Support for the peace process from Zülfü Livaneli: Notable remarks on Öcalan and Demirtaş

New steps to be taken in the second peace process—architected by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, termed the 'Terror-Free Turkey' initiative by the government, and conducted with the DEM Party and PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan—are being awaited with curiosity by the public.

In addition to this, evaluations regarding the process continue to come from numerous 'artists' and 'intellectuals' in Turkey.

Following Jülide Kural, Füsun Demirel, and author Deniz Türkali, musician and author Zülfü Livaneli also spoke to ANF, which is known for its proximity to the PKK terrorist organization.

Livaneli stated that for the process to progress, the government must take concrete steps that will instill confidence in society. He expressed that artists should take responsibility for advocating for peace.

Delivering a message for the September 1 World Peace Day, Livaneli said that culture and art are directly linked to peace.

Livaneli said, "May Peace Day be auspicious for all friends who long for peace, and I hope it will be a step on the path to peace."

Touching upon the importance of culture and art in achieving peace, Livaneli used the following expressions:

"The relationship between culture and peace is an inseparable one. Culture is, in itself, an act of peace. Work in the field of culture is like this. There cannot be an understanding of art that incites war or creates a culture of war; we do not count that as art. Agitating people and sending them to their deaths, sending young people to their deaths, is not art. Art serves peace with all its branches, or rather, it should. When we look at history, it is always the poets, writers, and philosophers who advocated for peace that have remained in this world; the others have not."

"ARTISTS SHOULD BE PEACE PROVOCATEURS"

Addressing the social impact of hate speech, Livaneli stated that art strengthens the sense of empathy. Expressing that art brings out the sense of goodness within a person, Livaneli spoke as follows:

"Art means trusting the human heart. It means seeing that there are sparks of goodness in the depths of the human heart. Even in the worst person. As Yaşar Kemal said, it is seeing that even the worst person has a seed of goodness in their heart. Art, in a way, provokes this. That is, just as Charlie Chaplin said, 'I am a peace provocateur,' it provokes that peace; it reminds us of peace, human feelings, and what it means to be human.

The first condition of being human is empathy. You feel your own pain, but you must also feel the pain of the person across from you. When you cannot feel this, you are already lost. But you cannot hear these things in the language of the media, you cannot hear them in the language of politicians. Everything is reduced to mere numbers and interpreted ideologically.

But when artists show you that the person across from you is also a human being, that they suffer, that they think, that they have a family, something incredible emerges. That is, the news that '100 thousand people were killed' does not mean much. But when you show what happened to one person, to one family, through a good work of art, everyone's heart aches.

In this respect, art and culture are very important. And the cultures of all peoples, without exception, all cultures in the world are respectable. Because they have been flowing for hundreds, thousands of years. Respecting these cultures and being able to address those people—regardless of their culture—with their culture, their language, and their music will probably be our greatest salvation in the world."

"STEPS TO INSTILL CONFIDENCE IN SOCIETY MUST BE TAKEN, DEMİRTAŞ MUST BE RELEASED"

Touching upon the role that artists and intellectuals can play in the peace process, Livaneli recounted that they had carried out various works in the past to show solidarity with different social segments.

Stating that they had organized press conferences and signature campaigns in the past and attended court hearings, Livaneli said that the government must take steps regarding the process that will instill confidence in society.

Livaneli noted the following:

"Yes, now, when a country's intellectuals and artists feel responsibility, they naturally draw closer to society. As you know, we have held many press conferences and signature campaigns on these issues for years. We went to courtrooms; with Yaşar Kemal, Mehmet Uzun, and all our late friends. We carried out a completely different process with the Greeks. We did it with our Armenian friends, and so on; we stood by everyone who was oppressed. It could be the same today, but today, of course, things are more complicated. More political, more complex. There is a certain confusion in people's minds. Peace is, of course, something we all approve of and desire; let it happen as soon as possible, let the guns fall silent, and let mothers be reunited with their children. This has been our wish, even our dream, from the very beginning.

But, for example, there could be steps that would relieve us all and instill confidence in society. One of those steps is this: the release of Selahattin Demirtaş. Now, when something like this happens, society trusts these events more. Because while these views, amnesties, and such are being implemented on one hand, the fact that a political leader like Demirtaş, who has advocated for peace, has been inside for so many years creates a contradiction. And these contradictions, frankly, confuse people's minds.

But still, peace is peace. There is no word more beautiful than peace in the world. And so, instead of measures and conflicts based on death and killing, I want those beautiful days of peace to come from the depths of my heart. This is my life's dream. I used to say, 'Let me not die before seeing this.' I have reached the age of 80, I hope we will see it."

"BOTH SIDES SUFFERED"

Livaneli stated that the end of conflicts within the scope of the process and the call made by PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan were positive. Expressing that many people lost their lives in the conflicts of the past, Livaneli said that different segments had suffered.

Livaneli used the following expressions in his evaluation:

"Now, as you know, peace was made with the IRA in England, and peace was made in the Basque Country in Spain. This is how it is. We wrote for years: 'The only way for this is negotiation, nothing else.' Too much pain was suffered, too many losses were given. Too many people died. Those young children... That is, the soldiers, those on the mountains, the others... They always made children kill each other like this.

Now, at this point, of course, it is very encouraging that peace replaces that violence, conflict, and weapons. But as I said, there is currently a confusion in minds and consciences, I feel this. To resolve this, relieving actions are needed. And as I said, one must start this by releasing Selahattin Demirtaş. This is my personal opinion."

News Source: 12punto