Secret moves toward “democratic autonomy”

Looking at the period from the official declaration of the Solution Process up to the present day when armed conflict once again flared up,  great changes have taken place in Turkey in both political terms and in terms of perception management. It needs to be made clear that these changes are not at all positive for Turkey.

During this period, some writers were quite keen to legitimize talks with Öcalan. Letters from Öcalan were read by circles close to the PKK under the heading of “Mr. Öcalan’s demands,” and this came to be regarded as perfectly normal. Öcalan was easily able to criticize the government, either explicitly or in more guarded language, and these all came to be perceived of as natural consequences of the peace process.

In addition, some leftist writers, politicians and bureaucrats went so far as to say, “It is a good thing that Öcalan exists,” and even found themselves capable of demanding that Öcalan be released, first in guarded terms and then openly. Some journalists went to Qandil and began depicting the bloody terrorists who had been ambushing Turkish troops for years as popular heroes instead.

This sly change of language is nothing other than the harbinger of a grave disaster. This change of language is a portent that the PKK (and elements supported by the PKK) has gone into action using more cunning tactics from the inside, in addition to their usual guerrilla methods. The first portent of this disaster was the local elections held on March 30th, 2014.