What is AKP seeking with Custody Terror?

The number of detainees have increased to 851 in the operations held throughout the country.  The operations carried out under the name ‘Terrorism Operations’ have become a witch hunt against revolutionaries and Kurdish movement. The headquarters of Eğitim-Sen(Education Foundation Personel’s union) in Ankara have been raided by the police forces. Günay Özarslan have been slaughtered and this was justified by the government claiming that she was preparing a suicide bomb attack. In Bağlar district of Diyarbakır a eleven-year-old boy fell down from 7th floor and died while the police forces were chasing him. Police attacked people protesting against the government that day. In the Cizre district of Şırnak,  Abdullah Özdal was shot by the special operations force. In short, ISIS supporter AKP, continues to kill and takes into custody the Kurds and revolutionaries with terrorism operations under cover of ISIS. Moreover, AKP is attacking the protestors against the whole process with plastic bullets.

In addition to these, AKP have declared war against PKK. KCK, have announced that the solution process is no longer sustainable. Thus, the solution process which started with the dreams of being the ‘big brother of Middle East’ have been officially ended by AKP.

For 4 years, the solution process continued with no significant progress and now with its ending intensive air strikes aimed at PKK’s camps is taking place. PKK have responded attacks fiercely. Previous day, two soldiers died in an explosion. It is not hard to predict that AKP will seek rent over the soldier funerals in the oncoming period. In fact, AKP have started the period early. At the funeral of Müsellim Ünal ,who died in a conflict with PKK, the tears of Ahmet Davutoğlu was the headline of all AKP supporter media.

Why the Solution Process was Ended?

Early election is expected now. Denis Baykal being  in the first place all the leading politicians don’t need to high this situation. AKP is preparing for the early election. As a rehearsal of early election, intensive attacks against the Kurdish National Movement have been started to flare up the war.

So, what is AKP aiming for by ending the solution process?

 As known, one of the biggest obstacles in front of the AKP’s chance to come to power is HDP and its chance to pass the electoral threshold. Thus, AKP have again started to provoke just as what he did before the elections. The competents of AKP are doing everything they can to decrease the legitimacy of HDP whose discourse of ‘becoming a political party representing the whole Turkey’ has been reciprocated in the western parts. AKP is craving for tension in the Eastern parts with a great desire and the ending of the solution process combined with the nationalist reflexes, tension will sure continue to increase.

Another dimension of the ending of the solution process is that the armed elements (PKK-PYD) of the Kurdish nationalist movement have gained power.  As known, the passivation of the armed parts of the Kurdish nationalist movement was the estimated result when the solution process started. However, the Kurdish movement have seized the opportunities during the Syrian Civil War and have developed successful strategies, thus became an important actor of Middle East within those 4 years.

The non-conflicting setting created by the solution process has pave the way for the HPG to support YPG. Thereby the gains of YPG increased the importance of Kurdish Movement not only in the Middle East but throughout the whole world. We can safely say that it was more ‘rational ‘ for AKP to end the solution process rather then watching the Rojava cantons to gain power and finally to unite.

At this point we should emphasize that while the Kurdish Movement increased its prestige during those 4 years, AKP have been stuck by ‘strategical shallowness’ in the Syrian war. After that, they realized the role of ‘Middle East’s big brother’ was way more harder than they though to be. Besides, the ammunition sent to Salafis under the name of ‘humanitarian aid’ , petrol coming from the areas controlled by ISIS entering Turkey and finally coming out of its relationship with ISIS and other Salafi organizations; the dream of ‘neo-Ottomanism’ has fallen into pieces and AKP have become the least important actor of Middle East remembered by massacre.  Therefore, it meant nothing for AKP in terms of their Middle East plans to continue the solution process.

Another reason for ending the solution process is that AKP is aiming for nationalist votes. As known, the response of the nationalist fraction to the solution process was supporting MHP instead of AKP. The leading aim of AKP is to get back to ‘war politics’ and steal some of the votes from MHP as proceeding to the early elections.

Useful Trouble: ISIS!

As said by Fehim Taştekin; ISIS is the most useful trouble of Middle East. We should state that considering the moves of AKP in this period; the term ‘useful trouble’ is the most suitable one for ISIS. In fact, a from the point of AKP, the ‘usefulness’ aspect of ISIS have become more important. The protests in the days following the massacre in Suruç, were fiercely attacked by the police forces. The meeting organized by the Istanbul Peace Block was prohibited by the governorate under the color of ‘provocative acts’ referring to the massacre in Suruç. Likewise, the ISIS ‘sensitiveness’ of AKP was in the forefront at the Peace Block’s meeting in Ankara. People were attacked by pepper gas and pressurized water.  Then the crowd wanted to make a statement to press at the Yüksel avenue but this was also disallowed by police. The rest was a custody terror. In Kızılay more than 60 people were taken into custody. The same scene has taken place in several different cities including İzmir. AKP, thereby, showed that they were also aiming at the oppositions street power pretending to prevent the ISIS terror.

Result

AKP government is in the habit of encouraging new massacres for the love of power and will do anything to become the single ruling party in the possible early elections. Because the only way out for AKP, who is seen as the sole responsible for the massacres in the Middle East and is also neck-deep with the charges of corruption, is to establish the government by its own. We should not ignore that, AKP government will increase the pressure against revolutionaries and Kurdish movement under the name of ‘terror operations’. At this point it is vital for the socialist left to expose the ‘blood politics’ of AKP. Otherwise, by the directions of the ‘reputable’ sitting in his palace AKP will turn the area into a blood bath and this shouldn’t be a surprise!

Çeviri: Anıl Ersoy