of this constitution hardest for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the victorious prime minister, to “sell” to the Turkish majority will be those dealing with language, education, citizenship and decentralisation. Although the BDP sounds uncompromising in its demands on the language and citizenship, many Kurds say they would be happy with a draft that does not inject their identity into it, so long as it does not refer to any nationalism.

The hardest task, however, will be to design a model for decentralisation of power, a necessity for today’s Turkey. But what model should be used? Germany, Canada, Spain? Nobody seems to know, and for the public this is a very sensitive area. The gap between Kurds and Turks threatens to widen on this hot issue.

If there is common will in the new parliament for replacing the constitution, the country will finally be able to liberate itself from the chains of the military coup of 1980. This step is a precondition for Turkey to become part of the EU as a full member, as well as a true model for the entire Arab world, struggling for a free order with an eye fixed upon Turkey.

In essence, it is also what this election was about: showing the world that a fully fledged democracy, free from internal conflicts, is possible in an Islamic country – given that the tranquil, pious masses are “left alone”, free from the mechanisms of tutelage or tyranny.

via Turkish democracy can rise to the Kurdish challenge | Yavuz Baydar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.