Details of a democratic autonomy project offered by pro-Kurdish politicians to settle the Kurdish issue are now being clarified, with politicians and academics affiliated with the People's Democracy Party (HDP) noting that the canton model emerging in the Kurdish region of Rojava in the north of Syria could be used as a model for Turkey as well.
Demir Çelik, HDP deputy president for local administrations, told Sunday's Zaman the state is the source of all evils and noted that local communes will enable people to make their own decisions. Asserting that the Rojava model is not the most optimal one but could be used as a reference, Demir noted they are also open to other alternatives as well. HDP İstanbul chair Emrullah Bingöl, who noted that they are the first to offer this model in the world, said they want to save people from the hierarchical pressures of the state and ensure that they can govern themselves.
Renowned Kurdish academic İbrahim Güçlü, however, said this is a failed model which was previously implemented by the Soviets and the Baathist regime, noting there is no chance of success in this practice. Stressing that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is behind this project, Güçlü also underlined that success in this model requires strong popular support but in this case, the PKK leaders are the support base. This model is based on the creation of communes and councils which significantly restrict the powers ascribed to the state and the central government.
The model has many flaws. In practice, individuals cannot hold power and have the final say in decisions. Somalia is a good case in point. Small districts were empowered to make their own decisions acting like micro states in Somalia in the past but the world is now witnessing the huge collapse of this country, which has experienced being stateless. And this model has no chance of surviving in a geography like the Middle East, which can be characterized as an area with many social and political fault lines.
Bingöl, who notes that the democratic autonomy model is open to criticisms and suggestions, stresses that their main purpose is to find solutions to the ongoing crises and problems experienced by nation states. When asked whether the governing model in Switzerland on the basis of different cantons is a suitable solution, Kurdish politicians say Kurds have created pockets of peace in the north of Syria despite ongoing bloodshed and civil war in other parts of the country.
Kurdish politicians, who have been promoting federal models for many years, switched their position in the mid-2000s and adopted a democratic autonomy model which seeks to divide Turkey into 25-26 autonomous regions. In this model, the Kurdish region will be made up of five regions which will have their own parliaments and flags.
When asked why they are insisting on a parliament and a flag, Çelik said: “Just as every institution and corporation has its own emblem, local parliaments can have a flag of their own. A flag and parliament does not necessarily mean partition.” Bingöl said this model is based on the approval and contribution of people as they spoke with thousands of people in İstanbul to develop this solution.
Bingöl stresses that they will promote this model in different parts of Turkey including the regions and areas where Turkish nationalism is strong and influential.
Arguing that people will genuinely govern themselves under this model, Çelik said: “People will be saved from hierarchical pressures. The state is the source of all evils. We do not want microstates next to the state. We are promoting a model where people govern themselves via communes. Switzerland is not our ideal model. Maybe this model can be implemented for a while but the actual goal is to eliminate the monster called the state. This is not a model that is practiced anywhere in the world; we are the first to offer this. We are seeking an individual-based rather than an ethnicity-based model.”
Bingöl stressed they are not seeking independence because they do not want another restriction and because they consider the Turkish flag the flag of all in the country. He further noted that measures should be taken to ensure that PKK militants adapt to social life. “They could be used as security forces or employed in different fields, it does not matter,” he said.
Güçlü, however, strongly opposes the model being offered by HDP figures. Pointing out that the consent of everyone in Turkey, including Turks, Kurds, Sunnis, Alevis and non-Muslims, should be secured to implement this model, Güçlü adds that this is an outdated model. Noting that strong efforts should be made to settle the Kurdish issue, Güçlü said the PKK is the sponsor of this model and it is trying to create a sphere of influence for itself through its armed forces.
Güçlü further noted that the PKK is trying to create a structure that is similar to the one created by the Kemalist authoritarian regime in the 1920s. “They should openly declare that they want to create a PKK state,” he said. Güçlü also pointed out that the model cannot be implemented without PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Given that Öcalan is controlled by the state, Güçlü said the role of the state in this offer should be questioned.
Bingöl, however, objects to this argument. Noting that they are formulating a setting based on popular demands, Bingöl said they are keeping the discussion alive to ensure that many will contribute to the debate.
Proposing his own alternative, Güçlü believes the first and most serious step should be the reorganization and reformulation of the state. He noted a new state should be defined so that Turks will not be the dominant actors, adding that a new social contract should be devised to represent all parties.
Noting that a federal state model could be a good and viable alternative, Güçlü said former President Turgut Özal had proposed the title “state of Anatolian people” in place of Turkey.
When asked what the HDP's approach is to the presidential model which is being strongly and staunchly supported and promoted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, HDP figures said: “The presidential system is based on the idea of division of power. If this does not happen, then the state will become susceptible to Erdoğan's wishes. We would not want such a structure.”
Pointing out that a presidential system should be based on the establishment of regions, a federation and regional democratic autonomy, Çelik noted that the system would otherwise become a sort of kingdom and that they would not endorse this option.
Source/Fuente: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346798-hdps-democratic-autonomy-based-on...
