Was the topic of land reform addressed at the 'Democracy and Social Peace Conference'?

The "Democracy and Social Peace Conference" organized by the CHP on January 31, 2026, featured speeches across four separate panels. In the first session, Turkey's internal peace, regional developments, and different peace experiences were discussed. In the second session, democratization, political representation, equal citizenship, and parliamentary-centered solutions were debated. In the third session, the Kurdish issue and the economic dimension of social peace were addressed, and in the fourth session, the topic of "Rebuilding Peace in Society" was covered.

The session that interested me was the panel titled "The Socioeconomic Foundation of Social Peace: Inclusive Development," which featured a presentation by economic historian Prof. Dr. Şevket Pamuk. As far as we learned from the press, Pamuk drew attention to regional inequalities and shared the finding that "the average income in the west is more than two and a half times the average income in the east." He pointed out that to eliminate regional inequalities, job opportunities must be created, industry must be established, and the quality of education must be increased.

In this context, I would like to share three consecutive views and make a proposal.

The Kurdish Question or the Eastern Question?

Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık had said, "The US and the West are creating dependent governments in the region, especially because of the oil resources here... Today, America wants to dominate the Middle East; it created Israel, it came to Iraq. In Northern Iraq (let us add: and now in Syria), it is trying to create another Israeli state... The EU and the US are supporting the Kurds today; Armenians and Kurds are now very hopeful for themselves from America's new 'divide-and-rule' policy in the Middle East... In my opinion, all of this is nothing more than a continuation of the 19th-century 'Question d'Orient: The Eastern Question' policy in Europe."

I sincerely agree with this view.

Let us add that the EU and the US also use separatist movements when it suits them, and when the cost rises or the balance of allies changes, they withdraw their support from their proxy on the ground without batting an eye.

Let us suffice with one example. Did Perver Şivan not address the US in tears, saying, "You used us and threw us away!"?

Is the Basis of the Eastern Question Not the Inequality in Land Distribution That Creates Regional Inequality?

I do not know if there was a view in Pamuk's presentation that the fundamental reason creating regional inequality is the inequality in land distribution.

At the conference, there were no visible proposals regarding the resolution of the feudalism that is directly linked to land ownership in regions where the root causes of the problem—or more clearly, terrorist activities—are more prevalent. In other words, the issue of land ownership and landless peasants was not voiced; it was almost hidden.

Are the Kurdish Poor Involved in the Solution to the Eastern Question?

In regions where the Kurdish separatist movement is dominant, land ownership is under the control of landlords under a tribal organization.

On the lands belonging to the landlords, the poor Kurdish peasant tries to maintain their existence half-hungry and half-full. Sometimes they are sold or marketed along with the land.

In elections, votes are cast en masse, and the lords go to parliament. Members of parliament and mayors are usually either landlords or their relatives.

Industrialists and tradespeople are of a similar class structure. The masses coming to the cities are unemployed because the industrial and service sectors have not developed sufficiently.

Education and health services in the region are also far from meeting the demand.

What is the Solution?

The solution lies in a "Regional Development Plan" that will liquidate the feudal structure in the region and is based on a "Land Reform."

The first stage of the Land Reform is, of course, providing landless or land-poor peasants with sufficient land.

In fact, Article 44 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey makes this mandatory. However, the Land Reform should not consist solely of land distribution.

Otherwise, the distributed land will once again fall into the hands of the powerful.

To prevent this, it is essential that the land reform be handled through the cooperative organization of agricultural enterprises.

Here, cooperatives should be the basis, starting from the procurement of inputs to the marketing of outputs. In other words, peasants should become industrialists through cooperatives.

Along with the land reform, industrialization should be accelerated in the region through state-owned economic enterprises. In such an approach, the State should also be a guide and an investor in the region.

More clearly, a Planned Mixed Economy should be implemented. The solution to unemployment and poverty should not be left to the hands of the liberal economy.

I believe that the only solution to the Eastern Question in a general sense is "a social system that will distribute the resources and production of this country equally to all our citizens," and that options such as establishing a separate state, autonomy, or federation—as separatists sometimes try to express in open or implicit language—cannot be a solution.

Shall We Remind CHP Executives of a Statement Atatürk Made Regarding Land Reform?

In his opening speech to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on November 1, 1937, Atatürk said: "First of all, there should be no landless farmers left in the country. More importantly, it is necessary to classify the land that can support a farmer's family as an indivisible asset under no circumstances, and to limit the breadth of land that large farmers and farm owners can operate according to the population density and soil fertility of the region where the land is located."

I hope that the CHP's approach of upholding Atatürk's revolutions and principles will be genuine and practical, not just in words.