BY MUSTAFA KARAALIOGLU
STAR- Yesterday's terrorist attacks in Hakkari have surpassed the terrorist PKK's limits of courage. The PKK and its parallel elements are clearly inviting Turkey to enter northern Iraq, and they are doing so with a method to directly provoke the people, namely killing. We must keep our heads, which is the hardest thing to do when violence and anger are surging. Even if some consider it a concession or defect, we must stay calm. The terrorist PKK shouldn't dictate what steps we will or won't take. If Turkey wants to and finds it suits its own interests, it will cross the border at the right time.
But now, if the terrorist PKK is attacking our soldiers, thinking that a single attack would make a cross-border operation inevitable just after the motion was passed by Parliament, we should master our anger and think. Maybe it's hard, but we should think patiently, because Turkey has certain traditions and it can't take impulsive steps out of anger. We should understand that the moment we carry out an operation, this will be an irrevocable strike against the PKK. As a matter of fact, until yesterday, Ankara wasn't trying to use the motion as a military instrument, but putting it on the table as a stick supporting diplomatic efforts. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the US on Nov. 5 and the upcoming meeting in Istanbul of countries neighboring Iraq will be two important chances to show the motion's diplomatic power. Now the PKK is interfering and trying to spoil this process. But yesterday's attacks shouldn't take other alternatives off the table.
The terrorist attacks in Hakkari showed that crossing the border also means putting Turkey into a game whose end can't be seen. This attack should be differentiated from previous ones. We're facing a move for the first time which has high political targets and goes beyond Turkey's fight against the terrorist PKK. Even this situation requires being cool-headed and acting after careful thinking. As we greatly regret the loss of our soldiers and hope their families will be patient, we hope the best decision can be made to honor their memories.
Meanwhile, Turkey passed an important test of democracy, under the shadow of terrorism. Turkey can solve a crisis at the ballot box. In spite of the opposition party's urging a boycott, which surprised everybody, the news of the terrorist attack and our country's exhaustion following the summer elections, millions of people went to the polls and approved the constitutional changes by an overwhelming majority. Thus the campaign to depress turnout at the referendum and prevent popular election of the president was defeated at the ballot box. This situation shows that the nation understands what the media doesn't and knows very well what it means to elect the president. It proves again, following July's general elections, that looking down on the public is a dangerous and humiliating move, because a silent but effective answer will be given at the earliest opportunity.