The final turn from Neo-Ottomanism to Democratic Confederalism

The "Kurdish Question" has held a significant place on the agenda of the Anatolian geography from the Ottoman era to the Republican period.

Between 1920 and 1940, there were 24 Kurdish uprisings.

After the 1950s, while prominent figures of the tribes in the region and a portion of the older generation with madrasa backgrounds embraced Kurdish nationalism, the segment of the region's youth pursuing higher education became involved in radical leftist organizations at universities. Organizations initiated by synthesizing Marxist-Leninist thought with Kurdish nationalism resulted in the establishment of the Revolutionary Eastern Cultural Hearths (DDKO).

These hearths, which were closed and their members dispersed following the March 12, 1971 memorandum, began to find a place within the structures of leftist organizations that embraced the movement.

The structure initiated in 1974 in Ankara by Abdullah Öcalan and his associates culminated in the founding of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) at a meeting held in the village of Fis in the Lice district of Diyarbakır in 1978.

From the day it was founded, the organization's primary goal has been to separate the Eastern and Southeastern regions from Turkey and establish an independent 'Kurdistan' on territories spanning Iran, Syria, and Iraq.

While the pressures exerted by the September 12 era, particularly on the leftist movement, were influential in the politicization of the Kurdish Movement, they also created an infrastructure for the initiation of terrorist acts.

Terrorist acts in Turkey began with the attacks on Eruh and Şemdinli in 1984, targeting the local civilian population and resulting in the massacre of many women and children.

The PKK, attempting to establish dominance in the region through these actions, employed threats and pressure to win over unemployed youth and tribal leaders. Many tribal leaders who initially took a stance in favor of the state were eventually forced to bow to threats and provide financial support to the PKK.

After the 1990s, the terrorist organization turned its focus toward cities, beginning to manipulate and provoke social masses and accelerating its terrorist activities through bomb attacks.

For nearly 50 years, the PKK has been conducting a strategy of gaining psychological territory alongside its strategy of gaining geographical territory through armed actions, especially since the 2000s.

There are clues that the PKK's roadmap, which began with 'Confederation' and extended to an independent 'Kurdistan', has recently begun to move forward with a new paradigm.

It is an indisputable reality that the Kurdish Political Movement receives its greatest support from Western imperialist countries.

THOSE WHO SHIFTED THE AXIS IN TURKISH POLITICS

When we look at Turkish politics since the 1980s, we see with astonishment that there have been many initiatives that paved the way for the Separatist Kurdish Movement.

KENAN EVREN

The most surprising of these is undoubtedly Kenan Evren.

Let us go back to the days when Evren, the leader of the September 12 coup, was the Head of the National Security Council and President; those days when not even a fly would dare to flap its wings without the knowledge of the coup plotters...

Of course, let us not overlook that Evren also held the powers of the Chief of General Staff during those same years.

Only 6 months had passed since the coup. Date: March 10, 1981.

A report is being prepared by the General Staff's Department of Military History and Strategic Studies (ATASE).

The report is prepared by Major General Mahmut Boğuşlu. The report is distributed to all units of the General Staff.

How do we know about the report?

From the "Journal of Turkish History with Documents," where the original text was published in February 1997. The journal is a reliable enough source to be included in the library of the Turkish Historical Society.

The title of the report "A Report on the Measures After September 12, 1980 and the Near Future of Our Turkey"

The report's recommendations regarding our subject are as follows;

"Main Measure: The establishment of National Assemblies of the April 23, 1920 type in our 67 provincial centers.

The nation's trust in Ankara has been seriously shaken, and our Turkey today has reached the limit of losing the possibility of being governed from a single center.

These assemblies, which will consist of 20 to 100 deputies in proportion to the populations of the provinces, should resolve problems by being equipped with certain (Legislative, Executive, Judicial) powers within the framework of the principles and foundations to be selected from the 1924 and 1961 constitutions."

Did those who prepared the report know who they wanted to serve while proposing that provinces have assemblies elected by the people with legislative, executive, and judicial powers? I am skeptical.

In the report, the inclusion of the proposal for "establishing a Federation with Greece," while raising doubts about its seriousness, did not end the matter there.

Kenan Evren, perhaps inspired by the report, this time issues a Decree-Law in his capacity as President. (4.10.1983);

"Decree-Law No. 71 on Regional Governorships".

With this decree, Turkey was divided into 8 regions, and a Regional Governorship was established in each.

The Regional Governorships were listed as follows: Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Adana, Kayseri, Ankara, Konya, Istanbul, Izmir.

Surrounding provinces were attached to the Regional Governorships. Regional Governors were granted broad powers such as giving orders and instructions to the governors of the provinces attached to them, auditing, declaring states of emergency, martial law, curfews, planning defense services in times of war, transferring law enforcement forces from one province to another, and assigning them elsewhere. Furthermore, Regional Governors were also given broad powers regarding economic organizations, unions, and educational institutions.

The most important difference from a federative structure was that the Governors were appointed.

However, the Regional Administrative Court returned this Decree-Law to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) for revision.

Negative opinions came from the Interior, Constitutional, and Planning and Budget Commissions of the TBMM, and its rejection was requested.

It was repealed by Law No. 3036 enacted on 11.7.1984.

Turgut Özal was Prime Minister when it was repealed.

EVREN'S PERSISTENCE

Now let us look at Kenan Evren's statements on the subject years later.

It is very striking that Kenan Evren defended the Provincial System for Turkey in an interview he gave in 2000 to the Yeni Binyıl Newspaper, which was owned by Dinç Bilgin and opened to replace the closed Yeni Yüzyıl Newspaper.

In an interview he gave first to Sabah and then to Hürriyet newspapers on March 1, 2007, he says the following:

"Now, if we switch to a regional or provincial system, it might be better. They could even collect taxes to meet their own needs. It exists in many places in the world. We had thought of this for 8 Provinces."

"Actually, I have been thinking about this since 1980. Turkey could be divided into 8 Provinces. Turkey will definitely come to this. Maybe in 10 years, maybe 30, maybe 50... But Turkey will definitely take these steps. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to find peace."

In another speech, he "emphasizes that over time, governors will also be elected by the people." emphasizes.

It is impossible not to consider the share of those who said "Our boys succeeded" in this performance of Evren.