Özgür Özel evaluates Erdoğan's 'Turk, Kurd, Arab alliance' remarks: A fantasy of separate structures

Speaking at the start of the victory march on the 103rd anniversary of the Great Offensive, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said, "The roof that will not be debated in this country is the roof of the Republic. This country won the Republic with the motto of full independence. There is only one roof, and that is the roof of the Republic. Its supporting column is that the Turk, the Kurd, the Arab, and everyone else is bound to this Republic with loyalty and a bond of equal citizenship."

Speaking before the march, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel emphasized the historical significance of the night when the Great Offensive was planned and decided upon.

Özel also made the following assessment regarding President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's emphasis on a "Turk, Kurd, Arab alliance":

"There are many topics being spoken about carelessly in recent days. From the American Ambassador in the country to the person governing the country saying, 'We will make a very big announcement at our camp on Saturday,' and saying 'Turk, Kurd, Arab' 11 times in a row, and repeating the same thing today, there is a 'roof' debate. The roof that will not be debated in this country is the roof of the Republic. This country won the Republic with the motto of full independence. When this country was winning the Republic, it first rejected the American mandate and the British protectorate. Turkey cannot settle for a role carved out for it in a plan made by the UK together with the US and Israel.

We have seen what those who once boasted, 'I am the co-chair of the Greater Middle East Project,' later turned Turkey and themselves into. Now, a similar motivation is being attempted. This nation collectively rejects the desire and aspiration for a process similar to what failed in the Ottoman era, based on sects, based on the separate structures of faith groups, based on multi-legal systems, where everyone is subject to a different law. It is impossible for anyone who loves their homeland, nation, flag, and Atatürk, and who is excited by the march we will hold tonight and proud and honored by this march from 103 years ago, to give credence to what the American Ambassador has said these days or to these discourses that Tayyip Erdoğan is following.

There is only one roof, and that is the roof of the Republic. Its supporting column is that in Turkey, the Turk, the Kurd, the Arab, the Laz, the Circassian, the Pomak, the immigrants, everyone, but everyone, is bound to this Republic with loyalty and a bond of equal citizenship. In this country, the Republic is a form of government founded on leaving no one behind, rejecting discrimination, and rejecting privileged groups. You cannot ignore others by counting only the Turk, the Kurd, and the Arab, nor can you build fantasies based on separate structures through this."

WHAT DID ERDOĞAN SAY?

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his speech at the opening of the 32nd Consultation and Evaluation camp organized by the AKP in Ankara's Kızılcahamam district—a speech described by the AKP as a "historic speech" and delivered one day after the PKK's disarmament ceremony—said the following:

"We, that is, Turks, Kurds, and Arabs, when we formed an alliance, the wind of our horses spread cool breezes from the China Sea to the Adriatic. Do not forget, peace spread across the geography from the rearing of our horses. The clashing of swords brought peace to this region. 

The ultimate goal of terrorism was not to divide Turkey. No one has the power to divide Turkey. But they stalled us. They made us lose time. They caused us economic loss. They spent our energy. Most of all, they tried to sow discord among us, between the Turk and the Kurd. Who won? Who won in 41 years? The terror barons, the terror sector won. Those who feed on blood won. Those who have dirty calculations over the Turk, the Kurd, and the Arab won. Today, we are breaking this dirty game, this dirty setup, this movement of discord, and turning it upside down. History is repeating itself. Today, the Turk and the Kurd are embracing each other again with affection, without any obstacles between them."