Following the historic call by Abdullah Öcalan, on 27 February, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced its dissolution at a congress it convened, prompting debate over a new phase in the PKK’s fifty-year resistance. The organization’s declaration that the armed struggle had come to an end and that the struggle should now continue in different forms within the framework of democratic politics was met with wide public interest.

The announcement that greater emphasis would be placed on democratic methods of struggle shifted public attention in Turkey toward the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and other actors within the Kurdish political movement. With its longstanding experience in democratic politics across Turkey and Kurdistan, the DEM Party has entered a process of restructuring in line with the spirit of this new era.

Serhat Eren, MP for Diyarbakır (Amed) from the DEM Party, stated that the new phase unfolding in Turkey began with the steps taken by Mr. Öcalan in response to the Turkish state's century-long policy of denial and destruction. Eren noted that today, ninety percent of the struggle is being carried out through channels of democratic politics.

Öcalan offered a response to Turkey’s crisis

Serhat Eren shared the following assessment of the current developments in an interview with ANF: "To truly understand the present moment, we need to take a brief look back at history. I won’t go too far back, but after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, nation-states began to emerge in the Middle East. Following the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Kurdistan was divided into four parts. For the past century, not only Turkey but also Iraq, Syria, and Iran have denied the existence of the most ancient peoples of the region, particularly the Kurds, along with their identities, cultures, languages, and beliefs.

When you reject the values of multilingual, multicultural, and multi-faith peoples, resistance inevitably arises. This is something embedded in human nature and in the nature of societies. The Kurds have been struggling for over a century to reclaim their denied language and identity. Through the Kurdish struggle, the nation-state model has reached a dead end and can no longer resolve the problems it faces. In fact, the collapse of Syria is partly linked to this crisis.

In states with diverse identities, if you fail to create conditions for peoples to coexist on equal terms, you cannot overcome the crisis of the nation-state. The Turkish state has persisted for a century with policies of denial, annihilation, and rejection, but it is now clear that this path is no longer viable. This crisis has pushed Turkey to the margins both domestically and internationally, leaving it without solutions to its internal and global challenges and bringing it to a deadlock. At this juncture, Turkey has entered a search to resolve its internal issues and to reposition itself on the global stage. In truth, the Kurdish people’s leader, Mr. Öcalan, has offered a response to this search."

The Kurds could neither be defeated nor eliminated

Eren stated that the ongoing state of war and recent developments in the Middle East have left the Turkish state with no choice but to address its problems together with the Kurds. He continued: "The new developments in the Middle East and the state of war have made it clear that the Kurds and the Turkish state must resolve their issues together, by prioritizing coexistence on the basis of equality. For perhaps the past ten years, efforts have been made to eliminate the Kurds and remove them from the position of a political subject, both in Turkey and across the Middle East. The Turkish state mobilized all its institutions in a campaign of liquidation and destruction, but it failed.

It could neither defeat nor eliminate the Kurds. Thanks to the struggle waged by the Kurdish people, a deadlock emerged in addressing fundamental social problems in Turkey. Mr. Öcalan offered a great opportunity to overcome this century-old deadlock, to open the way for the peoples of Turkey and the Middle East, and to help Turkey resolve this issue.

In this sense, the Kurds have taken major steps. Both the February 27 call made by Mr. Öcalan and the stance taken by the PKK have created an extraordinary opportunity. This step has shown that the fundamental social issues in both Turkey and the Middle East, including the Kurdish question, must be resolved through democratic politics.

However, in parallel with this step, the state must also act. It needs to take concrete, corresponding actions to resolve this issue, which it has failed to overcome for a century and which has caused political, legal, social, and economic crises at home, as well as deepened its isolation internationally."

A historic opportunity has been created for democratic politics

Serhat Eren added: "The Kurdish side has taken very important steps that will open the way for Turkey. If Turkey wants to resolve its own problems and position itself as a meaningful actor in the Middle East, it must take concrete and parallel steps.

The state is obliged to take these steps not only to resolve the Kurdish question but also to democratize the country, for its own sake as well. In light of the ‘Call for Peace and a Democratic Society’ made by the Kurdish People’s Leader and the decisions announced by the PKK, the state must be compelled to act accordingly.

Some steps need to be taken before the Eid holiday. Society has certain expectations regarding the state’s approach. These steps will serve as a gauge, a criterion of the state’s stance. In truth, we must now wait to see what kind of position the state will take. A historic opportunity has been created for democratic politics.

The Kurds have made this decision at a time when they are stronger than ever before in their history. A people whose very existence was once denied has now become a central actor in the Middle East, an organized people with hundreds, even thousands of institutions and organizations, extending from all four parts of Kurdistan to every corner of the world. Mr. Öcalan and the PKK have taken this step at a time when they have built a new model in Syria, one that shows peoples can live together, and during a period in which this model is valued and acknowledged worldwide. This moment carries the potential to reshape and transform the Middle East in the new century.

Considering all of this, the state must urgently take legal steps aligned with this process. And legal measures alone are not enough, further steps are necessary to sustain this process. Mr. Öcalan must be able to work more freely to guide the process. He needs to meet with intellectuals, writers, and representatives of various social groups, to assess the situation and to hear everyone’s views. For this to happen, his conditions must change.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued a ruling on the ‘right to hope,’ but this ruling must be interpreted within a political context. If Mr. Öcalan is seen as a counterpart for building peace, and if he is recognized as such in Syria and across the Middle East, then this right to hope must now be understood as the right to hope for all peoples.

If Mr. Öcalan is a political interlocutor who shapes the future of peoples, so his conditions must be improved as part of realizing the people’s collective right to hope."

Solution cannot be achieved with a monist constitution

Eren highlighted the issue of constitutional reform by stressing the need for a text of social consensus in order to achieve a real solution. He warned that if the constitution follows a monist framework, the country’s fundamental problems will remain unresolved. Eren continued: "To resolve this issue, we need social peace and a text of social consensus, and that is the constitution. A constitution is a document created when all segments of society come together to decide how the state should function. If the constitution has a monist and centralized spirit, if it is a document that serves to protect only one ethnic identity in Turkey, then no matter how many laws you change, you will not reach a solution.

If the constitution is monist and excludes other peoples, it shapes a judiciary, education system, and legal framework that are also monist. As a result, it will deny the existence of other peoples. In such a system, political and social rights will only be protected for a specific group, while others will continue to be excluded.

That is why we say: to resolve this issue within Turkey and to offer an example for the Middle East, as Mr. Öcalan has emphasized, we need a document of social peace. A constitution in which everyone sees themselves, a document they can call ‘my constitution,’ one that reflects their culture, language, and identity. Only such a constitution can be a genuine text of social consensus.

Of course, releasing seriously ill prisoners, amending the execution regime, and ensuring the release of all political prisoners are essential conditions for the continuation of this process. However, a comprehensive solution to the issue is only possible through a deep, society-wide agreement."

Ninety percent of the struggle now lies in the field of democratic politics

Eren emphasized that methods of democratic struggle must evolve, underlining that ninety percent of the burden now rests within the channels of democratic politics. He stressed that the issue is not only a Kurdish issue but one that, through its consequences, concerns all peoples of Turkey. Eren said: "Until now, perhaps ninety percent of the burden was carried by a different segment. But now, after Mr. Öcalan’s call on February 27 and the PKK’s announcement on May 12, ninety percent of the burden lies within the realm of democratic politics.

Democracy and the Kurdish issue are not concerns only for the Kurds; if their consequences affect all the peoples of Turkey, then this issue belongs to all. If a decision has been made to shift this problem from the terrain of violence to a political and legal framework, and if the conflict has already caused a financial loss of nearly 3 trillion dollars over the past fifty years, then it is clear that the entire population of Turkey has suffered from it.

If this country has failed to build a democratic foundation over the last century, then workers, laborers, socialists, democrats, and all segments who stand for peace and democracy have been its victims. One of the goals that the DEM Party has set for itself is to come together with all segments of society, civil society organizations, and political parties to discuss, debate, and pursue this issue along a shared path of struggle.

The essential responsibility of this process is to transform the struggle into a common one, no longer just the struggle of the Kurds, but a joint struggle of all oppressed people in Turkey, from workers to those of different faiths."

DEM Party’s responsibilities have increased

Eren stated that the DEM Party has taken on a significant responsibility, noting that many of the arguments previously used by the state have now collapsed, placing greater responsibilities on the party. He explained: "The DEM Party also bears a fundamental responsibility in socializing the peace and resolution process. Ultimately, some steps are being taken, but this process needs to become a social one. The state and government are not doing their part; the stance they have taken and the language they use clearly show that they are not fulfilling what this process and the socialization of peace require. But we see ourselves as responsible in this regard.

Yes, we now have the responsibility to show the entire society in Turkey what the country would look like without war and conflict, and what it currently suffers from as a result of them. We must demonstrate that peace has become a necessity for everyone living in Turkey.

Undoubtedly, resolving this issue and socializing peace, building a democratic system, requires us to come together with all civil society dynamics, as well as political and social segments. At the same time, we also have the responsibility to make the parliament a center for legal and constitutional change.

Until now, democratic politics has constantly been confronted with arguments like: ‘but violence,’ ‘but war,’ ‘but terrorism.’ These arguments had audiences both inside and outside the country. In international relations as well, the state used these arguments to manipulate and obscure the Kurdish issue. But now, those arguments no longer hold. Therefore, the DEM Party has many tasks ahead to ensure that this issue is well understood and properly defended, both domestically and internationally, including in the realm of diplomacy.

While doing this, the DEM Party must organize and advance this work together with all peoples, especially the Kurdish people. There is a greater responsibility than ever to organize, to struggle, to build resistance. That spirit of struggle must also be transformed into active opposition and active engagement within the parliamentary framework. We will fight for this. We must fight."