BY ISMET BERKAY
RADIKAL- These are the people who want to govern us: Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, who threw a noose to the public, demanding the execution of Abdullah Ocalan, and one of his opponents asking why he hadn't done it, as the MHP was put of the ruling coalition when the death penalty was ended. It's true that they are talking about a person who is responsible for the deaths of more than 35,000 people. There's no doubt he's a murderer. But the problem can't be solved by hanging Ocalan. If this were a solution, even I would have defended this execution, although I'm opposed to the death penalty. Hanging him would be revenge, pure and simple. Only people lacking self-confidence and morality take revenge. Ocalan has been in prison for nearly eight years. Although his contact with the outside is constantly controlled and kept to a minimum, terrorism and the separatist Kurdish movement are still continuing.
Bahceli can't win votes by throwing a noose to the public. Instead, he might lose votes, because people may recall that he was one of the members of the government coalition that ended the death penalty and thus Ocalan's execution. However, let me say that Bahceli did what was right at that time. When Turkey outlawed the death penalty in August 2002, the right thing was done again. The death penalty was removed from the Constitution and laws in subsequent reform packages, and finally the European Council's relevant protocol was adopted. These were all the right steps. In such an atmosphere, I can't think of any other more shameful or desperate amateur tactic than pledging to execute Ocalan as a ploy to win votes. Some people think that Turkey only has the problem of separatist terrorism and if the terrorists were defeated, support for terrorism ended and foreign support won ever, our problems would be solved. But they're wrong. Yes, there is the problem of separatist terrorism in Turkey, but there is also a serious Kurdish issue fueling this problem. The real problem lies in distancing the Kurdish issue from the terrorist PKK. In other words, it lies in acting well towards the public, solving their problems and ensuring that they feel like equal citizens in this country, while isolating terrorism and terrorists. Maybe terrorism will never end, but it could be marginalized and isolated from the public.
Today terrorism is farther away from us than during the `90s, but not far enough. This distance came thanks to democratic reforms and people laying down their arms. Even ending the State of Emergency (OHAL) was something. Not only the state, democracy and certain rights, but also politicians should go to the region. However, it seems that only the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is competing with the Kurdish nationalist political movement there. I wish other parties also showed their presence in the region, maded direct contact with the people and tried to bring service there. However, this can't be done by brandishing nooses on the campaign trail.