A friend of mine, who knows best how complicated the Middle East’s problems are, had for many years pinned his hopes for a “two-state solution” in Palestine on Netanyahu, who is known to be deaf to any kind of solution. How many times have I heard him say the expectation, “This time it could happen”, every time he comes to power.

During his last term as prime minister, Netanyahu put his name on the list of people he would never want to be associated with.

My friend’s point of view is not wrong; it is extraordinarily difficult to solve problems without bringing in those who are blocking your path.

Indeed, when the AKP showed the courage to deal with the ‘Kurdish problem’ in 2009 and resorted to methods never tried before for a ‘solution’, the most serious opposition came from the MHP and its leader Devlet Bahçeli, with whom it would later share power.

While the ‘wise people committees’ formed to persuade the public due to the sensitivity of the issue received understanding from the public all over the country, the most violent reaction came from some young people.

Young people from the Ülkü Ocak…

The ‘resolution process’ was abandoned halfway for more than one reason, even though the work had reached its final stage.

I think the most important reason is the attitude of the MHP, which sees and portrays what is being done as equivalent to ‘treason’.

At that time – 2009 – the missed opportunity cost the country dearly.

If the problem had been resolved within a reasonable framework at that time, Türkiye would have been prepared for the movements that emerged in the Middle East two years later.

The developments in our neighbor Syria, which have reached dimensions that threaten our security and strain traditional alliances, and even lead to the loss of economic gains, might not have happened in Turkey.

In an environment where the PKK laid down its weapons, could organizations like the YPG/PYD, whose representatives appeared in front of posters of Öcalan, just across Turkey’s borders, be able to exist?

The direct reason why the YPG/PYD has an army of tens of thousands of soldiers is that Turkey’s most important problem has been left unresolved, even though it has been brought to a point where it is on the verge of being solved.

The HADEP/HDP/DEM line was not allowed.

If the new process paved by the MHP reaches its conclusion and Bahçeli’s call is approved by Abdullah Öcalan and the PKK is forced to disarm, what will happen to the military structure that has been formed beyond the border since 2011? Will it also liquidate itself?

I guess I need to ask another question at this point in the article: What is the difference between the “resolution process” in 2009, when there were signs that “state reason” was involved in every respect, and the current process, where the groundwork is being laid for a new one, in terms of the front that strongly objected to the first one and ensured that it was thwarted?

The reason I said “the state mind was in action” was that the previous initiative was initiated after a National Security Council meeting in which the military had not yet lost its power.

Why was the first process opposed, but the current one is supported?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against resolving the most complicated of the problems that prevent Turkey from reaching the place it deserves in the world equation; on the contrary, just as I supported the first one by being a part of the ‘wise people committee’ when invited, I applaud every sincere effort today.

Is this time a more sincere effort than before?

Bahçeli expects İmralı to lead to a solution. His request is that Öcalan, whom he still calls the ‘terrorist leader’, call on his organization – the PKK – to lay down its arms…

How will Öcalan, who lives a prisoner life on İmralı Island, make this call?

I guess for this to happen, visits to the island will have to start again…

In the previous period, some of the visitors had gotten into trouble for this reason.

This time, in the upcoming visits to İmralı, names close to the MHP should be invited, not DEM party members…

If a ‘council of wise men’ is to be formed again, unlike the last time, MHP supporters should now take on the task of explaining the benefits of this process…

If DEM party members watched the new initiative from the sidelines, the process would be more successful…

The AKP failed to conclude the first ‘resolution process’ it undertook on its own and suffered the consequences in the general elections of June 7, 2015; a second failure would cost the AKP much more.

It is time for the MHP, the junior partner of the government, to do such a small favor to its senior partner…

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