Not a 'Draft', but a Governor!..

First, 5 lieutenants in their 20s reminded everyone who the founder of this state was and shouted, “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal”... Then, thousands of university students in their 18s, who were thought to care about nothing but themselves, stood up against the darkness into which the country is being dragged, as if to teach political parties a lesson... A few days ago, a 49-year-old Governor, at the cost of giving up his position and office, took a meaningful stance against an obscure opening in a way worthy of the accumulation and posture of the Republic of Turkey.

For this second opening, which was initiated by MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli and reached the audacity of declaring the terrorist leader in İmralı as the “chief negotiator,” they say, “It is domestic and national. There is no third eye.” Let us first recall some details from the past.

Notes from the First Opening

In 2014, when the first opening was in full swing, the then-Governor of Şırnak, Hasan İpek, came out and spoke as follows:

“I would like to state that I appreciate our Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, who brought the solution process to this stage, and Abdullah Öcalan, who has made serious efforts in this regard. I do not want anyone to oppose this intense interest of the public. I hope and expect that they will continue this beautiful step to re-establish the thousand-year brotherhood. The people of Şırnak are waiting, the Kurdish people are waiting, the Turkish people are waiting... All of Turkey and its friends are waiting for this.”

The person who showed the harshest reaction to that Governor was Bahçeli, who said the following:

“There is no state in the East and Southeast. Governors and district governors are missing. Our soldiers and police are only defending themselves... Some have tried to stop the PKK members with requests and gratitude, and to get the roads they blocked opened by begging. Others have shamelessly and rudely expressed that they appreciate the İmralı monster along with the Prime Minister due to the solution process. And this draft of a governor is still in office... Where is Turkey heading?.. This means the state has effectively entered a coma there.”

The Governor, without mentioning Bahçeli's name, responded as follows:

“Whatever he says; whether he wants to ruin this by claiming to be very patriotic, or by claiming that he himself is a separatist. No one is interested in any of these. They cannot ruin the solution process. The people of Şırnak are not interested in any of these. Kurds are not interested, Turks are not interested, the Republic of Turkey is not interested. The friends of the Republic of Turkey are not interested, and we will not be interested together.”

Stating that this Governor remained in office for many years and even became a parliamentary candidate from the AKP in the 2015 elections, let us recount another event that took place in the last week of November 2014...

In Bahçeli's words, the then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who was “under permission and guardianship,” commemorated the ringleader of the “Dersim rebellion,” Rıza, with the title of “seyit.”

When Bahçeli reacted to this, Davutoğlu called out to Bahçeli: “Is Tunceli a province of Turkey? Yes... Go, if you have the courage and heart, say these words in Tunceli. Look into the faces of the grandchildren of those who were massacred there and say, ‘Your grandfathers were traitors to the homeland.’ I will be in Tunceli tomorrow and 10 years from now. I challenge you, you go too.”

Upon this, Bahçeli went to Tunceli on November 28 and emphasized the following in his speech there:

“Will Davutoğlu, who babbles that it is a virtue to apologize to rebels, really act virtuously and save his remaining dignity and reputation by resigning? I say to the Prime Minister who says the state will kneel, the state does not kneel. I say to the Prime Minister who claims the state will kiss hands and hems, the state does not kiss hands or hems. If the state kneels, the nation will retreat. If the state falls into weakness and becomes frail, it will be inevitable for the nation to experience a rout... How and with what blindness of conscience can we ignore the betrayal negotiations carried out with the AKP-PKK alliance?”

Here is a scene from September 2015... After Erdoğan “put the solution process on the shelf,” he made the following confessions on TRT screens:

“During the solution process, our governors, of course, were not engaging in the current operations against these terrorist organizations due to the instructions we gave them. We said, ‘Maybe they will pull themselves together, maybe they will not continue this way.’ But unfortunately, they did not pull themselves together; on the contrary, unfortunately, they entered a preparation phase during this process.”

While Youth and Unappointed Teachers Are Surrounded by Barriers

Coming to the present day; while the separatist organization only announced the dissolution decision regarding the PKK, it announced that Ali Haydar Kaytan, one of the terrorists known to have been killed by the MIT, was a “martyr” in 2018, and Rıza Altun in 2019. It did not stop there; Kaytan was declared a symbol of “loyalty to the leadership, truth, and sacred life,” and Altun as a “comrade of freedom,” and a “promise of success was made to all martyrs of the struggle in their person”!..

The government and its media welcome these delusions with applause, but would the PKK members stop?

We are now talking about Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu leaving his post because of the commemoration of those two terrorists in Tunceli on May 18; the first commemoration was held in Ankara Tuzluçayır on May 13, one day after the PKK's statement. Let us read what happened there from the news of the PKK's publication organ:

“While the photos of Altun and Kaytan, adorned with carnations, were left at the place where the commemoration took place, a guestbook was also placed... In addition to their relatives, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır, DEM Party deputies, the Asrın Law Office, the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), the Human Rights Association (İHD), and representatives of many non-governmental organizations attended the commemoration... The ceremony began with a moment of silence... Candles were lit for Kaytan and Altun at the commemoration, and elegies were read in Kurdish and Turkish... The message sent by Leader Apo regarding Kaytan and Altun was read by Faik Özgür Erol from the Asrın Law Office... Sebahat Tuncel, who took the floor at the commemoration, said, ‘Now, perhaps they have physically passed on to the truth here, but their struggle, labor, efforts, and thoughts are a new beginning, just like the start made in this house 52 years ago; they have sown the seeds of a new life for the freedom of our peoples, the future of the working class, and the freedom of women, with new paths and methods in the struggle for democracy and freedom.’... The first day of the three-day commemoration ended with a screening of a documentary about Kaytan and Altun.”

Five days after this, the commemoration in Tunceli was held. In the speeches at this commemoration, which was also attended by the terrorist leader's nephew, deputy Ömer Öcalan, in addition to the staff in Tuzluçayır, it was said, “In their person, we respectfully commemorate those who lay without shrouds in 1938, and my friends who lost their lives in the struggle on these lands, on the lands of Kurdistan. Condolences to the Kurdish people and Dersim.”

You know what is being said about Tunceli Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu leaving his post. The Governor said, “I will not allow a commemoration ceremony for PKK members.” However, the instruction came from above: “They will hold a religious ceremony, allow it.” Seeing what happened and that he had been deceived, he requested to be withdrawn to the center on the evening of May 19. The Governor also had a moment where he cried during the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day ceremonies held during the day.

The rest is known. Journalist Alican Uludağ announced what happened on May 20. The Ministry of Interior announced a day later that Governor Tekbıyıkoğlu had been withdrawn to the center, but no reason was given.

Meanwhile, it was alleged that an instruction was given not only in Tunceli but throughout Turkey that “there will be no stopping or intervention regarding the PKK commemoration ceremonies.”

It must be true that in the capital Ankara, where the Ministry of Interior is located and where every place is surrounded by barriers for weeks against the actions of youth or unappointed teachers, those commemorations for PKK members could be held comfortably.

And it is understood that, just like in the first opening process, governors, district governors, and perhaps even security personnel are expected to remain spectators to what is happening and what will happen.

Thank you, Mr. Governor; you reminded us of the concept of the state that we had forgotten for a long time... You stood up for the honor of the Turkish Nation... You became the voice of the heartache of millions!..

Let us see who from the government or its media will be the first to subject Governor Tekbıyıkoğlu to the lynching of “terrorist, FETÖ member, anti-solution, he wants mothers to cry,” and whether an investigation will be opened against him.

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 23, 2025