Hurriyet published an article by Semih Idiz 'The CHP should be more helpful.' "Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is right to complain about the insufficient support he is getting from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as his government plows on – despite overt and covert attempts at obstruction – with efforts to negotiate an end to the campaign of terror by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)," the article begins.
"Having vowed “to drink poison hemlock” for the sake of peace, Erdoğan has little choice but to push forward, of course. It is also clear that Erdoğan will have broadened his support base if he succeeds. This is crucial for him at a time when he has grand political schemes in the pipeline for Turkey, one of which is to get himself popularly elected as an executive president."
"Perhaps this is what the CHP is really worried about. Whatever the case may be, the CHP gives the impression that it is playing its familiar game of pandering to the outmoded Kemalist nationalism of its old guard, which is more suited to the 1930s than today. It clearly hopes to garner support for itself by presenting the current efforts with the PKK in a bad light every time an opportunity arises," the article reads.
"This, however, is also seriously out of tune with the CHP’s claim to be a social democratic party, and it must be remembered that it is a member of the Socialist International today. Despite this claim, however, the CHP even harbors overtly racist deputies who fail to see the “faux pas” in coming out with statements to the effect that “the Turkish and Kurdish nations can not be considered as equals.”
"While there is the terrorism aspect which must not be underestimated, the whole issue also has a social aspect pertaining to the conditions of Kurds which is recognized today in a way that was not possible a few years ago. Meanwhile, the military approach against the PKK has been tried for over a quarter of a century and has failed to solve the problem," the article reads.
"So the CHP may be working to make the AKP lose supporters by not helping it in its current efforts with the PKK. The chances are, however, that if it does not change tack, the real loser in the end will most likely be itself again," the author concludes.
