Turkey’s Wise Men Disagree on Need for More Power

[Aslan]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s Wise Men commission, tasked with smoothing the historic peace process between Ankara and the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), remains divided over whether the government should grant it greater authority.

The 63-member commission was announced this month, as Ankara and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan inch closer to ending a three-decade war that has cost an estimated 40,000 lives. The work of the academic, social and political figures and organizations on the committee is to smooth the social difficulties of settling Turkey’s Kurdish issue.

Many political parties and politicians had believed that the Wise Men commission would be a catalyst for solving the Kurdish issue.

"The commission needs some authority in order to have a say in matters such as the withdrawal of the PKK,” said Ahmed Faruk Unsal, chairman of human rights organization Mazlumder, and a member of the commission.

“But this commission is still an important step because at least it will try to increase the support for the peace process among the people. Its importance lies in the fact that for the first time in Turkish history the government allows the people to take part in a fateful matter," said Unsal.

“We don’t have any role to arbitrate between the government and the PKK,” said commission member Hilal Kaplan, explaining that the talks were too sensitive for other parties to interfere.

“It will become a political risk for the government if they pass laws to grant powers to our commission,” ” Kaplan said.

"This commission will talk to the citizens for two months, it will advocate for the peace process among the people, listen to the people who are either apposed or skeptical toward the peace process, and in the end write a report about its findings to the government," Kaplan added.

"The parliament does not need to grant our commission any powers,” said former MP and Wise Men member Abdulrahman Kurt, saying that political parties should keep their noses out and let the commission get on with its work.

“If the political parities get into our commission they will create division and disagreement," he added.

According to statements by officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the majority of the communities in Turkey support the peace process, and skeptics and opponents are a minority.

Cemil Bayik, a prominent leader of the PKK, told the Ozgur Gundem newspaper that, “This commission was formed in a wrong way. Most of its members are from the AKP, and most of its decisions will be compatible with the agenda of that party. No one can trust it since it is not neutral or independent.”