What happened to Turkish and Kurdish neo-nationalists?
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What happened to Turkish and Kurdish neo-nationalists? By ORHAN MIROGLU todayszaman.com – 10/4/2014 The policies embraced by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the MHP, bring classic (ethnic-based?) `milliyetcilik' (nationalism) a little closer every day to a different kind of more Kemalist `ulusalcilik' (neo-nationalism). The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) tried to win Ankara with a candidate who had formerly run with the MHP. While this new CHP candidate did manage to pick up a considerable number of votes from the MHP this MHP-rooted candidate from the CHP still wound up losing in Ankara. The MHP is no longer an effective or influential party in the east, the southeast or central Anatolia. Despite this, though, the MHP has seen an uptick in votes in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions. MHP candidates did also take both Adana and Mersin. But in both of these cities, CHP voters cast their votes for the MHP's big city municipality candidates. In the Mediterranean region, there are a significant number of Alevi voters in the CHP base. And it appears that a significant number of their votes went to the MHP in both Adana and Mersin. It is possible to say that in these elections, the Alevis went through a second Dersim syndrome. And so it is that Alevis, who had been unable to break away from the Kemalist CHP, which was responsible for the massacre in Dersim, cast their votes for nationalist candidates in these most recent elections. This really is an interesting state of affairs. Because in fact, the Alevis held the nationalist stream responsible for the massacres in both Corum and Maras prior to Sept. 12, 1980. In both the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, where there is sizeable Kurdish poplulation, there is serious potential for votes for the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). And in cities such as Mersin, Adana and Izmir, Turkish and Kurdish nationalism fuel each others' reciprocal fears and worries. Both socially and economically, Kurds and Turks live cheek to jowl, but since their identity demands and ethnic problems have not been completely normalized, the municipalities won by MHP candidates in these areas are viewed by many Kurds as a complete disaster. In Mersin, there is a population we could almost call half and half. Half of the city is Turkish, while the other half is Kurdish. The big city municipality of Mersin was won by the MHP, while the city's most important district of Akdeniz was won by the BDP. Here the BDP ran against the CHP, while the MHP offered its support to the CHP. In addition to this, in another of Mersin's bigger and more important districts, Toroslar, the BDP also went up against the MHP. These examples make it quite clear that different sorts of Turkish nationalism are in fact becoming closer on a political level. Just as there are no more unscalable walls between Kemalism and the left today, it today appears that the walls that used to exist between Kemalism and Turkish nationalism are being knocked down one by one today. The reason for the growing political closeness between the MHP and the CHP is, I believe, that these two parties are becoming ideologically closer as well. And the most important reason for this increasing ideological closeness is the normalization of the Kurdish problem and of course the ongoing solution process. Both CHP nationalists and the `Grey Wolves' of the MHP perceive the possibility of having to share national sovereignty equally with another people -- the Kurds -- as the path towards disaster. With the party responsible for this disaster being the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), this makes it easy for the CHP and MHP to unite against it. During the eras of Alpaslan Turkes and Bulent Ecevit, the CHP was the most powerful party in the region, while the MHP was praised for its Kurdish nationalists and a kind of nationalism that did not exclude the Kurds. But now the percentage of votes going to the CHP in the east and southeast is around 1 percent. As for Kurdish nationalists, they have long since abandoned the MHP. And Bahceli is busy trying to integrate those who remain into the CHP. If the solution process reaches its ultimate goal and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) lays down its weapons, it will be no surprise if the MHP and CHP actually unite officially and turn into a single party. So, as the Kurdish identity is finally rescued from denial and annihilation, and these problems are finally solved to some extent, no one ought to be surprised to hear these words, this slogan, being repeated by some: "Come together, Turkish nationalists of all kinds!" http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-miroglu_344337_what-happened-to-turkish-and-kurdish-neo-nationalists.html Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2014 2014 -> For want of a nail 2014 -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 2014 -> Ihbb asian Championships 2014 middle school bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> Ihbb european Championships 2014 Bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> International History Bee and Bowl 2013-14 Asian Division Question Set Bowl Round Six 2014 -> United states patent and trademark office 2014 -> Coffs harbour eisteddfod vocal syllabus 2014 -> Listen News Programs Schedule pledge now 2014 -> Slow club announce third album complete surrender Download 11.25 Kb. Share with your friends:
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