13.05.2025 11:10
Former PKK member Yüksel Genç stated that he believes both Devlet Bahçeli, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Öcalan have made significant progress in the peace consensus regarding the organization's dissolution decision. He said, "If Turkey can manage the Kurdish issue and its alliance with the Kurds in a healthy way, or if it can maintain the alliance, it will emerge as a dominant power in the Middle East."
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The Coordinator of the Socio-Political Field Research Center, former PKK member Yüksel Genç, stated that he considers the PKK's decision to disband as a very valuable and significant opportunity.
Genç expressed that it was a decision that was expected but quite delayed for him, saying, "Because 26 years ago, when we came as a peace and democratic solution group, we worked hard to open the ways for unarmed struggle. We were arrested after our arrival. The period between 1999-2004 was actually one of the longest and most important negative peace processes that Turkey experienced in its 50-year history. During that time, the number of deaths did not even exceed the number of fingers on one hand. Unfortunately, the political mind of that time could not evaluate such a valuable process. Sadly, since that day, tens of thousands of young people have died, both Turkish, Kurdish, and from different communities. Unfortunately, there have been huge gaps and rifts between societies," he said.
"EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY"
Genç stated that the Kurdish issue is at a stage where it can be resolved through democratic political means, saying, "If democratic and political means are opened up and courageous steps are taken regarding this, the Kurdish issue can be transformed from a conflict issue into a model and example for the region, even for regional states and conflicts, by completing the democratization that has been the missing leg of the 100-year-old Republic of Turkey around its pluralistic identities with a new social contract. This disbandment decision has such a value," he said.
"If the Turkey example is successful in similar problems from now on, there will be an immense experience that emerges towards resolving identity issues, and perhaps class issues and different belief and thought issues, through the effective use of political channels instead of conflicts," Genç said, adding, "For this to be reciprocated, it seems that the government, the ruling power, the state, the parliament, political parties, the opposition, civil society, and broadly all social fabrics, even regional and diplomatic circles will have a role to play from now on."
BAHÇELİ HAS RUN A VERY PERSISTENT PROCESS
Genç, evaluating that making a decision for disarmament is one thing, while producing lasting peace from it is another, continued his speech as follows:
"Discussions on the solution to the Kurdish issue and ceasefire declarations have continuously developed since 1993. However, the period from 1999-2004 holds a very special place. The conditions and demands of today are very compatible. The 2009-2011 Oslo process is a very unique place. The 2013-15 peace and solution process was also very special. This process would have progressed by drawing from the experiences of all these. It is necessary to see that the experience contains what can be done to sustain the process without it being hindered, and what can hinder it. The political structures and actors that have gained this experience, even if they have been running a somewhat atypical process for a long time, seem to have ensured the erosion of an important threshold. First of all, it is necessary to say that the lessons learned from past experiences are important. I hope that in the phase towards a lasting peace and solution process, serious lessons will be drawn from those past experiences. However, today both Bahçeli has run a very persistent process in this regard. Öcalan has also taken direct responsibility from the very beginning. He has taken on a very important and risky responsibility, to be honest."
"TURKEY WILL BECOME A PIONEER"
Noting that the regional conditions and the collapse of the 100-year-old structure and paradigm, as well as the new construction of a new paradigm, present both risks and opportunities for Turkey, Genç stated, "The new state mentality and ruling mentality are aware that both risks and opportunities can be evaluated in the event of resolving the Kurdish issue. If a democratic reconstruction of Turkey can be achieved by solving the Kurdish issue, Turkey can become a pioneer in shaping the paradigm of the new century in the region. Moreover, it will protect itself from some problems arising from the collapse risk of state-political systems that have established the relationships of the century-old paradigm. After all, let us not forget that there is a Republic established in Turkey 100 years ago," he said.
"TURKEY CAN BE A ROLE MODEL"
Emphasizing that the insistence of political actors on this issue is undoubtedly important for reading the healthy dynamics of such a conjuncture and anticipating the future opportunities that this conjuncture can create, he concluded his remarks as follows:
"If political actors had been provocative and rejected the process from the very beginning, Turkey could have become a country that faced the fractures and risks emerging in the Middle East, especially since the 2000s. The rulers are very aware of this. Therefore, I think both Bahçeli, Erdoğan, and Öcalan have made significant progress towards a minimum consensus, a consensus for peace. If the legal and legal contexts of the decision taken are established, bureaucratic, political transformations and social counterparts are established, as I mentioned at the beginning, Turkey can be a role model. While the new paradigm of the Middle East is being shaped, if Turkey can manage the Kurdish issue and the alliance it has established with the Kurds healthily, it will emerge as a dominant power in the Middle East. It will emerge as a balance of peace and democracy in the new century of the Middle East. This would be a very valuable thing. A Turkey that can solve the Kurdish issue and make peace with the Kurds, a transforming Turkey, will be a role model for the Middle East. The reason for this is that for all of this to be possible, it is necessary to courageously take steps and not shy away from taking on some risks in practical applications. The essence starts now; the political mechanisms of the state, the legal mechanisms, and the parliament's perspective start now because the responsibility to create the frameworks and regulations that will enable the practical realization of this decision now lies with those who have the will to do so. Therefore, the essence of the political mind, the state right, and the social right in Turkey starts now."
4 YEARS LEFT IN THE MOUNTAIN CADRE
Yüksel Genç, who stayed in the mountain cadre of the terrorist organization for 4 years, came to Turkey for peace in 1999 with a group of 8 PKK members. Genç, who spent 5 years in prison, was released in 2004.
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