BY H. BULENT KAHRAMAN
RADIKAL- The ads taken out last week by leading Kurdish groups in the International Herald Tribune and Le Monde set off a firestorm in our country. They outlined what Kurds living in Turkey want from Ankara in its European Union membership bid. I don’t agree with the content of the ads. I do believe that their timing was off, and that since Leyla Zana and her friends were released Kurdish groups have been making a series of missteps. However, I don’t think that their methods are wrong. On the contrary, we should insist that such methods are indeed useful and necessary. Groups can use the foreign press to express their ideas. If necessary, Turkey could do the same. Ankara is arguing that the ads treated it unfairly, ignoring the recent democratization efforts. I believe that the steps that we’ve taken up to now are very important. But let me ask you a question: Why should everyone agree with me? These steps might not satisfy all groups and all people. There may be some who are dissatisfied with Turkey’s reforms and they might use this method to express their disappointment. What we should do now is to discuss their views calmly. However, Turkey’s immediate reaction to the ads was like a reflex action, because whenever our problems are put into the international spotlight we get angry and frustrated since we prefer to keep them behind closed door. This attitude springs from our introverted, communitarian and corporatist social structure. However, now is the time for open discussions. We need to embrace such processes if we want to transform ourselves into an open society. There’s no point in branding the people who took out the ads as ‘separatists’ just because they preferred to air their grievances in the foreign press. They might be separatists, but here the problems they are discussing are Turkey’s. We must find solutions to these problems which can satisfy not only domestic groups but also the international community. I personally believe that the Kurdish issue cannot be resolved by either separatism or Kurdish nationalism, which is exactly why I want separatists and Kurdish nationalists to come out and express their views very clearly. Any resolution, I think, will emerge from a process of persuasion and democratic negotiations. Such a participatory and two-way system is the foundation of all democratic ideals worldwide.