RIHA - Abdullah Öcalan, often emphasizes the democratization of the republic in his evaluations, “The path of a democratic republic is the only way to social peace and the solution of problems” suggested years ago. 

 

The Republic of Turkey, founded on the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed on October 29, 1923, has left 101 years behind. The Republic, which was founded with the unity of the peoples of Mesopotamia and Anatolia, moved away from its founding codes with the imposition of monism and Turkism. While many peoples were ignored under the name of “monism” after its proclamation, Kurds, the founding element of the Republic, were the most exposed to the attacks of the newly shaped regime.

 

With the Eastern Reform Plan of 1925, which PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in severe isolation in İmralı Type F High Security Prison for 26 years, calls the “White Turkish conspiracy”, all kinds of heritage and nomenclature related to Kurdish, Kurdistan and Kurdishness were suddenly banned with “horrifying methods” and wanted to cease to be a fact. 

The Kurdish reality, which was wanted to be erased from history and “buried in concrete”, resurfaced with the “Democratic Republic” thesis developed by Abdullah Öcalan. With the theses of “democratic nation”, “democratic homeland”, “democratic constitution” and “democratic republic” that he developed in İmralı, where he was imprisoned by an international conspiracy, Abdullah Öcalan took the free Kurdish citizen synthesis into consideration and put it in front of everyone as a way to find a solution and to ensure real integrity and democratization.

 

Abdullah Öcalan, “Kurdish Question and the Democratic Nation” and “Beyon state, power and violence” and in the interviews held in İmralı, he made important observations and suggestions about the founding codes of the Republic, the crises it gave birth to and the democratization of the Republic that was declared 101 years ago. 

 

'OLIGARCHIC DICTATORSHIP ESTABLISHED'

 

Stating that the Republic proclaimed after 1923 was usurped by hegemonic powers, Abdullah Öcalan noted that a caste formed around the ruling apparatus on the basis of “White Turkishness” with an artificial ideology of Turkish nationalism liquidated the Socialists, Islamic Ummahists and Kurdish National Forces, the main allies of the National Liberation War, through conspiratorial methods. Abdullah Öcalan noted that with this determination, an “oligarchic dictatorship” was established, which has continued uninterruptedly until today.  

 

'GREEN TURKISH FASCISM'

 

Stating that the AKP's coming to power signifies a new hegemonic period in the state, Abdullah Öcalan emphasized that the 80-year-old “White Turkish hegemony” of the Republic has been replaced by the “Green Turkish fascism” that masquerades as “moderate Islamist”. It went on to predict that instead of the Ankara-based “White Turkish fascism”, the Konya-Kayseri-based “Green Turkish fascism” was slowly but surely on its way to becoming the new hegemonic power of the Republic, and that the 100th anniversary of the Republic in 2023 was planned to be met under this hegemony. 

 

'FASCIST CHARACTER HAS ALWAYS BEEN PRESERVED'

 

Abdullah Öcalan warned that it would be premature to call the period that began with the AKP's coming to power as the “Second Republic” or the “Moderate Islamic Republic” and said: “Although its main character was conceived and expressed in the Constitution, the regime has never been able to become a democratic, secular and social state of law, and has always preserved its oligarchic fascist character since its foundation. The Republican regime has always remained a name in the classical sense. In particular, it could not become a Democratic Republic. Just like against the CHP hegemony, the struggle for a democratic Republic and its Constitution will be on the agenda against the AKP hegemony. Therefore, it would be more accurate to call this period the period of the struggle between the oligarchic dictatorship and the struggle for a democratic Republic against it. Although it is persistently and with very conscious media distortions presented as an alternative to 80 years of 'White Turkish fascism', it is determined to maintain this regime with a color difference. As a natural consequence of both the secret support and attrition of the 'White Turkish fascist regime', which has been worn out and lost a significant part of its domestic and foreign support, the way has been paved for the 'Green fascist regime' of the AKP.” 

 

'DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IS WEALTH'

  

Underlining that the new hegemonic power, which is conceptualized as “Islamist” or “Green Turk”, aims to complete the hegemonic construction on the 100th anniversary of the Republic, Abdullah Öcalan noted that the hegemonic power played a major role in the “Kurdish genocide”. Referring to the cultural diversity and richness of the Democratic Republic, Abdullah Öcalan said: “Insisting on war can only be the last move of Gladio, which can only be eliminated by bringing it out of the cosmic room and illuminating it. The second path that appears at the crossroads in front of the Republic is the path to be walked by making the democratic unity of the National War of Independence the foundation of the Republic. It is the national democratic war alliance between 1919 and 1922 that made the Republic a republic. The rejection of this alliance, which also had an anti-hegemonic aspect, resulted in the loss of the chance of a democratic Republic and the establishment of conspiratorial, proto-fascist and Gladiator coup d'état and gang rule in its place. It is clear that this path, which has been tried many times and proven to fail, cannot be the true path of the Republic. The road to a democratic republic, which must be taken at the very beginning, is the only way to social peace and the solution of problems in the coming phase.” 

 

'WAR FOR A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC'

 

Abdullah Öcalan, who stated that he defended the democratic republic from the first day in his meeting with the İmralı delegation on February 23, 2013 regarding the “Democratic Liberation and Free Life Process”, emphasized this determination in the meeting held in February 2015, saying “I am fighting for a democratic homeland, democratic nation and democratic republic”. 

 

MA / Emrullah Acar