"Building on its initial steps to disarm the PKK and resolve the Kurdish question from 2009, Turkey initiated a new attempt to address the two issues with greater emphasis earlier this year. It is no easy task for observers from outside the country and with no Turkish language skills to accurately make sense of ongoing developments. It is not only the language barrier that obstructs their view but also the failed, age-old notion that the PKK has a role to play within the broader Kurdish question – a perception that observers constructed over the years," an article by Taha Ozhan published by Hurriyet Daily News reads.
According to the author, the Kurdish issue is indeed complex and remains one of the chronic problems of the country.
"For years, the liberal/left discourse in Turkey misconstrued the “identity” debate to describe the “Kurdish question” through the Western-informed lens of the distinction between “good” and “bad.” Much like the question itself, they attempted to find answers in the West, including in the “conflict resolution” literature, to no avail," the author writes. "Today, the emerging peace process has practically undone all the assumptions of the liberal/left discourse. Such great theories went to waste all due to some filthy, hurtful truth!" the article reads."And what was the truth? Öcalan stated in his March 21 letter that, "there was no Kurdish question but an overall problem of democratization and that Kurds will benefit from Turkey’s steps toward democratization."
