WHO IS SUPPORTING THE PKK'S PEACE GROUPS?

“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.”
~ George Bernard Shaw.

The Federation of [Turkish] Martyrs' Families isn't happy that there may be a political solution to the Kurdish situation:

[President of the Federation of Martyrs' Families Hamit] Köse compared the reception of the PKK envoys to a funeral that made the martyrs turn in their graves. He said they were received with open arms, “without regretting the terror and the murders.”

Ayşe Çelik, the mother of a martyr, questioned the fairness of the amnesty. “Bring back our children like you are bringing them [PKK members] back from the mountains,” she said. “You can’t, because our children are buried in the ground.”

Aside from the fact that these ghouls would prefer to see more people on both sides die, let's consider a few things here. What is their real beef?

A conservative number of dead from the Dirty War in The Southeast is 40,000. Let's go along with the claim that 6,000 of those dead were TSK and, for the sake of argument, let's say that those 6,000 were all ethnic Turks--although we know they all weren't. That means that 34,000 of the dead in our conservative estimate were Kurds.

Again, let's review the math: 6,000 TSK "are buried in the ground", to quote Ayşe Çelik and 34,000 Kurds "are buried in the ground".

Who has suffered more?

Maybe the Federation of Martyrs' Families is upset about the forcible displacement of Turkish citizens? How many Turkish citizens were forcibly displaced by TSK in Western Turkey? None. How many Turkish citizens were forcibly displace by TSK in The Southeast? At least 2,000,000.

Who has suffered more?

On the other hand, it could be that the Federation of Martyrs' Families has a problem with economic disparities? Western Turkey has an unemployment rate of 25 - 30%. What's the rate in The Southeast? Sixty to seventy percent.

Who is suffering more? Who longs for peace more?

Of course, it's only fair to mention that not all martyrs' families associations are opposed to the idea of the Kurdish initiative or the PKK's peace groups sent from Kandil, Maxmur, or the one that will soon arrive from Europe.

The comparison here of the reactions of these organizations to the events of the last few days seems to be consistent with the initial reactions of the population. On the day the peace groups arrived from Kandil and Maxmur, Turkish TV news channels sought the reaction of the "man" on the street. It appeared that about half were supportive of the arrival of the peace groups while the other half opposed. I have seen no numbers on the matter so, at this point, these are my observations of what has gone on in Turkish media.

It would also appear that those who are braying the most against the arrival of the peace groups are the two "opposition" party jackasses--Baykal and Bahçeli.

What may be more significant, however, are two other things I've noticed about Turkish media in this last week:

1. At this point, the paşas have been absolutely silent on the matter. There has not even been so much as a hint of an e-coup; there have been no mysterious postings of opposition statements on the website of the Turkish general staff.

2. According to Milliyet, Emre Taner's position as the head of MİT has been extended again, this time until May 2010.

For those having difficulty reading between the lines, here's something from June 2009:

Avni Özgürel of daily Radikal writes that Gül's announcement is based on a report by Emre Taner, the Director of the Turkish Intelligence Service (MIT), which proposes an administrative reform for partial devolution of power to the regional/local authorities, finding an appropriate way of accommodating the guerrillas coming down from the mountains, a formula for the PKK leadership's accommodation and an amendment in the conditions of imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan. This proposal, Özgürel asserts, has been agreed upon in principle by all the participants of the National Security Council (MGK), including, most remarkably, the military's high command.

If this attempt at a solution actually goes through this time, given the silence of the paşas and the extension of Taner's tenure as MİT chief, the jackasses are screwed. But, seeing is believing, as they say, so let us see what will happen.