transformed into the Kurdish Spring
Our Foreign
Minister is reported to be “looking for a place for Bashar al-Assad.”
You know
what, while he is looking for a place, let us, ourselves, look for a new place
for Turkey.
We may or
may not support our country’s Syrian policy. That does not matter in the least.
We are all aware of the picture in front us, aren’t we?
We have a
1,200 km long Kurdish border
ONE:
Only one
week ago, we had a 400-kilometer “Kurdish border.” Now, 800 kilometers have
been added to this.
Friends,
this is the new geopolitical reality that has been drawn by “our strategic
depth”:
As of
today, we have a 1,200 kilometer long Kurdish border.
We could
not manage 400 km, could we manage 1,200 km?
TWO:
We should
consider this.
We could
not manage a 400 kilometer Kurdish border. How are we going to manage 1,200
kilometers? We are awaiting an “in depth” response to that.
Arabs are
fighting, Kurds are winning
THREE:
Are you
aware, the “Arab Spring” that we fervently support has completely transformed
into a “Kurdish Spring”?
There is a
strange situation both in Iraq and in Syria: Arabs are fighting each other,
people are dying.
The Kurds
are taking one more step on their path to an independent state. Besides, they
are able to achieve this without firing one bullet, without losing one soul.
Here you
go, this is true strategic depth.
FOUR:
On the
other hand, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is fighting and losing
lives, but is not able to win.
FIVE:
There is
another weird situation present:
In Turkey,
the PKK is firing bullets in the name of Kurds but it has not gained anything
up to today.
Let’s stop
a minute.
Who can
guarantee that the “Kurdish Spring” that has arrived in the Arab countries will
not one day also arrive in Turkey?
Don’t
mention Foreign Minister Davutoğlu.
It is
enough if he keeps a distance.
The coming
era cannot be entrusted to the fantasies of an academic
* This de
facto situation achieved by Kurds in two countries will involuntarily turn eyes
to the Kurds in Turkey.
* If one
day in the future an intense “Kurdish Spring charge” is directed in Turkey, how
are we going to respond to this?
* By firing
bullets?
* Or by a
policy that would suit a democratic country?
What
happens if an Alevi/Christian massacre starts in Syria?
The
situation in the areas under the control of the opposition in Syria is far from
pleasant.
We hears
that such creepy slogans as: “Christians to Lebanon, Alevis to the coffin” are
being chanted in those areas.
Concrete
information is emerging that Christians are being badly mistreated.
What will
Turkey’s stance be if Sunnis attempted a massacre tomorrow?
Are we
going to request the Sunni Arabs to “act with decisiveness”?
Look at the
map to see the photograph
RESULT:
From now on
we have a 1,200 kilometer long border with the Kurds.
If you look
at the map, you will see another reality.
On this
side of the border, at least 800 to 900 kilometers long, the Kurdish population
of Turkey is residing.
This means:
The
“Kurdish Spring” has arrived at our border.
To counter
a “spring charge” launched by Kurds, based on the de facto situation in the two
neighboring countries, we should respond with a serious policy, one that is
backed by the whole of Turkey, not by the fantasies of an academic.
I might
have oversimplified the matter, but the realities facing us are that simple…
May God
save Turkey from the aftershocks of “strategic depth”…
Ertuğrul
Özkök is a columnist for daily Hürriyet, in which this piece was published on
July 26. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.
July/27/2012
