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Stockholm syndrome?
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It was perhaps so unfortunate for Hasan Cemal that the publication in Milliyet of the first part of a series of an interview with a notorious terrorist up in the Kandil mountains coincided with the worst-ever carnage during a wedding ceremony at a remote village in Mardin.
The tragedy, for obvious reasons, overshadowed Cemal’s important interview with Murat Karayılan, the apparent "commanding" chieftain of the outlawed PKK terrorist gang at a village up on Kandil.
Perhaps many people in this country have started to develop some kind of Stockholm syndrome. Otherwise, remarks of notorious Karayılan to Cemal would not sound so positive, particularly days after this country lost nine more soldiers.
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological condition derived from a 1973 hostage incident in a Stockholm bank during which some of the kidnap victims become so sympathetic to their captors that at the end of six days of captivity they actually resisted rescue attempts, and afterwards refused to testify against their captors.
Karayılan explained to Cemal that although some PKK members planted that deadly mine, they were not acting on orders of the PKK command but rather planted the mine as a "auto-reflex" to a report that there was a military dispatch to that rural area in the Dicle town. It was, of course, unfortunate as well that the "peaceful remarks" of the terrorist chieftain came at a time when in Istanbul streets members or sympathizers of the gang are still ransacking shops, burning cars, even attacking crowded municipal buses with Molotov cocktails.
On the other hand, as the remarks of Karayılan came while a concerted effort by Turkey and Iran on terrorist presence in northern Iraq has been under way, one cannot stop but think whether the separatist chieftain was in an effort to demonstrate to members of the gang that he was so comfortable at his "headquarters on Kandil" despite the ongoing bombings that he could host for several hours a top Turkish journalist. That is, Karayılan might be exploiting Cemal for propaganda of the gang. But, whatever might be our evaluations, Cemal’s interview was just great, and he has to be congratulated even though in the near future we may find him being questioned by prosecutors on charges that he violated the anti-terror law by interviewing Karayılan.
That will not be the first such case in Turkey, anyhow. Obviously, I do agree as well that while there is no meaning in trying to demonize the demon, an effort to portray a terrorist chieftain as a "peace loving leader" cannot serve any purpose other than to promote the terrorist gang. Still, if we are to concentrate on the "substance" of the interview of Cemal with Karayılan, there are some very strong signs that despite the flare of ethnic-nationalism and consecutively a heightened threat of ethnic polarization in some parts of the country, there is still a serious possibility of silencing the guns and giving dialogue and a political process an opportunity to resolve this age-old problem without compromising the integrity of the nation and the state but with due acknowledgement of differences.
Offer unacceptable but can be ’reciprocated’
Karayılan’s suggestion that the Turkish state consider either the separatist chieftain serving an enforced life-term at the İmrali island prison, the current PKK leadership or the "political representatives" in Parliament as "negotiating partners" or engage in a "proxy dialogue" through the help of a group of wise men might not be at all acceptable for the Turkish state. Still, this offer underlines a demand for a "non-violent way out" that Ankara should perhaps take very seriously and produce its own "civilian approach formula." Perhaps Ankara should also take into consideration the recent statement of top commander Gen. İlker Başbuğ that perhaps Turkey should take some additional measures for better application of the legislation that aims to bring down from mountains the PKK members who were not involved in crimes and rehabilitate them. Perhaps the first step might be to stop demonizing the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, or to stop the judicial process against "stone-throwing kids." If there is a slight opportunity for a non-violent resolution, perhaps this time Turkey should grasp it, probably silently but with actions shouting loud. Or, have we started developing Stockholm syndrome?
Perhaps many people in this country have started to develop some kind of Stockholm syndrome. Otherwise, remarks of notorious Karayılan to Cemal would not sound so positive, particularly days after this country lost nine more soldiers.
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological condition derived from a 1973 hostage incident in a Stockholm bank during which some of the kidnap victims become so sympathetic to their captors that at the end of six days of captivity they actually resisted rescue attempts, and afterwards refused to testify against their captors.
Karayılan explained to Cemal that although some PKK members planted that deadly mine, they were not acting on orders of the PKK command but rather planted the mine as a "auto-reflex" to a report that there was a military dispatch to that rural area in the Dicle town. It was, of course, unfortunate as well that the "peaceful remarks" of the terrorist chieftain came at a time when in Istanbul streets members or sympathizers of the gang are still ransacking shops, burning cars, even attacking crowded municipal buses with Molotov cocktails.
On the other hand, as the remarks of Karayılan came while a concerted effort by Turkey and Iran on terrorist presence in northern Iraq has been under way, one cannot stop but think whether the separatist chieftain was in an effort to demonstrate to members of the gang that he was so comfortable at his "headquarters on Kandil" despite the ongoing bombings that he could host for several hours a top Turkish journalist. That is, Karayılan might be exploiting Cemal for propaganda of the gang. But, whatever might be our evaluations, Cemal’s interview was just great, and he has to be congratulated even though in the near future we may find him being questioned by prosecutors on charges that he violated the anti-terror law by interviewing Karayılan.
That will not be the first such case in Turkey, anyhow. Obviously, I do agree as well that while there is no meaning in trying to demonize the demon, an effort to portray a terrorist chieftain as a "peace loving leader" cannot serve any purpose other than to promote the terrorist gang. Still, if we are to concentrate on the "substance" of the interview of Cemal with Karayılan, there are some very strong signs that despite the flare of ethnic-nationalism and consecutively a heightened threat of ethnic polarization in some parts of the country, there is still a serious possibility of silencing the guns and giving dialogue and a political process an opportunity to resolve this age-old problem without compromising the integrity of the nation and the state but with due acknowledgement of differences.
Offer unacceptable but can be ’reciprocated’
Karayılan’s suggestion that the Turkish state consider either the separatist chieftain serving an enforced life-term at the İmrali island prison, the current PKK leadership or the "political representatives" in Parliament as "negotiating partners" or engage in a "proxy dialogue" through the help of a group of wise men might not be at all acceptable for the Turkish state. Still, this offer underlines a demand for a "non-violent way out" that Ankara should perhaps take very seriously and produce its own "civilian approach formula." Perhaps Ankara should also take into consideration the recent statement of top commander Gen. İlker Başbuğ that perhaps Turkey should take some additional measures for better application of the legislation that aims to bring down from mountains the PKK members who were not involved in crimes and rehabilitate them. Perhaps the first step might be to stop demonizing the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, or to stop the judicial process against "stone-throwing kids." If there is a slight opportunity for a non-violent resolution, perhaps this time Turkey should grasp it, probably silently but with actions shouting loud. Or, have we started developing Stockholm syndrome?
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