Kemal Okuyan’s take on the new ‘solution process’: There is a design for Turkey behind closed doors

Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) General Secretary Kemal Okuyan evaluated the new “solution process” discussions and the constitutional agenda, which he claims is running in parallel, on the “Communist Perspective” program broadcast on soL TV. Responding to questions from journalist İrem Yıldırım, Okuyan stated that the process is being conducted behind closed doors and that the public must be informed about “what kind of Turkey design” is being envisioned.

Okuyan said that while one might not expect every detail of the technical aspects of the negotiations to be disclosed, transparency is mandatory once the issue turns into a design concerning the country’s political and social structure. “There is a process underway where we do not know what is on the table,” Okuyan said, arguing that despite the government’s claims that “there is no bargaining,” the assessments made along the DEM Party, İmralı, and Qandil line point to a different process.

“A PROCESS BASED ON ETHNIC REFERENCE CANNOT SUCCEED”

According to Okuyan, at the center of the debate lies not only current security or negotiation topics but a broader search for a refoundation. Stating that shaping this search through ethnic and religious references will create new tensions, Okuyan said, “A ‘peace process’ or a refoundation process based on ethnic reference cannot succeed anywhere.”

Stating that the denial policies experienced by Kurds and the pressures on Alevis are real problems, Okuyan emphasized that despite this, it is problematic to establish political representation in the name of broad identities such as “Turks,” “Kurds,” or “Alevis.” Okuyan expressed that citizens with different class positions and political views cannot be spoken for under a single identity heading.

Addressing the discussions regarding past negotiation minutes during the program, Okuyan said that one should look at the process as a whole rather than at individual claims. Recalling that the minutes were denied, Okuyan argued that the line that emerged is nevertheless consistent with the long-standing political orientation.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE AND EMPHASIS ON “CAPITAL”

Okuyan said that the new constitutional debates should also be evaluated within the same framework. “Since there is a new constitutional agenda, they have to tell this society what kind of a constitution they want,” said Okuyan, alleging that there is more than one draft constitution on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s desk and criticizing the fact that these texts are not shared with the public.

The TKP General Secretary characterized the process as the “solution process of capital.” Stating that the labor-capital contradiction is not being brought to the agenda in the current discussions, Okuyan argued that this shows the class nature of the process. According to Okuyan, the approach defended under the heading of “local democracy” carries a direction that makes market relations more deregulated.

In his assessment, Okuyan also drew attention to the regional orientation he defined as “Neo-Ottomanism.” Stating that there is a regional design in which the US is influential, Okuyan argued that this framework erodes the secularism and progressive transformation headings that added value to the 1923 Republic.

Speaking about the left’s approach to the process, Okuyan stated that different segments do not object to the process for the same reasons. He expressed that the TKP’s objection is not only based on a lack of trust in the government but is directed at the design for Turkey and the region that he says the process represents.

Okuyan stated that Turkey is in a state of “drifting” and that society should seek a real alternative not through ethnic and sectarian tensions, but on the axis of the labor-capital contradiction. Arguing that the process must be stopped with a “revolutionary and republican option,” Okuyan warned that otherwise, deeper social tensions could be experienced.

News Source: 12punto