Abdullah Öcalan’s call on 27 February marked the beginning of the Peace and Democratic Society Process, and efforts within this framework are ongoing. While the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) continues to hold public meetings across both Turkey and Kurdistan, it is also working to organize and shape the new phase.
Dersim, where the Turkish state’s special warfare apparatus is felt most intensely, is one of the key areas where the DEM Party is carrying out not only public meetings but also initiatives addressing local issues.
In this city, which faces severe ecological destruction and aggressive policies of social degradation, the DEM Party is continuing its work in collaboration with all social dynamics.
Ayten Kordu, Member of Parliament for Dersim from the DEM Party, spoke to ANF about recent developments and the work her party is carrying out in the city.
Dersim has always been a target of the state
Ayten Kordu emphasized that a policy of special warfare has long been implemented in Dersim, noting that the city has been particularly targeted due to its oppositional identity. She stated: “First of all, Dersim is an ancient land. It has been a target of the state ever since the denial policies of the early Republican era and the 1938 massacre. The fact that the Alevi faith is practiced in this city, its oppositional character as a society, and its embodiment of many leftist and socialist values have all made Dersim a target.
Dersim, with its democratic and oppositional identity, its Alevi faith, and its refusal to reconcile with the system or the state, carries within it a multitude of challenges. As the struggle has grown, a strong line of resistance has emerged in Dersim, and grassroots organizing has developed. The people have embraced the social values that constitute their identity with even greater determination.
But as you know, across the geography of Kurdistan and throughout Turkey, there is a widespread and deeply rooted policy of special warfare. In Dersim, this policy has been implemented and maintained in a multifaceted way, targeting everything from culture to education, from ways of life to everyday existence.”
Kordu also noted that the Alevi culture in Dersim is being co-opted by the state. She said: “There has been an effort to humiliate Alevi culture, to portray it as something secondary within state policy. The state presents the Haji Bektash Cultural Center merely as a cultural venue. It brings in imams alongside summer camps and as you know, they have gone as far as embedding this into the education system. In doing so, they have woven an assimilation policy targeting Alevis into every layer of society.”
There is intense pressure on the youth and society
Ayten Kordu noted that Dersim has been experiencing an ongoing wave of migration since the 1938 massacre and emphasized that the state continues to encourage this displacement. She said: “Dersim has been going through a never-ending process of migration since 1938, as you know. This migration has extended both to Europe and to major metropolitan cities. Just a few years ago, five thousand people from here migrated to Canada. There is a deep sense of insecurity within society, especially among the youth. They face policies of repression, marginalization, and a lack of hope for the future. As a result, people say, ‘There is no future here anymore. We cannot express ourselves. We are subjected to pressure for even the smallest thing. And there is already widespread unemployment.’
The special warfare policy is being implemented in every aspect of life. There is no policy that addresses unemployment. Agriculture and animal husbandry had already significantly declined after the villages were emptied in the 1990s. Since then, due to the extremely poor agricultural and economic policies, these sectors have not been able to recover or develop. And of course, there is no industry here at all.”
The state is attacking the people’s attempts at institutional organization
Ayten Kordu pointed out that Dersim is currently facing a wave of ecological destruction and emphasized that the state actively obstructs any attempt at institutionalization by the people. She noted that each time a grassroots structure begins to take shape, state-led attacks intensify. Kordu continued: “There are mining policies being carried out in an extremely aggressive manner. These policies not only plunder nature; they also assault our cultural existence. These problems have been ongoing for a long time. There are also efforts to organize, but for two consecutive terms, trustees have been appointed by the state, and these trustees actively block organizing efforts.
For example, the trustee appointed in 2016 shut down the Genç-Sen youth organization. There is a constant obstacle placed in front of the development of local dynamics. As a result, these dynamics are not able to evolve into structures that organize themselves, address their own problems, and institutionalize this through local municipalities. In general, there is constant state pressure against any form of institutionalization. Even the smallest act of organizing is immediately interfered with, criminalized, and punished.
The recent incidents of violent assaults are closely linked to the growing spread of drug use in the city. There are not many criminal gangs here. This is a place that is constantly monitored by surveillance cameras, under the name of ‘security measures’, yet these are primarily used to target oppositional segments of society like us.
In such a context, the spread of drug use cannot be viewed as separate from police policies. We have experienced a deliberate process aimed at depoliticizing the youth. Young people within a certain age group, unable to find spaces for themselves, are becoming part of power networks that are being deliberately created. We are aware that a mentality rooted in criminal gang logic is trying to assert itself here. Just recently, we organized a march together with all the social dynamics of the city.”
We need to organize and build our own institutional tools
Ayten Kordu highlighted the need for renewed organizing in the face of special warfare policies and stressed the importance of expanding this organizing across all social dynamics of the city. She stated: “Society is aware of both the special warfare policies being implemented here and the fact that these policies are being tolerated. People expect the democratic dynamics of the city to respond. We are entering a new phase. The Kurdish Freedom Movement has presented a set of perspectives to all social dynamics, and we must place these perspectives before us. We need to cultivate collective wisdom in our cities. As the DEM Party, we are aware that we must expand this line. These problems can only be addressed through the democratic organization of society, the creation of its own institutions, and the rise of its struggle through those structures.
In this regard, along with our grassroots organizing, we must also create the institutional tools that correspond to it. Through organizing along this line, we must share more broadly with society the impact of special warfare policies, policies that target our social memory, nature, identity, culture, language, and women.
We must strengthen our organizing efforts by establishing neighborhood assemblies and communes. It is within these structures that we can keep our collective memory alive and vital and build a foundation for sustained organization.”
Source: ANF News
