Several Turkish Leaders Have Discussed the State System
By Karzan Gli
The Kurdish issue in Turkey has been discussed since the establishment of the Turkish Republic. However, Turkey has always used military strategy instead of diplomatic strategy to resolve the Kurdish issue, which is why this issue hasn’t reached its conclusion. Turkish leaders have secretly discussed ideas for resolving the Kurdish issue, with one of the ideas being the division of Turkey into 18 states, with one of them being the Kurdistan state. However, opposition to this idea made the state system in Turkey become history. Importantly, Turkey is currently writing a new constitution, and for this constitution to pass, AKP and MHP need Kurdish votes, which is why bringing up the state system by DEM Party and Kurdish representatives in the Turkish parliament has special significance.
Some Turkish leaders believed that if Turkey entered a state system, Turkey would break apart, so they opposed it. However, apart from Kurdish leaders who supported the state system, several high-ranking Turkish leaders also supported it, but they couldn’t put it into action.
Although discussion of the state system sparked intense debate in Turkey, according to secret state reports, the state system was never practically implemented and was only discussed.
Evren Supported It and Özal Rejected It
Some say Turgut Özal, Turkey’s eighth president, discussed the state system for Turkey, but the truth is that Kenan Evren was the originator of the state idea, who after conducting the 1980 coup in Turkey and rewriting Turkey’s constitution, had the state idea.
According to a 2007 report by Turkey’s Sabah newspaper, Evren proposed dividing Turkey into 8 states, sending this proposal to the government when Turgut Özal was Prime Minister.
The proposal stated that each state should have its own governor, and the governor should be elected from among the people and become the main administrator of that state.
According to Sabah’s information, Özal’s government rejected Evren’s request, saying the cabinet didn’t approve of dividing Turkey into 8 states, and the military institution also rejected it.
However, the state system wasn’t erased from Turkish leaders’ and media’s discourse. During the 1987 parliamentary elections, Turkish media reported that the state system idea had resurfaced, but this time for 7 states.
They reported that Özal supported the state idea and said the states needed to be very strong and self-governing.
However, on the eve of the election, Özal spoke to Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper and said: “Those rumors aren’t true, a state system for Turkey isn’t possible.”
But after two years, Özal reversed his position on this statement and this time welcomed the proposal of a state system.
In 1989, Özal visited the Ereğli region in Konya, where he discussed and welcomed the state system.
According to Şamil Tayyar and Ekrem Hortum, who were with Özal in Konya as journalists, they say: “During this visit, Özal talked about a new administrative arrangement for Turkey, discussing Turkey entering a semi-state system.”
Also, when he returned from Germany, Özal discussed the state system for Turkey this way: “If the number of cities exceeds 100, the large cities become metropolitan cities. Now Turkey has 16 cities with this characteristic. These 16 cities establish connections with other cities, but this isn’t our goal. We want all Turkish cities to have connections with the metropolitan cities, and this will happen over time. Perhaps the state system will be the beginning of this goal.”
After these statements, Özal was elected as Turkey’s eighth president.
In 1990, Turkey’s Interior Ministry prepared a report suggesting Turkey be divided into 13 or 15 or 18 states, requesting ministers’ opinions and suggesting that the American state system could be utilized, and also that the number of cities be increased to 120 cities with each city’s governor elected by the people.
“At that time, Abdulkadir Aksu was Turkey’s Interior Minister, and according to Turkish BBC, Aksu presented the report to Özal, who accepted it.
Özal, both during his time as Turkey’s president and prime minister, discussed the state system and presidential system for Turkey and wanted to know Turkish public opinion, but time didn’t allow him to implement either for Turkey.
Cengiz Çandar, Özal’s special advisor, in an article published in April 2013 on Turkey’s Radikal website, indicates that Özal preferred Turkey to become a state system divided into 10 states, through which the Kurdish issue would also be resolved.
Çandar writes: “What Özal had in mind for the state system was for 8 or 10 cities to be united in one state, with the Eastern and Southeastern regions of Turkey (meaning Northern Kurdistan) united in one state. Also, what Özal had in mind was America’s state system, which he wanted to implement in Turkey.”
In the 1991 election, Erdal İnönü, son of İsmet İnönü and leader of the Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP), hadn’t mentioned the state system in his party’s program, but he hadn’t closed the door on this system, saying: “To strengthen the local democratic system, local taxes and expenses must be collected and have one source. This is the model we’re thinking about if we come to power. We’ll also discuss the state system for Turkey.”
When Erdal discussed the state system, PKK had intensified its activities in Turkey, so MHP and Turkish right-wing parties opposed the state system in every way and accused the leftists of wanting to divide Turkey and destroy the state through the state system.
The State System Came Up Again During AKP’s Era
In 2000, Turkey went through a severe economic crisis, which led to AKP winning the 2002 election, but until 2007, they avoided the state system because they knew nationalists would oppose it.
However, Kenan Evren, the originator of the state system idea, although in prison, said in a television interview: “If Turkey had become a state system, it would be much better now for meeting its needs and collecting taxes. There are many such examples in the world, like Germany and America. We had thought about dividing Turkey into 8 states.”
Leyla Zana, the famous Kurdish politician, gave a speech in Iğdır in 2007 where she discussed the state system for Turkey.
Zana said: “To resolve the Kurdish issue, first there must be a general amnesty, and Turkey must become a state system with a Kurdistan state established. I know this proposal is taboo for them, but this is the only solution because a Turkish state system won’t lead to Turkey’s division.”
Legal action was filed against Zana for these statements.
Erdogan Has Also Discussed the State System
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has talked about the importance of a presidential system for Turkey since 2003, but officially discussed the state system for Turkey in 2013, when the resolution process was ongoing.
In a 2013 television interview, Erdogan said: “If you look at the superpower countries, no country fears the state system. On the contrary, superpowers believe the state system strengthens them and also strengthens them democratically. If we look at the Ottoman Empire, there was a Lazistan state, there was a Kurdistan state. Why were there states in the Ottoman era and the Ottoman Empire wasn’t weakened? Why do they talk about weakness now? Well, MHP is worried about the state system and I won’t discuss them, let CHP come and support it. MHP says on one hand they’ll continue the Ottoman state, on the other hand they play dumb about this Ottoman style of governance.”
“However, after that interview, Erdogan backtracked on his support for the state system during a rally in Konya, saying: “Whether it’s states or federation or whatever, none of these are on our agenda.”
Recently, AKP and MHP have had the same view regarding the resolution process, which is resolving the Kurdish issue and they have come forward practically, but is the state system on their agenda? Will they allow a Kurdistan state to exist within Turkey, which has been discussed for 30 years and gets forgotten each time for different reasons?
During discussions about the resolution process, it will become clear what AKP and MHP intend to do for Kurds and how they will address Kurds in the new constitution.”