Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus says that, whatever happens at the polls, the peace process with the Kurds will continue. In an interview with Rudaw in the run-up to the June 7 parliamentary polls, he said that is because the “people of Turkey and not the political parties are in charge of the process.”
With the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) fighting for the 10 percent vote to win its own seat in parliament, Kurtulmus says that the peace process would not be affected, even if the HDP fails in its parliamentary bid.
“It’s not the end of the world if the HDP doesn’t reach the 10 percent threshold and things will not end because of that,” he said. “Even in the past elections MHP (nationalist party) and CHP (republican party) failed to reach the threshold, and yet it was not the end of the world.”
“People will punish those who want to harm the peace process,” he warned.
The polls are crucial not only to the Kurds, but also the deputy prime minister’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which stands firmly behind President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to change the constitution and concentrate nearly all powers into the hands of the president.
Here is an edited transcript of Rudaw’s interview with Kurtulmus:
Rudaw: What is your main objective in these elections, remaining in power or changing the constitution?
Numan Kurtulmus: Indeed, what we have been eying is the rewriting of a new constitution. For that end, of course we have asked our people to vote for us to remain in power. But even if our AKP votes were unable to change the constitution, we have to realize that this is not just our constitution alone. This is the constitution of all those who enter the parliament and it is their duty, too, to write a new constitution for Turkey and save ourselves from this one, which is undemocratic and very much militarized. We need to have the opinion of all the political parties to that end and we try to be up to the expectations that our people have from us as AKP.
Let me also say, let’s assume that we receive 400 seats in the parliament and were able to change the constitution single-handedly. We try to form the biggest alliance afterwards, since the constitution is not just one party’s constitution, it’s the people’s constitution. It will be our ambition to form the biggest alliance.
Rudaw: If we assume that the AKP does not receive the majority of seats in the parliament, will that mean that the process of rewriting the constitution will be at a dead end?
Numan Kurtulmus: If the AKP receives the majority vote, it will indeed facilitate the process of rewriting (the constitution). If a party enters the parliament with a majority mandate, it means that it represents the will of the majority of the people and things will indeed be easier then.
Rudaw: Some have predicted that, if the HDP passes the 10 percent threshold, the AKP will be harmed.
Numan Kurtulmus: No, it will not. And I have said my view on this before: the AKP is not working in reaction to whether or not HDP or any other political party will pass the 10 percent or not. I have all my life supported the idea that the threshold should be lifted. We have also proposed such a plan. On September 30, when Mr Erdogan was the prime minister, he proposed that the threshold be lifted altogether or be reduced to 4 or 5 percent. But back then, the BDP and the other parties did not support us. If they had supported us then, we would not have such a discussion now about the 10 percent threshold. In the end, we will not address the possibilities for the HDP to pass the threshold or not. This is not how we do politics here. Our politics is not based on weakening or strengthening any political party. If HDP remains under the 10 percent threshold, it’s not the end of the world.
Rudaw: If HDP does not pass that threshold, would that endanger the political process?
Numan Kurtulmus: No, I don’t think so. You know, in the 2002 elections the Right Path Party received 9.8 percent and was just under the 10 percent threshold, and it was not the end of the world. The same is true for MHP, which was under the threshold and nothing happened because of that. We did not invent the rules of the game. Just assume that you play football. The games have been decided already. Surely, you cannot, after 80 minutes of the play, say that ‘now let’s play with our hands and not our feet.’ The rules are there and we should abide by them regardless, whether we like it or not. With the 10 percent threshold we will go to elections. The results will then shape Turkish politics.
Rudaw: You are very optimistic about the future of the peace process in the country. What will happen if the 10 percent threshold is not achieved?
Numan Kurtulmus: The peace process does not belong to only the AKP or HDP. It belongs to the people; 77 million people, Turks and Kurds and all those living in Turkey are entitled to peace. People will punish those who want to harm the peace process. We all saw in last year’s October incidents how the HDP was sidelined and shunned because of the events, when even the Kurds told HDP that it was a shameful act. I think the election results will have no effect on the peace process. Maybe it will have some minor repercussions. But in the end, if the people have decided to have peace, they will succeed.
Rudaw: In the last 12 years you have received many votes in the Kurdish cities. You have been bigger than HDP in some Kurdish cities. Are you concerned that you will lose some of the votes in these elections?
Numan Kurtulmus: This is a characteristic of the AKP, that we gain votes everywhere in Turkey. There are no places in which we did not meet with the people and did not have people voting for us. We have votes in the Black Sea area as well as in the eastern and western part of the country and in the Anatolia regions. But the biggest problem in Turkey is that some parties are very much local. HDP is a party of the south and southeast Turkey. It now tries to turn westward. Let’s say that MHP and CHP are the two parties that are not present in south and southeast of the country.
Rudaw: The fact that HDP is now turning westward and trying to gain votes there does not worry you?
Numan Kurtulmus No, why should it? If they are the party of all Turkey, then they should be everywhere and we wish for the MHP to be in Van, Sirt and Sirnax. We also would like the CHP to be in other areas like Konia and Chorm and Qaisar and not just in the sea areas. This makes politics in Turkey strong. It will make the political solutions much easier.
Rudaw: Let’s turn to a different subject. What have you offered the Peshmerga in connection with the Mosul operations?
Numan Kurtulmus: Turkey has helped the Peshmerga in terms of military training. We have also offered the Turkmen military training in accordance with the Peshmerga forces. This has been a request of the Peshmerga from Turkey. We have shown support for any action that will lead to the stability and security of Northern Iraq (Kurdistan). We want not just that area but all of Iraq to gain stability and security. That is our wish for Syria, too. At the end of the day, none of us Kurds, Turks or Arabs has fallen from the sky. We have lived here together for ages. There are people who have lived here even longer. We have all lived here like brothers and will continue to do so in the future.
