What remains of the resolution process

Between 2009 and 2014, Turkey experienced a process aimed at ending the conflicts with the PKK.

The message Erdoğan delivered in his 2005 Diyarbakır speech began to take shape in 2009 under the name "National Unity and Brotherhood Project."

The 2009 Oslo talks, where the MİT (National Intelligence Organization) met with the PKK, marked the first step of the state recognizing the terrorist organization as an interlocutor.

In the mutual meetings held, the PKK's identity as a terrorist organization was pushed aside, and the psychological infrastructure for a bi-national structure was prepared by pumping up the hope for "Peace."

THE STATE KNEELING BEFORE TERROR: HABUR

The AKP's "Democratic Opening" turned into a concrete process with Öcalan's call to the PKK terrorists in the Qandil and Mahmur camps.

On October 19, 34 terrorists entered through the Habur border gate. "Tent Courts" were set up at the Habur border for these individuals, whom the DTP described as "peace envoys."

In addition to judges and prosecutors, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, the Undersecretary of the MİT, the Director General of Security, and the Governor of Şırnak, Ali Yerlikaya, were part of the welcoming committee.

While Turkey expected those arriving to express remorse, they stated that they were members of the PKK and would continue to be so. They expressed that they had been sent to Turkey by Öcalan as "envoys."

In a press statement, DTP Co-Chair Ahmet Türk said, "It is wrong to describe the group's arrival as 'surrendering.' If the state takes one step, the PKK will take ten steps."

Attempts were made by the judges and prosecutors sent to Silopi to persuade the PKK members. However, those who could not be persuaded were ignored.

The CHP would later reveal the background of these events and the secret bargain made. I was the one who spoke during the motion of censure filed by the CHP against Minister of Interior Beşir Atalay.

I described the secret bargain made for the PKK members who were accepted into Turkey without expressing remorse with these words:

"Minister of Interior Beşir Atalay held a secret meeting with DTP co-chair Ahmet Türk on October 17, 2009, two days before the entry of the 34 PKK members from Qandil and Mahmur through Habur, at the office of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mehdi Eker, at the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ).

After the news appeared in the press, two people working in the AOÇ security services were fired for 'disclosing secrets related to a duty that should be kept confidential' according to Article 21 of their collective labor agreement."

What was arranged in the aforementioned secret meeting and what kind of bargain was made was explained by former DEP deputy Hatip Dicle.

Hatip Dicle stated that Beşir Atalay promised Ahmet Türk regarding the 34 people coming from Qandil and Mahmur, saying, 'The judges and prosecutors have been arranged. They will pass through just as they came.'"

Thus, the terrorists passed through just as they came, welcomed by a large crowd with halays (traditional dances), PKK flags, and Öcalan posters.

Prime Minister Erdoğan welcomed this fiasco as a "hopeful development" and said, "Beautiful things are happening in Turkey."

However, what actually happened was this: The state had knelt before terror.

In my speech, I included the words: "There is no doubt that the opening project was shaped by international interest and contribution, and was staged in line with a project prepared in the USA. The relations established with the USA and the Northern Iraq autonomous administration, as well as EU support, have great importance in the shaping of the project."

President Abdullah Gül had given clues about this with his speech at the opening of the new legislative year of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) on October 1, 2009. He said, "There is a historic opportunity before us to end terror and the Kurdish issue," and stated, "STATES THAT CANNOT SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS ARE OPEN TO EXPLOITATION BY OTHERS."

Again, in April 2009 (April 13-15), immediately after the meeting at the Washington Atlantic Council, project director David Philips came to Turkey and held meetings at some ministries. Upon his return, he prepared a report on the Kurdish issue.

The report was published on September 18, 2009, under the title "Turkey, Kurdistan and Armenia," which was one month before Habur.

Today's Zaman newspaper conducted an interview with David Philips.

Speaking of the community of interests between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, Philips, while saying that the idea of a federation to be established between Kurdistan and Turkey was forced for the time being, also underlined that the importance of national borders was gradually decreasing.

It was remarkable that Philips brought the subject to ERGENEKON while drawing attention to the role of the "deep state" in the disputes created with the Kurds.

After saying, "It is not enough for groups like Ergenekon to just be tried; their extensions in the bureaucracy must also be purged," he showed his position with the words, "Judges are looking at certain cases, but Ergenekon represents a mentality remaining from the past in Turkey."

Zaman Reporter: Do you think the Greater Middle East Project is over?

David Philips: Democracy is not a project that can be imposed by force; it must be matured internally. We want the forces of freedom to advance; the USA can and should play a useful role in this regard.

The strongest democracies in this region of the world are Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey, and Israel.

In the report he wrote on June 27, 2019, David Philips declared that "Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan are strategic partners."

After drawing attention to the trade and economic relations with Turkey, he stated the steps Ankara should take to solve the Kurdish issue:

"Ankara should remove 'Turkishness' from the definition of citizenship in the Constitution and recognize the Kurdish identity."

These preparations determined the route for the solution of the problem before Habur.

During the AKP government, between 2009 and 2015, a fluctuating process was followed in relations with the PKK.

The Constitutional Conciliation Commission was established, but no results were obtained.

The Council of Wise People was formed, but no results were obtained.

Legal regulations regarding the cultural rights of Kurds were made, but no results were obtained.

There was only one reason why no result could be reached in the process: The demands of the Kurdish Movement that conflicted with the founding values of Turkey.