‘Kurds are working to establish a peace order, not to deepen conflicts… We value and support Turkey's efforts in this regard’

With clashes again erupting between Syrian interim govt forces and the Kurdish SDF in Aleppo, the process to integrate Kurdish units into the Syrian army has faced another setback. The latest clash saw two people being killed and many injured, and came just after Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan’s latest visit to Damascus. In an exclusive interview, Tülay Hatimoğullari, co-chair of the Turkish DEM Party, spoke with Rudroneel Ghosh on the peace process with the Kurds, both in Turkey and Syria:

After the recent Turkish parliamentary delegation's visit to meet PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan, where does the peace process stand?

The meeting marked a significant step forward. We have witnessed numerous attempts at dialogue and unilateral ceasefire declarations in the labyrinth of this half-century-long conflict – many of which were conducted in the grey corridors of intelligence and remained confined to the convoluted inner workings of politics. What is different today is this: a commission established by the joint will of the Turkish Grand National Assembly has taken a historic step by officially recognising Öcalan as a counterpart. The Kurdish issue has now moved out of the military and intelligence sphere and onto the legitimate and visible ground of politics.




This problem, which has risen from the security tables to the roof of parliament, has finally been recognised as a solvable political issue. Our hope is that a roadmap containing legal regulations will be drawn up with a common mind. It is expected that the subsequent draft laws – the regulations we call peace and freedom laws – will be implemented. The talk is largely over; we are now in the practical construction phase.

What are the possible next steps in that process?

There are numerous steps to be taken to ensure the success of the Peace and Democratic Society Process, resolve the Kurdish issue, and democratise Turkey. However, there are a number of urgent tasks that must be addressed immediately. For this process to progress on a sound footing, a special law is needed that will enable those who have laid down their arms to participate in democratic political life, establish mutual trust on a legal basis, and eliminate the court cases pending against hundreds of thousands of people. If this special law is accompanied by a peace law and a democratic integration law, an important threshold will be crossed in the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue.

Subsequently, there is a need for legal regulations that will strengthen democracy in Turkey and establish the rule of law to be swiftly passed by parliament, giving rise to a journey of democratisation.

Do you see a genuine desire on the part of the Turkish govt to foster brotherhood with the Kurds and end the long-running strife with the PKK?

Reducing politics to a test of good intentions means ignoring its real dynamics. What we are dealing with here is a necessity created by geopolitical tectonics. For half a century, a single recipe was tried: the security concept. Did it work? The problem was not solved; the lack of a solution became entrenched. Walking the same path and expecting to reach a different destination means straying from political realism. The Turkish state seems to have finally recognised this reality. The dead-end path is being abandoned, and the path to negotiation is opening up. Of course, the process is not flawless. The shadow of current political calculations occasionally slows the pace. But the river has found its bed and is flowing. Our responsibility now is to deepen this flow and make it sustainable. Is there a will to find a solution? We see that there is, even if not at the level we desire. And we are determined to strengthen this will with social demands.

The agreement between the Syrian govt and the Syrian Democratic Forces on integration appears to have stalled. What is the way forward for integration there?

We hope that the March 10 Agreement signed between the Interim Syrian Government (SIG) and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) will be implemented. We call on regional countries and global powers to play a constructive, rather than disruptive, role in ensuring the implementation of this agreement. The official recognition of the different languages, beliefs and peoples living in Syria, including Kurds, Alawites, Druze and Christians, the constitutional guarantee of their rights, and the establishment of a democratic order for coexistence will benefit everyone.

What is the main objective of the DEM in the peace process and how does it plan to achieve it?

The DEM Party has always pursued a political agenda based on the values of peace, democracy, freedom, equality and justice, as befits its political tradition. It has strived, and continues to strive, to organise a social, economic and political life governed by these values. Our main objective in this process is the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue and the democratisation of Turkey. Once these two main objectives are achieved, Turkey will become a democratic republic and play an important role in the stability of West Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Black Sea region.

In terms of the larger West Asia region, and related geopolitical complications from Gaza to Ukraine, how do you see the peace process and Kurdish aspirations playing out?

The regional crises stretching from Gaza to Ukraine are, of course, also affecting the future of the Kurdish issue. The world's progression towards a multipolar order affects all global actors, as well as regional actors. The Kurds, whose issue concerns four countries due to their homeland being divided into four parts at the beginning of the 20th century, are no exception to this picture. In today's conditions, where regional competition is at its peak, the Kurds, although not at the centre of the great power rivalry, are trying to preserve their existence despite their limited resources, precisely because their countries are located at the heart of energy corridors and the reshaping security architecture.

The four countries where Kurds are a natural component, namely Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, have attempted to govern the Kurds with security-oriented reflexes up until now. However, at this stage, we see that Iraq and Syria have fragmented due to their inability to demonstrate flexibility. Turkey and Iran, on the other hand, are faced with the decision of whether to resolve their own Kurdish issues through war or peace within the context of the struggle for hegemony in West Asia, where Israel is another component. Turkey now believes it can resolve this through peace. We value and support Turkey's efforts in this regard. For our part, we are doing everything we can to ensure peace. Unlike other regional and global powers, the Kurds are working to establish a peace order, not to deepen conflicts. It should also be noted that this project does not only involve the Kurds. It envisions an order in which Turks, Arabs, Persians and many other large and small West Asian nations can live together in peace. We are working towards this.

We are witnessing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We do not believe that war can solve anything. It is precisely at this point that we believe Abdullah Öcalan's Call for peace and a democratic society carries great significance. Much like India's idol of peace Gandhi, Öcalan is increasingly becoming an icon of peace in West Asia whose ideas are debated in intellectual circles. We support this call and the project proposed by Öcalan.