Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the opposition bloc’s presidential candidate and chairperson of the Republican Folks’s Social gathering (CHP), launched two movies titled “Kurds” and “Alevi” final week. He claimed that “hundreds of thousands of Kurds have been handled like terrorists for just a few votes” within the first video. Within the second, he recognized as “Alevi” and known as on younger individuals to “tear down this discriminatory system claiming that an Alevi can’t (maintain workplace).”
The professional-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Social gathering’s (HDP) imprisoned former chief Selahattin Demirtaş, Democracy and Progress Social gathering (DEVA) Chair Ali Babacan, and Future Social gathering (GP) Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu promptly endorsed these messages, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nationalist Motion Social gathering (MHP) Chairperson Devlet Bahçeli accused the primary opposition chief of “exploitation” and “making a pointy flip towards identification politics.”
Kılıçdaroğlu’s try and equate Türkiye’s Kurds with the PKK terrorist group was clearly meant to push again towards criticism over the PKK’s so-called commanders supporting his presidential bid.
Citing his Alevi identification, in flip, might have been a part of an effort to forestall potential assaults. In different phrases, Kılıçdaroğlu intentionally engages in a brand new type of identification politics. One may describe that strategy because the politics of seemingly constructive polarization. It gives the look of positivity as a result of the primary opposition chief positions himself as a candidate selling fraternity and acknowledging range.
On the identical time, it’s polarizing by accusing his opponent of against the law he has not dedicated. Particularly, Kılıçdaroğlu expenses the ruling Justice and Improvement Social gathering (AK Social gathering) authorities with discrimination by claiming that “hundreds of thousands of Kurds are handled like terrorists.” Mockingly, he accuses his opponent of discrimination and polarization whereas partaking in reverse polarization.
Kurdish query
Kılıçdaroğlu pledges to handle the Kurdish query on the Parliament because the Inexperienced Left Social gathering (YSP) – i.e. the HDP, which endorsed his presidential bid – talks concerning the launch of PKK chief Abdullah Öcalan and different PKK members in addition to autonomy and Kurdistan. Likewise, the primary opposition chief doesn’t object to the endorsement from terrorist organizations, specifically the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the PKK.
That’s the reason many voters fear about the opportunity of Türkiye going through an actual risk if Kılıçdaroğlu have been to turn out to be president.
As an alternative of explaining how he intends to fight these two terrorist entities successfully, the opposition bloc’s candidate accuses the federal government of treating Kurds “like terrorists.”
Mockingly, Türkiye’s present authorities has clearly distinguished between the PKK and the Kurds. As a matter of truth, it performed a key function in granting identification rights to the Kurdish group.
Moreover, Erdoğan assumed the numerous political threat of launching two reconciliation processes to disclose that HDP and PKK promoted separatism versus the Kurdish group’s rights.
Does anyone want a reminder of the CHP’s historical past of denying and oppressing the Kurdish identification throughout the single-party years?
Isn’t the PKK however a pawn directed by imperialists who inflicted extra hurt than anybody on the Kurds?
Doesn’t the HDP face criticism over its failure to distance itself from PKK terrorists?
Kılıçdaroğlu’s identical trick
Kılıçdaroğlu makes use of the identical trick to convey up his Alevi background. It’s doubtless that his marketing campaign managers advisable he convey it up himself, believing that some voters might focus on the primary opposition chief’s background in non-public chats.
It’s no secret that the Good Social gathering (IP) opposed Kılıçdaroğlu’s presidential bid, arguing that his Alevi identification rendered him unelectable.
The “Sunni” endorsement of Kılıçdaroğlu’s “Alevi” video (by Babacan and Davutoğlu) means that the Nation Alliance treats that situation as a significant element of their election marketing campaign. It’s due to this fact doable that the primary opposition chief merely wished to say his Alevi heritage and reject hurtful sectarian discussions and distinctions.
But his try and blame the AK Social gathering authorities for the type of discrimination that, he claims, Alevis face in Türkiye was a textbook instance of reverse polarization.
In doing so, Kılıçdaroğlu positions himself because the “sufferer” – which is appalling.
Which system has really discriminated towards Alevis?
Wasn’t the CHP in energy throughout the Dersim occasions?
Wasn’t it the Kemalist regime that repressed the Alevi identification?
Wasn’t it the AK Social gathering that held workshops on Alevi identification and granted a cultural standing to the cemevis inside the Ministry of Tradition?
