TODAY’S MESOP QUOTATION

And what was the truth?

Öcalan stated in his March 21 letter that, “there was no Kurdish question but an overall problem of democratization and that Kurds will benefit from Turkey’s steps toward democratization.” Later, he declared the armed struggle to be over due to “Turkey’s recent transformation and changes in the Middle East.” This way, the country skipped through all the various stages of the Western tale of conflict resolution at once. Unable to process this development, the liberal/left discourse responded to the peace process with low-intensity opposition! Had they known, however, the merits of a simple dinner that the people of Anatolia used to cease numerous blood feuds over thousands of years, they would not be so surprised. And they were so shocked that some even went as far as claiming that the PKK and Öcalan had betrayed the Kurds!

Commentary by: TAHA ÖZHAN – Hürriyet