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- Ocak 16, 2025
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Politics Collective
The developments in the Kurdish issue, which has dragged our country into war for many years, destroying the grounds for coexistence, represent a significant step important towards the end of the environment of violence.
We known that these developments are not merely a process initiated by Bahçeli’s call and culminating in Abdullah Öcalan’s latest statements. Revelations of the CHP leader Özgür Özel’s further confirm this, stating that "negotiations have been ongoing for over a year," and that these discussions involve "a four-member delegation accompanied by a fully authorized representative of the state," and "a committee of twenty judges, including members from the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation, has been working on the matter."
While advancing democratic solutions to the Kurdish issue is undoubtedly crucial, it is clear that this alone will not resolve either the Kurdish issue itself or the broader democratization challenges facing the country. Moreover, Bahçeli and Erdoğan stated that the process has nothing to do with a democratic solution and even denied the existence of the Kurdish issue altogether. It is known that behind these developments are the attempts of the USA and Israel to establish a new order in the Middle East, accelerated by the fall of the regime in Syria. It is now an undisguised reality that AKP and MHP are seeking to exploit this process as an opportunity to sustain their collapsing one-man regime.
Israel’s military operations, starting with Palestine and expanding across the region, have paved the way for new developments aimed at bringing an end to the Assad regime in Syria. As Israel extends its political influence and military dominance in Syria through occupation, it has joined forces with the United States to establish a new Middle East order. Within the framework of the Greater Middle East Project, populations have been divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, while occupation, war, and internal conflicts have been systematically fueled. From Afghanistan to Iraq, from Libya to Syria, the structures of the region have been reshaped. The Syrian civil war, which has lasted for over a decade, has been perpetuated as part of these policies.
With the latest operations carried out through the jihadist group HTS to overthrow Assad’s government, the Kurdish movement, which has established an autonomous zone in Syria in alliance with the U.S., has gained a significant opportunity.
Parallel to the collapse in Syria, the AKP-MHP alliance prepared the groundwork for the process presented to the public via Bahçeli. The so-called "seesaw politics," where Turkey attempted to militarily eliminate Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria while exploiting contradictions between Russia and the U.S., has become unsustainable.
This situation has led to Turkey assuming a more active role in the new U.S.-Israel Middle East order and has brought regional relations with the Kurdish movement to the forefront. What is being framed as a "Kurdish-Turkish alliance" is, in reality, an attempt to align with the broader U.S. plan in the region. Trump's statement that "The Kurds and Turkey are enemies, but I told Erdoğan not to go after them in Syria, and he didn’t" explicitly reveals this direction.
On the other hand, when evaluated alongside developments in Ukraine, it becomes even clearer that these imperialist and Zionist war policies will provide no benefits to the peoples of the region. The geopolitical maneuvers driven by American interests are now being continued with a focus on Iran. Thus, these developments are also part of the Greater Middle East Project's phase of encircling Iran.
For this reason, within the framework of the U.S.'s new war policies, neither the achievement of Kurdish rights nor a process of democratization in the region and Turkey can be expected.
While these realities are evident, the AKP-MHP alliance views developments in the Middle East as an opportunity to prolong its rule in domestic politics. The latest developments in the Kurdish issue are also being used as a tool in this context. Some government figures have linked the call for disarmament to constitutional amendments, proposing changes such as "redefining citizenship" and "transferring certain powers to local administrations," all while tying these proposals to "paving the way for Erdoğan’s presidential candidacy." From the outset, Bahçeli has openly expressed this goal.
All this shows that the government is once again trying to take over the fate of the country by paving the way for Erdoğan's candidacy through an early election decision to be taken by the Parliament or a constitutional amendment. Ignoring this reality and expecting these developments to lead to democratic progress would be a grave miscalculation. The mistakes of 2010’s “Yetmez ama evet” and boycott strategies must not be repeated. This government that represses every segment of society, neutralizes opposition through judicial operations, and seeks to eliminate progressive and revolutionary potentials cannot be expected to bring democratization.
For this reason, opposition forces must not fall for the deceptions AKP and MHP will create under the pretense of solving the Kurdish issue, nor should they be trapped by constitutional manipulations. The primary objective must be to bring an end to the existing one-man regime, and joint struggles must be developed in this direction.
The opposition must recognize that under this regime, democratic institutions and principles have been dismantled, and even elections are being turned into mere formalities. The government has so far managed to stay in power through the Supreme Election Council (YSK) and various fraudulent tactics. Erdoğan’s statement, “We will design the opposition ourselves,” further reveals the ongoing efforts of the ruling bloc to suppress and neutralize opposition by any means necessary.
Bringing an end to this repressive one-man regime and fighting together to pave the way for the true freedom of Kurdish and Turkish working people is the most crucial responsibility of all progressives, patriots, democrats, revolutionaries, and opposition forces in our country.
Note: This article is translated from the original Turkish version titled Demokrasinin tek yolu tek adam rejiminden kurtulmak, published in BirGün newspaper on March 1, 2025.
The developments in the Kurdish issue, which has dragged our country into war for many years, destroying the grounds for coexistence, represent a significant step important towards the end of the environment of violence.
We known that these developments are not merely a process initiated by Bahçeli’s call and culminating in Abdullah Öcalan’s latest statements. Revelations of the CHP leader Özgür Özel’s further confirm this, stating that "negotiations have been ongoing for over a year," and that these discussions involve "a four-member delegation accompanied by a fully authorized representative of the state," and "a committee of twenty judges, including members from the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation, has been working on the matter."
While advancing democratic solutions to the Kurdish issue is undoubtedly crucial, it is clear that this alone will not resolve either the Kurdish issue itself or the broader democratization challenges facing the country. Moreover, Bahçeli and Erdoğan stated that the process has nothing to do with a democratic solution and even denied the existence of the Kurdish issue altogether. It is known that behind these developments are the attempts of the USA and Israel to establish a new order in the Middle East, accelerated by the fall of the regime in Syria. It is now an undisguised reality that AKP and MHP are seeking to exploit this process as an opportunity to sustain their collapsing one-man regime.
MIDDLE EAST: THE U.S.-ISRAEL ORDER
Israel’s military operations, starting with Palestine and expanding across the region, have paved the way for new developments aimed at bringing an end to the Assad regime in Syria. As Israel extends its political influence and military dominance in Syria through occupation, it has joined forces with the United States to establish a new Middle East order. Within the framework of the Greater Middle East Project, populations have been divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, while occupation, war, and internal conflicts have been systematically fueled. From Afghanistan to Iraq, from Libya to Syria, the structures of the region have been reshaped. The Syrian civil war, which has lasted for over a decade, has been perpetuated as part of these policies.
With the latest operations carried out through the jihadist group HTS to overthrow Assad’s government, the Kurdish movement, which has established an autonomous zone in Syria in alliance with the U.S., has gained a significant opportunity.
Parallel to the collapse in Syria, the AKP-MHP alliance prepared the groundwork for the process presented to the public via Bahçeli. The so-called "seesaw politics," where Turkey attempted to militarily eliminate Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria while exploiting contradictions between Russia and the U.S., has become unsustainable.
This situation has led to Turkey assuming a more active role in the new U.S.-Israel Middle East order and has brought regional relations with the Kurdish movement to the forefront. What is being framed as a "Kurdish-Turkish alliance" is, in reality, an attempt to align with the broader U.S. plan in the region. Trump's statement that "The Kurds and Turkey are enemies, but I told Erdoğan not to go after them in Syria, and he didn’t" explicitly reveals this direction.
On the other hand, when evaluated alongside developments in Ukraine, it becomes even clearer that these imperialist and Zionist war policies will provide no benefits to the peoples of the region. The geopolitical maneuvers driven by American interests are now being continued with a focus on Iran. Thus, these developments are also part of the Greater Middle East Project's phase of encircling Iran.
For this reason, within the framework of the U.S.'s new war policies, neither the achievement of Kurdish rights nor a process of democratization in the region and Turkey can be expected.
PAVING THE WAY FOR ERDOĞAN’S LIFELONG PRESIDENCY
While these realities are evident, the AKP-MHP alliance views developments in the Middle East as an opportunity to prolong its rule in domestic politics. The latest developments in the Kurdish issue are also being used as a tool in this context. Some government figures have linked the call for disarmament to constitutional amendments, proposing changes such as "redefining citizenship" and "transferring certain powers to local administrations," all while tying these proposals to "paving the way for Erdoğan’s presidential candidacy." From the outset, Bahçeli has openly expressed this goal.
All this shows that the government is once again trying to take over the fate of the country by paving the way for Erdoğan's candidacy through an early election decision to be taken by the Parliament or a constitutional amendment. Ignoring this reality and expecting these developments to lead to democratic progress would be a grave miscalculation. The mistakes of 2010’s “Yetmez ama evet” and boycott strategies must not be repeated. This government that represses every segment of society, neutralizes opposition through judicial operations, and seeks to eliminate progressive and revolutionary potentials cannot be expected to bring democratization.
SAVING THE COUNTRY FROM ONE-MAN RULE
For this reason, opposition forces must not fall for the deceptions AKP and MHP will create under the pretense of solving the Kurdish issue, nor should they be trapped by constitutional manipulations. The primary objective must be to bring an end to the existing one-man regime, and joint struggles must be developed in this direction.
The opposition must recognize that under this regime, democratic institutions and principles have been dismantled, and even elections are being turned into mere formalities. The government has so far managed to stay in power through the Supreme Election Council (YSK) and various fraudulent tactics. Erdoğan’s statement, “We will design the opposition ourselves,” further reveals the ongoing efforts of the ruling bloc to suppress and neutralize opposition by any means necessary.
Bringing an end to this repressive one-man regime and fighting together to pave the way for the true freedom of Kurdish and Turkish working people is the most crucial responsibility of all progressives, patriots, democrats, revolutionaries, and opposition forces in our country.
Note: This article is translated from the original Turkish version titled Demokrasinin tek yolu tek adam rejiminden kurtulmak, published in BirGün newspaper on March 1, 2025.