BY CUNEYT ULSEVER
HURRIYET- When terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was being brought into Turkish custody as a result of cooperation with the US, he surprised us with his statements. He expressed his devotion to the Turkish state, which before he had declared an enemy, in such exaggerated terms that I said to myself, ‘I’m not even that devoted to the state!’ Now he makes such Kemalist statements that I can’t help asking, ‘Maybe this country can’t cultivate scientists to win the Nobel prize, but can’t it at least produce proper terrorists?’ Now some Kurdish intellectuals proclaim Kurds’ wishes in foreign newspapers. I won’t ask why these intellectuals believe they have the right and the permission to publish such ads. I even won’t question the context of the ads. These people think that they have the right to make a claim on behalf of a group. They worked on the declaration for two months and consider themselves clever by publishing it on the eve of this week’s European Union summit.
From the statements of the people who signed the ads, I gathered the following:
1. As soon as they heard criticisms, some of them were frightened and withdrew their signatures, or
2. Some manipulated others to sign the ads, or
3. Some are so ignorant that they signed the declaration without reading it.
There is no fourth possibility. When we look at the criticisms after the ads’ publication, one of the above possibilities must be true. In any case, there is only one conclusion: scandal! For those who stand behind their signatures I apologize for them, but the Kurdish issue is now in the hands of such people. Do these people act on behalf of Kurds? Must Kurds take these people seriously? Will they trust them? Are they intellectuals? Are they Kurdish intellectuals? I say sincerely that I feel humiliated on behalf of my Kurdish friends due to this confusion.