By Haşim Söylemez
Diyarbakir.
Distressing news from the southeast part of the country continues to worry us all. People are worried about the November elections, which will be held since no government has been formed. Many think that if the situation continues, no polls will be held in November.
Everyone is asking, “What will happen tomorrow?” But there are no answers given. Social life has reached a standstill. There is no security provided for people moving in the country. Worrisome news is commonplace. People are trying to escape the violence. They are moving from the mountains to the cities, and those in the cities are moving to the West.
Some official figures suggest that in the last month 100,000 people have left their original areas. Other government estimates suggest 250,000 people have left because of the war.
Diyarbakir’s main streets are empty. Some areas look like they’re under martial law. Sabahat Chatin Kaya, the deputy co-leader of the township of Derek in Mardin, spoke to Rudaw on a plane from Istanbul to Diyarbakir. He believed after June 6, a new era began, but the future is unpredictable.
“Arrests and clashes will further destabilize the conditions,” Sabahat said. “If conditions continue like they are, revolts will increase and people will become angrier. Will there be fair elections or not? We have doubts.”
Other Kurdish politicians who think differently share his doubts. For instance, politician Ibrahim Tucu also has fears about the future.
“Both sides want a nightmare,” he said. “There is no good solution for the problem. With time, the nightmare will be even bigger. The question whether Turkey will become like Syria is asked more often nowadays. If things continue as they are, there will be no fair elections.”
In cities like Farqin, Cezire, Cilop, Vertor, Leca and dozens more there is no security. Except for basic necessities, life is at a standstill. Most villages in Leca and Farqin have been evacuated. The government has effectively established a sort of martial law by creating security buffer zones. The PKK has been empowered in those places which it controls. No one is certain about their life. Those who have been trapped between the two sides have no way out.
A historic event took place in Diyarbakir. To denounce the events in Farqin and Leca, the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) asked the public to shut down their shops in protest.
According to police, 80 percent of the shops were closed. DBP said 99 percent were shut down. Evidently, people have never followed calls to close shops in the past. The continued mayhem in Diyarbakir, which is the heart of the region, signals that the nightmare will grow.
No one expects November elections to solve the problems. The despair is not about the outcome of elections. People think the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) votes will increase in the coming polls. But people want to know what the Turkish president’s reaction will be after the vote.
Receb Demir, who is a shop owner in Diyarbakir, voted for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in past elections. In the last election though, he voted for HDP.
“AKP will lose again, but we don’t know what will happen after the elections,” he said. “Now they force the region into rebellion. I’m not a politician. But I know if things continue this way, we will have problems controlling our youth.”
He said he thinks now is the best time to declare democratic self-rule, adding, “People in this region have broken away from rest of Turkey in their heart and their soul.”
Everyone talks of Alkan
Everyone I speak to, whether politicians or ordinary people, have one conversation topic: Lieutenant Muhammad Alkan, who while burying his brother said, “Those who until recently spoke of a solution, why are they suggesting war now?”
From a taxi driver to a shop keeper, they all refer to Alkan’s speech.
Hesen Cigraly, 55, said, “When a soldier is killed our heart is broken. When a guerrilla’s body arrives, we mourn. These are our children who have been playing in the same neighborhoods and have dreams for the future. But unfortunately politics destroys this bond of brotherhood. The mother of a guerrilla is crying, an officer is revolting; hearts are broken all in the same way. This needs to be stopped. But our future is really dark.”
The region is hostage of politics
Wherever you look, you see politics keeping the region captive. Political campaigns in Turkey’s Southeast create a nightmare. Tomorrow is already too late. Other people will be exterminated by then. As Hesen Qadir, 70, said, “My life is over, the life of my grandchildren is also about to be destroyed. No one can hold me tomorrow. We need a solution now.”
Source: rudaw.net