TWO FACES OF THE PROCESS: DISARMAMENT, YES. DEMOCRATIZATION, NOT YET
Two years into the PKK’s disarmament process, fears of stalling have resurfaced. DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan put it plainly: “The pace of the process has slowed.”
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ALL TALK, NO ACTION ON TURKEY'S KURDISH PEACE PROCESS
No legal steps have been taken despite calls across the spectrum for progress in the Kurdish peace process. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli both called for momentum, and the DEM Party co-chair Bakırhan turned the question back on the government: 'Who exactly are they talking to?'
TUNCER BAKIRHAN: DEM CO-CHAIR RIDING THE EBB AND FLOW OF WAR AND PEACE
When war and peace are mentioned, the first person that comes to mind is the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy and his novel of the same title, a cornerstone of world literature. In this work, Tolstoy renders war and peace with striking realism. World history, after all, is also a history of wars — and, inevitably, a history of peace.
CO-CHAIR: DEM WILL REMAIN IN OPPOSITION REGARDLESS OF PROCESS OUTCOME
Ahead of CHP’s hesitations to join the parliamentary commission, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said that the party will maintain its opposition identity even if the process is successful. Bakırhan stated that the matter will eventually be brought before the DEM and that they will not approve the constitutional amendment if it does not satisfy their demands regarding the Kurdish issue, democratization, women's rights, youth, Alevis' right to equal citizenship, economic justice, and the environment.