It cannot happen without freedom of thought

Call it an opening, a process, or even just a proposal.

We have entered a period where we do not fully know or foresee the content, the scope, or the boundaries.

Moreover, it is obvious that the government will come forward with a demand for a new constitution following this period. On one hand, there is the desire for the long-standing terrorism to end and for social peace to be established; on the other, there is a darkness in a tunnel of uncertainty where one cannot see the person next to them…

Without delving into the content, reasons, justifications, and potential outcomes of the process we are experiencing for now, I want to touch upon the climate in which this period is taking place.

You cannot develop democracy without an environment of free thought. If you want to solve certain problems, regardless of which segment of society is involved, all segments of society must be able to express their ideas freely and of their own free will. Without fearing or hesitating, without asking, “Will I be arrested, will a lawsuit be filed against me, will I be taken into custody?”…

Especially if the subject will eventually evolve into a new constitution-making process—which it will—then freedom of thought is more important than ever.

So, does this environment of freedom exist today?

In a period where newspapers close to the government write and say the same things in a chorus, as if imposing them upon you, and label different ideas or those who say otherwise as enemies of peace and brotherhood, what can we discuss?

The issues we are trying to discuss today through the lens of the Kurdish question will be opened for debate tomorrow through the lens of the new constitution issue.

Will constitutional law professors be able to speak? Will the opinions of bar associations be sought? Will the demands of all segments of society be heard? Or will it be presented as a fait accompli?

We know from past practices that the government, which is becoming more authoritarian by the day, will do as it pleases. They will turn a deaf ear to the objections, warnings, and even the occasional contributions of people who think differently, and they will continue to do things their own way…

There is a dialogue I can never forget in the famous novel The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Discussions trapped in a narrow space reminded me of that dialogue.

The protagonist of the book, the Little Prince, asks the author to draw him a sheep during their first encounter. The author draws a sheep picture many times, but the Little Prince does not like them.

Finally, the author draws a box in which he can hide the sheep. The Little Prince likes this. After all, he is free to imagine the sheep he wants inside that box... This time, the author offers to give the Little Prince a rope. To tie his sheep.

The Little Prince is surprised by this offer: “Tie him? What a strange idea!” he says.

And the following dialogue develops between them:

- But if you don't tie him, he will wander off somewhere and get lost...

- But where do you think he would go?

- Anywhere. Straight ahead...

- It doesn't matter, my planet is so small!

And with a bit of sadness, the Little Prince adds:

-Someone who goes straight ahead cannot go very far...

In fact, at the heart of all these discussions lies this moral from The Little Prince novel;

No matter what we write or what we say, one cannot move forward with this government that is closed to different ideas and insists on having its own way.