Reconciliation in history and cases of political reconciliation

Orhan Miroğlu

There are countless examples in history that illustrate that even the harshest political conflicts have been settled via reconciliation. Would it be a surprise if the growing tension and row between the Hizmet movement and the government is reconciled?

Of course, it is not easy to answer this question. But we should remember that the settlement process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was initiated after a bloody conflict that lasted for three decades. Spain reconciled with the Basque separatist group ETA and Peru with the Revolutionary Path. Britain made peace with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The developments in the settlement process with the PKK so far show that Turkey is displaying the intention to reconcile by showing eagerness to talk to the PKK and their leader Abdullah Öcalan during the process. The hardest part in all these cases is the adoption of a policy by which the opponent is recognized and states experience particular hardship in recognizing an armed group or organization that it has fought for many years.

Of course, the cases of reconciliation in history are not all like the examples I referred to above, which are pretty similar to each other. There are other examples where political disagreements are not violent but do harm to the democratic processes and political future of the country. The ongoing clash between the Hizmet movement and the government is obviously changing the course of political events. I suppose that nobody would ignore the fact that millions of people who are affiliated with the Hizmet movement but also support the government feel disappointed by this process. A government that has taken Turkey from the edge of an internal conflict to a settlement process, introduced steps that will contribute to democratic progress and adopted civil society organizations -- including the Hizmet movement -- as friends to deal with the military guardianship is now being undermined or weakened by a controversial operation in legal terms that is supported by one of these friends. The government holds that the Hizmet movement is a parallel structure within state institutions and for this reason, it is taking some measures in response, including changes to the HSYK structure, bureaucratic appointments and reassignments. As seen, these measures are contributing to the deepening of the conflict; but interestingly, even this does not rule out the possibility of reconciliation.

There are attempts to facilitate reconciliation between the parties. A journalist who has ties with both parties paid a visit to Fethullah Gülen and Gülen sent a letter back to Turkey with him. A leading novelist wrote that the conflict would be over if the prime minister met with Gülen in a breakfast session. Columns by Hüseyin Gülerce, who is known for his affiliation with the Hizmet movement, were full of desire for reconciliation. You may call this naiveté, but history shows that even the most difficult conflicts can be settled via reconciliation regardless of whether the parties are pleased with the outcome.

Hizmet supported the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the past; maybe they will support the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the future. There is no problem in this, but the problem is how this could affect the Hizmet movement. And undoubtedly, no one has the right to make this assessment on behalf of the movement.

So, what would the agenda be in a process of reconciliation between the parties?

As a person who rejects any conflict, be it violent or non-violent, that would harm society, I would say that this is important to achieve reconciliation: the withdrawal of the Hizmet movement to its sphere of action as a civil society movement and its commitment to remain in the civilian sphere where everybody respects it due to its efforts and contributions.

Obviously, this is not easy. It may be hard to turn a new page. But we should keep in mind that there is no other option for beneficial reconciliation. It can be seen that the Hizmet movement is losing prestige. But it is also known that the Hizmet movement has a legacy that reminds people of good deeds and memories.

Evil is destined to be forgotten; people are used to remembering the good all the time.

Published on Today's Zaman, 24 January 2014, Friday