Comparing apples and oranges while looking at history

Apparently, public opinion is preoccupied with the remarks on the Dersim revolt that the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, deputy leader Onur Öymen made during Parliament’s plenary session on the Kurdish initiative.

In order offer an assessment of his words, let me first go back to the minutes: Öymen says the following, in summary, as he criticizes the government’s attitude toward the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK:

Atatürk, soldiers and mothers’ tears

* “Did [Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk negotiate with Sheikh Said? Did he negotiate with insurgents? He didn’t do any of this. Atatürk resorted to Turkish intelligence – not that of foreign countries – and all terror organizations kneeled down before him in a short time. They say, ‘Don’t let mothers cry anymore.” Unfortunately, mothers in this country have cried a lot. We have lost many soldiers throughout history. We lost 200,000 in the Çanakkale (Dardanelles) War. Mothers of all these soldiers cried. None came forward and said “Don’t let mothers cry. Let’s forget about this war.” Did mothers not cry during the War of Independence? Did anyone say “Mothers should cry no more? Let’s have a deal with the Greeks.” Did mothers not cry in the Sheikh Said revolt? Did mothers not cry in the Dersim revolt? Did mothers not cry in Cyprus?”

* “If our people are upset or hurt for reasons we do not intend, if they feel sorrow by being reminded of past incidents with such distorted statements, we will be sorry indeed,” continued Öymen apologetically.

Mothers died in Dersim

Now, let’s analyze what he meant:

* The problem in his statement is that Öymen made a general evaluation on six different incidents such as the Sheikh and Dersim revolts, the Dardanelles War, the War of Independence, the Peace Action in Cyprus, and the on-going fight with the PKK. As an internal revolt, the National Fight against foreign occupation, a cross-border military operation and the fight against terror are discussed in the same breath, this turns out to be comparison of apples and oranges.

* Different contexts of historical incidents may cause trouble. When it comes to mothers, there are those who cry their eyes out over sons lost in war. But there are also mothers who died in similar incidents, the Dersim revolt for example, because of civilians being targeted.

* Historical sources indicate families of the insurgents and their close ones in the Dersim revolt were targeted and became victims of a mass killing. On the Internet are voice records of the former Foreign Minister İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil, Malatya Security Director of the time, explaining the details of how people were killed after being dumped in caves.

A shameful chapter in history

* The Dersim revolt is a shameful chapter in the Republic’s history. Since the region’s population is heavily Kurdish and Alevi citizens, today both Kurds and Alevis are still mourning over the incident. Such a traumatic experience, which deeply hurt some of our people, has been used as a political tool today. Trauma and pain is unavoidable, however. It is not only those directly affected – all of us have felt this grieve.

* Öymen’s remarks have led to the inevitable perception that he suggests the very same for today’s incidents. I don’t think Öymen means it, but rhetoric over sons lost in battle and mothers crying may unfortunately cause similar perceptions.

* Lastly, Öymen’s remarks cause problems for the CHP, seemingly a social-democratic party. In fact, Öymen’s cousin, former CHP leader Altan Öymen, said in an interview to the daily Taraf’s Tuğba Tekerek: “CHP officials have never, ever defended the Dersim revolt, but always criticized it because it was a heartbreaking incident. No one can defend it.” Therefore, Öymen’s remarks also go against the party’s approach in general.

* Mr. Sedat Ergin is a columnist for the daily Hürriyet in which this piece appeared Monday. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.