Novelist Ahmet Ümit speaks about the Kurdish question
Novelist Ahmet Ümit speaks about the Kurdish question
Turkish crime-fiction novelist Ahmet Ümit published his last book ‘Souvenir from Istanbul’ in which he is he describes Istanbul at 7 eras, 7 kings and 7 incidents. He also says that ‘if a city is not happy one cannot be happy either’.
Ahmet Ümit said AKP’s ‘opening’ has failed due to lack of an interlocutor in the Kurdish issue. ‘This shedding blood should stop immediately. Nothing can be more valuable than human life. And if it is needed talks with Öcalan should be realized.
The author also criticizes increasing Turkish nationalism on account of destroying multi-ethnic, culture and religion structure of Anatolia.
Ahmet Ümit answered our questions regarding Kurdish problem in Turkey.
There is a 30-year conflict in Turkey. If it was somewhere else in the world dozens of novels would have been written, dozens of films would have been made on these conflicts. However, we cannot see it in Turkey. Why is this ignoring?
This is a period full of pain and sorrow for Turkey. However, this issue could not find its place in the Turkish literature. I tried to touch this issue in my books ‘Batasana’ and ‘Kavim’. But it is far from being sufficient. It should also be taken into consideration that there are different sides, parties of this war. It would be really hard to remain impartial while writing such a book.
Some find this approach of the Turkish intellectuals cowardly. Why not brave but coward?
Being intellectual means hope to know to keep distance with power/government. In my opinion being intellectual means acting together with opponents. Nazim Hikmet was on trial in Turkey on account of being communist. However, he wrote a theatre play opposing Stalin’s politics. This is was I call intellectual approach. An intellectual should stand against violence and weapons too, which poison the society.
On the other had, political novels are not written in Turkey. There are only marionette-novels which are about Ergenekon. (An organisation being charged with a coup). However, the pain of the people or 30-year war was not handled by the authors.
Why do you think that AKP’s opening has failed?
Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic Kurdish issue has always been ignored, it has not been take as seriously as it has to be. However, as we see today Turkey’s real problem is neither Ergenekon, nor radical Islamists, nor economy. It is the Kurdish issue. So far all the steps were far too limited. The real actors should come together and discuss. For instance, the PM invited us and told us about the opening. But what kind of power do we have? Our power is our novels. Why would the PM invite us to tell us about the opening? He should have invited the other side of the problem, the real interlocutors. The real issue is that AKP wanted to leave the PKK out and solve the problem with USA and Iraq. But the PKK said this problem cannot be solved without me.
How do you think that this issue will develop?
We should look at it in a different way. So far the existence of the Kurds have always been ignored and denied. But with terrible deaths now the state except the reality and says ‘yes, the Kurds exist.’ There is a proverb from south-east Turkey with says blood does not wash blood, water washes blood. The issue should be handled with no prejudices. Nobody should count 3 deaths from one side 5 from the other. It should not be seen like a feud. Death does not take us anywhere; we should be working for life.
The government was asking the rebels to lay their weapons down. But the same government arrested the PKK returnees who came to Turkey to initiate peace talks.
AKP is acting incoherently. What they do it nonsense. They are talking about ‘opening’ and then arresting the returnees. I find it hard to understand. There people dying, there are people in the prisons. They could not find any solutions for this issue, but death. This issue cannot be solved by gathering writers, artist, singers or footballers. Invite the real interlocutors, Abdullah Öcalan, or the ones in the mountain or BDP. Whoever they are, invite them to Dolmabache Palace and discuss.
What about the handicaps that leftists face?
Their attitude has always been the same. Totalitarian was dominant over democracy. What we need is caring about human life, humanism, diversity. We need to look at the Kurdish movement very carefully, as well as the USA. I think it is wrong that the leftists are opposing a Kurdish state in Iraq which is supported by the USA, merely because of USA’s imperialist attitude. It cannot be an excuse for the leftist to put distance between themselves and the Kurdish issue. And let’s look at the reality. We have failed to solve this issue and it is normal that USA and Israel are trying to use it and make benefit of it. Before blaming the others we should have look at ourselves. We should have solved it.
Ahmet Ümit said AKP’s ‘opening’ has failed due to lack of an interlocutor in the Kurdish issue. ‘This shedding blood should stop immediately. Nothing can be more valuable than human life. And if it is needed talks with Öcalan should be realized.
The author also criticizes increasing Turkish nationalism on account of destroying multi-ethnic, culture and religion structure of Anatolia.
Ahmet Ümit answered our questions regarding Kurdish problem in Turkey.
There is a 30-year conflict in Turkey. If it was somewhere else in the world dozens of novels would have been written, dozens of films would have been made on these conflicts. However, we cannot see it in Turkey. Why is this ignoring?
This is a period full of pain and sorrow for Turkey. However, this issue could not find its place in the Turkish literature. I tried to touch this issue in my books ‘Batasana’ and ‘Kavim’. But it is far from being sufficient. It should also be taken into consideration that there are different sides, parties of this war. It would be really hard to remain impartial while writing such a book.
Some find this approach of the Turkish intellectuals cowardly. Why not brave but coward?
Being intellectual means hope to know to keep distance with power/government. In my opinion being intellectual means acting together with opponents. Nazim Hikmet was on trial in Turkey on account of being communist. However, he wrote a theatre play opposing Stalin’s politics. This is was I call intellectual approach. An intellectual should stand against violence and weapons too, which poison the society.
On the other had, political novels are not written in Turkey. There are only marionette-novels which are about Ergenekon. (An organisation being charged with a coup). However, the pain of the people or 30-year war was not handled by the authors.
Why do you think that AKP’s opening has failed?
Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic Kurdish issue has always been ignored, it has not been take as seriously as it has to be. However, as we see today Turkey’s real problem is neither Ergenekon, nor radical Islamists, nor economy. It is the Kurdish issue. So far all the steps were far too limited. The real actors should come together and discuss. For instance, the PM invited us and told us about the opening. But what kind of power do we have? Our power is our novels. Why would the PM invite us to tell us about the opening? He should have invited the other side of the problem, the real interlocutors. The real issue is that AKP wanted to leave the PKK out and solve the problem with USA and Iraq. But the PKK said this problem cannot be solved without me.
How do you think that this issue will develop?
We should look at it in a different way. So far the existence of the Kurds have always been ignored and denied. But with terrible deaths now the state except the reality and says ‘yes, the Kurds exist.’ There is a proverb from south-east Turkey with says blood does not wash blood, water washes blood. The issue should be handled with no prejudices. Nobody should count 3 deaths from one side 5 from the other. It should not be seen like a feud. Death does not take us anywhere; we should be working for life.
The government was asking the rebels to lay their weapons down. But the same government arrested the PKK returnees who came to Turkey to initiate peace talks.
AKP is acting incoherently. What they do it nonsense. They are talking about ‘opening’ and then arresting the returnees. I find it hard to understand. There people dying, there are people in the prisons. They could not find any solutions for this issue, but death. This issue cannot be solved by gathering writers, artist, singers or footballers. Invite the real interlocutors, Abdullah Öcalan, or the ones in the mountain or BDP. Whoever they are, invite them to Dolmabache Palace and discuss.
What about the handicaps that leftists face?
Their attitude has always been the same. Totalitarian was dominant over democracy. What we need is caring about human life, humanism, diversity. We need to look at the Kurdish movement very carefully, as well as the USA. I think it is wrong that the leftists are opposing a Kurdish state in Iraq which is supported by the USA, merely because of USA’s imperialist attitude. It cannot be an excuse for the leftist to put distance between themselves and the Kurdish issue. And let’s look at the reality. We have failed to solve this issue and it is normal that USA and Israel are trying to use it and make benefit of it. Before blaming the others we should have look at ourselves. We should have solved it.
