Since the date of their establishment, both of our associations have been working to solve the important problems of our country and the Islamic World, as well as the Kurdish Issue and separatist initiatives in a way that will ensure the unity of the country.
As a matter of fact, ASDER carried out the “Kurdish Issue and Solution Proposals Panel” on March 08, 2009 and shared the issue and solution proposals with the public.
With a sensitive and competent committee formed by ASDER and ASSAM, the on-site determinations made in Diyarbakir-Batman and Mardin provinces on April 24-26, 2013 were collected under the title of “ASDER Peace Process Report” and shared with the public.
The two years since the start of the process, the bloody events of October 6-7, 2014 that were put forward under the pretext of Kobani, the upcoming parliamentary elections and the expectations of the parties regarding March 2015, which includes Nawruz made ASDER and ASSAM members say what is going on in the region and announced the need for a new determination visit in our sensitive cities that have security problems against terrorism.
Three separate teams of ten investigative members from ASDER and ASSAM, between 09-22 December 2014, Hakkari, Van, Sirnak, Mardin, Batman, Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir provinces and some districts, Governmental Institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations, Universities, Opinion Leaders, Political Party Organizations, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bar Associations, Tradesmen and Artists, Trade Unions, Municipalities, Tradesmen and Artists. The findings made were first combined by the three delegations with the joint participation of the three delegations regarding their regions and then under the name of “ASDER - ASSAM Report at the Reaching Point of the Solution Process”.
As you can see in our summary report presented to you, seven provinces and five districts were visited and interviews were held with people from all walks of life on predetermined issues.
As a result of these visits, ASDER and ASSAM members had clear information and opinions about the solution process. We would like to share with you the important parts of our report, which is 80 pages in total.
I would like to say something that is gratifying from the beginning. Almost all the people of the region/Kurds, who are in a wide spectrum from the most extreme to the most moderate, want the solution process to be successful and remain in a unitary structure.
What we have determined with regret is that large sections of people who did not support the armed actions were under the pressure of the State before the start of the Solution Process and especially during the state of emergency, but with the process, they were under the brutal pressure of the organization, which was quickly organized in parallel with the state, in areas left blank by the State forces.
Within the determinations in the region;
Demand for education in mother tongue, recognition of Kurdish identity; high unemployment rate (20%); ignoring the different sect they belong to; the long-term failure of judicial proceedings in state courts; the fact that even the simplest problems of individuals are resolved in the courts of the organization; the organization has established tax offices and security committees; failure to exercise fundamental rights; lack of security of life and property in the face of an armed organization; the recruitment of young people, who have undergone 20 days of armed training, into the organization in parallel with the promise that they will be assigned to the staff of civil servants; the assignment of inexperienced, unqualified people who do not know the values of the people of the region, among the civil administration, soldiers, police, teachers, religious officials and public officials, who cannot communicate with the people’s language in the region; religious officials who do not know the Shafii Sect and do not speak the Kurdish language; the madrasahs which serve as the middle pillar in the standing of the region, are not supported by the state; problems such as taking only BDP/PKK as the addressee by the state emerged as important issues that need to be resolved in a not long period of time and within the scope of the PROCESS.
ASDER-ASSAM Report includes opinions and suggestions for solutions along with determinations. It has been found possible and appropriate
to express the proposals that require fundamental changes under two headings,
those that can be implemented in the next legislative period and
those that can be implemented immediately.
IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE RESOLVED NO LATER THAN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE PERIOD:
Kurdish Identity Must Be Recognized:
In order to create and develop a sense of belonging to the State in our citizens and Kurds who are not members of the Turkish race, instead of the provision in Article 66 of the 1982 Constitution that “Everyone who is bound to the Republic of Turkey by citizenship is called Turkish, regardless of religion or race”, “Citizenship is a fundamental right. Everyone who gains this status in accordance with the principles stipulated by the law is a citizen of the Republic of Turkey.” It would be more inclusive and unifying to include a provision similar to the statement.
In addition, “External Kurds and Muslim Communities”, such as “External Turks and Related Communities”, should be protected by the State of the Republic of Turkey, this issue should be recorded and owned in principle in foreign policy practices.
The Right to Education in the Mother Tongue should be granted:
Although language is one of the unifying values of being a nation, different ethnic groups should be provided with the opportunity to use and maintain their culture and language so that they can be citizens of the state with equal rights.
The official language in state institutions and international relations should be Turkish, but the freedom and opportunity of Kurds and other ethnic groups to speak and develop their own language and to receive education in their own language should be protected by the constitution.
The development of the Kurdish language should be included in state cultural programs.
Our Kurdish citizens should be given the right to education in their own language in state schools, and Turkish should be taught as a second language.
The Kurdish language as a second language should be included in the curriculum in Turkish public schools as well.
Regional Governorships Should Be Formed:
The provincial organization of the Republic of Turkey and the form of government of the State should be reorganized. This system should be formed both to meet the aspirations of the Kurds and other ethnic groups for autonomy, and to increase the sense of commitment and belonging to the State.
Each Ministry can properly manage a maximum of six or ten units affiliated to it. 81 provinces cannot be ruled by persistence from one center. Regional governorships should be formed by taking into account geographical, economic, social and ethnic conditions so that the central administration can rightfully protect the interests of our country before other nations, and to determine and meet the needs more closely.
Regional governors should be appointed from the center, justice, internal security, defense and foreign affairs should be managed from the center, and other areas of activity of the state should be managed locally by regional governors.
One More Star Should Be Added to the Presidential Seal:
The Kurds are the largest and main ethnic group of the Republic of Turkey after the Turks. There are 16 symbols of Turkish states established in history on the presidential seal. The Ayyubid Dynasty State is a state that Sunni Muslims, as well as Kurds, remember with pride and goodness. The inclusion of the symbol of the Ayyubid Dynasty State, together with the symbols of 16 Turkish states, as the 17th Star in the Presidential Seal will increase the Kurds’ sense of belonging to the state of the Republic of Turkey, and will also prevent these citizens from being provoked by external powers. It will look very nice in the presidential seal too.
IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY:
Public Security Must Be Ensured:
The security forces in the provinces and districts where the KCK is active, which forms a parallel structure to the State, especially in Hakkari and Şırnak, should be reinforced both qualitatively and quantitatively.
The judicial system should be expanded in a way that does not allow for any parallel judiciary.
If an amnesty will be granted for the members of the organization to be removed from the mountain and brought to the city (which is needed), this should be declared in advance. However, it should be stated that the members and supporters of the organization, who have taken up arms and trained in any way, will not be assigned to the legal order's security, military and bureaucrat cadres. It should also be noted that those who work in the organization cadres of the PKK and KCK cannot take part in political parties and formations that will be formed on legitimate basis. Militants from this group should only be allowed to work in economic formations that will be encouraged by the state. By making promises to recruit at the end of the process, the attraction of innocent people into parallel structures in the region that are illegitimate and against the state should be prevented.
Council of Ministers Meetings should be held in Sensitive Provinces at Appropriate Periods:
Monitoring and control is an important administrative principle. Problems, investments, projects, public order and security situations in our sensitive provinces, which are driven by ethnic division, can be effectively managed by establishing headquarters at the place of relevant and authorities. The center of gravity is the concentration of almost all the power at the critical place and time. Our ministers should apply the method of solving the issues related to our sensitive provinces (as our Minister of Energy, Mr. Taner Yıldız set up his headquarters in Soma and Ermenek, where mining accidents occur) by being on site, and our Council of Ministers should hold its meetings in sensitive provinces periodically.
State resources should also be provided together.
It Is Not Enough to Take Only BDP/PKK as an Interlocutor:
The success of the process, explaining what has been done and what can be done, ensuring the participation of the people in the solution process, and the achievements provided by the State by the mountain and city staff of the terrorist organization in order to prevent the people from being put under pressure, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations and opinion leaders should also be taken by the State as interlocutors in the Solution Process.
Public Officials Who Have Assimilated the Values of the People of the Region Should be Trained:
Governors, district governors, judges, prosecutors, officers, non-commissioned officers, security guards, teachers, muftis, imams and public officials who can be in harmony with the people of the region religiously and culturally, who have proven their merits in other regions and who are in the rise, who have been through courses related to Kurdish language and culture, who have traditions, customs and traditions, who have the awareness should be carefully selected and appointed so that the future of our State can be made possible by Turkish-Kurdish integration and the legal recognition of equal civil rights.
Educational Campaign Should Be Made:
In some provinces and districts, the number of students attending primary and secondary education has fallen below 50% of the school population. Nearly 25% of the teaching staff are employed by the profession groups that emphasize service to the organization and whose primary duty is not teaching, and almost all of those appointed are trainee teachers. Considering the supporters of parallel congregations, it can be said that the generation of educational age is not in control of someone competent.
Deficiencies of idealistic teachers and educational institutions should be eliminated by taking adequate security measures and providing additional material and moral incentives.
Educational measures specific to the region should be developed through encouraging activities. The Kurdish language, history and culture should be introduced into the curriculum as a course.
In addition, vocational education should be given importance to prevent the loss of those who cannot complete higher education, and religious education should be emphasized in a way to prevent involvement in terrorism.
A suitable coefficient should be applied in higher education entrance exams.
Economic Opportunities Should Be Increased:
Unemployment rate should be reduced to a maximum of 5% by encouraging livestock, aquaculture, underground mines and small-scale industrial investments that provide employment opportunities, by establishing and operating in areas where there is no demand, by opening the mined areas to agriculture and by liberalizing the border trade and also the people of the region should be prevented from migrating to the western parts of country due to their livelihood and being a source for terrorist organizations.
The Importance of the Issue Should Also Be Adopted by the Western Side of Our Country:
By declaring a general mobilization; universities, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, civil and local government units, communities, opinion leaders, units of art, press and broadcasting organizations should support our government’s initiative on the right path with indoor/outdoor activities such as seminars, panels, symposiums, meetings and demonstrations.
These activities, which are difficult to even express, are much more difficult to implement. Success is possible with fairness, foresight, courage, fortitude, patience and skill.
We hope that the “ASDER - ASSAM Report at the Reaching Point of the Solution Process” presented on the following pages and shared with the authorized bodies of our State and our public will conduce to good services.
Adnan Tanrıverdi
Retired Brigadier General
ASSAM President of Board of Directors and
ASDER Honorary President
APPENDICES :
ASDER - ASSAM Report at the Reaching Point of the Solution Process (2015)
