TESEV REPORT

In December 2008, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) released an important report on how to solve Turkey's Kurdish problem peacefully calledRecommendations from the Region to the Government. The TESEV report called for a new Turkish constitution that would be more inclusive of the state's various ethnicities and a declaration of unconditional general amnesty for members of theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK). The report was based on the opinions of 35 individuals of various ideological and political backgrounds representing the Kurdish community, as well as interviews with residents, local governors, and administrators in Turkey's Kurdish region.The report found similar demands from distinct groups on such issues aslanguagerights, thevillage guards, clearing of mines planted by the Turkish military, and positive discrimination.

Dilek Kurban, TESEV's Democratization Program director, emphasized that the Kurdish problem was essentially a matter ofhuman rights, not security as seen by the government. The state's policy of denial and assimilation of Kurdish identity was the main reason behind the Kurdish problem. Although the PKK had committed some violations of human rights, most violations had been committed by the state. Kurban also declared that all parties should protect the right of theDemokratik Toplum Partisi(DTP) to remain in politics. Economic reform that favored investments in the Kurdish region should go along with political reforms.

Can Paker, TESEV's president, declared that unless Turkey solved its Kurdish problem, societal peace and Turkey's hopes to join theEuropean Union(EU) would be unattainable. Whether this new TESEV report would meet with any better audience than the TOBB report of 1995 entitledThe Southeast Problem:Diagnoses and Observations, remained to be seen.