Why didn't the 'state mind' work in the Garê mountains?

Speaking on behalf of the AKP at the session held in the Parliament regarding the Garê operation, Former Minister İsmet Yılmaz responded to criticisms about the failure of the operation by saying "The state must have a state mind in the fight against terrorism”. In his speech, Yılmaz explains how this state mind works as follows: “Whenever there is a conversation about terrorism, two issues are definitely brought up; The letter of the chief terrorist Öcalan containing a message of neutrality and the interview of Osman Öcalan, who criticized Kandil and the HDP, are brought to the agenda. I must state this very clearly: Everyone knows that the state fighting against terrorism must have a state mind (…) Before the election, such a state mind may harm the party, but whoever says "my nation first" does not hesitate to harm the party. "

We understand from Yılmaz's statements that, before the Istanbul Municipality elections, which were repeated on June 23, 2019, receiving a "neutrality" letter from Öcalan and getting Osman Öcalan to TRT and making statements criticizing the HDP and İmamoğlu was a requirement of the "state mind". . Moreover, AKP did this by saying "first, my nation", without fear of harming the party!

Then the question is: Why has the state mind that worked before the Istanbul elections not worked to save 13 people who were detained there before the Garê operation?

Because what Yılmaz calls the mind of the state is that the Kurdish problem, which is reduced to the "terrorism problem" and "the fight against terrorism", is used for the political interests of the government. If the ruler and his supporter, Bahçeli, who did not mind explaining Öcalan's letter containing the "message of neutrality" in order to win the Istanbul elections, had justified Öcalan's statements that he was ready to play his role for the solution of the problem through democratic peaceful means, we would not be talking about these deaths today. However, when the government lost the Istanbul elections, the "mind of the state" returned to the policy of isolation against Öcalan.

Let alone a new negotiation and peaceful solution process, even if the government had communicated indirectly with Öcalan or the PKK, instead of the operation for the rescue of 13 prisoners in Garê, such a result would probably not have been encountered. However, such a way / method was not operated

It is not because the government says "my nation first", as Ismet Yilmaz claims; This is because the use of such a way / method in today's conditions does not serve the political interests of the government. For the government trying to use the Kurdish problem to strengthen its political foundations through internal pressure and operations abroad does not suit the straining of dialogue channels under today's conditions. It seems more functional for the political orientation of the government to provoke nationalist sensitivities by portraying the HDP as an "extension of terrorism" and trying to squeeze the opposition over "terrorist cooperation". Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu's claim that "a female HDP MP went to Garê" is also brought to the agenda based these political calculations.

Regardless of the reason for the Garê operation and the ways in which the grave result might be justified, the fact that those who decided on this operation put the lives of civilians here at risk for their own political interests does not change. If the operation was successful, it would be propagated by the government as a great victory - and President Erdogan had already announced that he would soon give a "good news". However, when looking at the current political picture, it is understood that the government has made use of the possible failure for its own political interests. As it can be understood from President Erdogan's anger and insults against CHP Leader Kılıçdaroğlu; The government hoped to back up the opposition (Nation Alliance), as before, through the propaganda of "national unity against terrorism". Based on this failure, a political design was aimed, in which operations against the HDP would be carried out on the one hand, and on the other hand, other opposition parties would be backed up to power through the photo of "national unity".

However, this was not the case. Kılıçdaroğlu, "What did you do to save the children of the country that the organization held for five and a half years?" President Erdogan said, "You are rude, I am sending my ministers to you, you are not worthy of it!" He was showing his reaction to the failure of this expectation.

Here, it should be noted that the statements of President Erdogan and government spokespersons targeting the United States also aim to divert the reaction against failure as a discourse on domestic politics. Otherwise, when it comes to foreign policy, it cannot be explained that those who accuse the United States while speaking to their own citizens are trying to turn this operation into an opportunity to open dialogue channels with the new administration of the USA.

As a result, what happened in Garê showed us painfully that the mind of the state, which Yılmaz spoke about, works according to the interests of the government and the capital circles it represents. First of all, it is necessary to get rid of this state mind in order for the lives of the citizens not to be sacrificed for political interests and for the "nation" to live in democracy, peace and tranquility.