A hostage in the hands of the regime: The Process

A hostage in the hands of the regime: The Process

The process, which was initiated “forcibly” due to political developments in the Middle East, has proceeded through external factors rather than internal dynamics from the beginning, and continues to do so.

For over a year, the issue progressed indexed to Syria. After the developments in Rojava were shaped largely as Ankara desired, the process was this time indexed to Iran. It is observed that the regime, intending to take steps according to the course of the war in Iran, is seeking to bring the process to the desired consistency without even making ordinary legal arrangements.

It appears that the government desires to hold a pre-early election by creating an expectation. During this expectation process, the Kurdish political movement will, in a sense, be held “hostage.”

Erdoğan was responding: “The process is continuing in a very positive manner. There are no problems.” Erdoğan was not exactly wrong; the process is going exactly as the government desires!

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It cannot be hidden that a serious blockage has occurred in the process and that it has entered a state of idling. Similar “the process is blocked” outbursts coming from the PKK are also frequently expressed by the DEM Party (Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party). Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları also stated very clearly in recent days that blockages were being experienced in the process.

Despite the Parliamentary Commission report, the government front is locking the issue within a “security” bracket, claiming that the necessary conditions have not been met.

Karayılan responded to criticisms that “the Kurdish movement is not taking steps” by saying that “the organisation has fulfilled its responsibilities in full.” Ending the armed struggle maintained for 42 years, the organisation dissolving itself, and adopting a new naming are not ordinary situations. Despite all these strategic decisions, the process is going exactly as the government desires.

However, there are no practical steps yet towards a positive turn in the process. While the Kurdish wing says, “An approach of expecting everything unilaterally from the other side is not fair; this attitude is making things difficult and imposing surrender,” the intentions of the government, which wants to consolidate its own regime under the name of “inner front consolidation,” are essentially being read.

Pressure continues despite the legal-legislative steps not taken for the progress of the process.

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Everyone is aware that the regime is using this issue for its own future, turning it into a political hostage. Within the framework of predictions that the current chaotic situation in the Middle East will continue in this vein for a long time, it can easily be said that the “unnamed process” will also be spread over time and shaped according to the region.

There is, of course, an explanation for the failure to advance the process despite the Parliamentary commission report, unilateral steps, negotiations, and declarations. The regime is not in pursuit of a democratic, pro-people solution to the problem. The government’s understanding of the problem and the solution is different. Even if the regime were to take the expected possible first steps—ending the appointment of trustees, political amnesty, status for Öcalan, etc.—they would not be aimed at a permanent solution to the problem.

The process initiated by the government bloc cannot be considered separately from the US orientations in the Middle East, imperialist plans, and the regional imaginings of the regime. Naturally, the steps to be taken regarding the process are region-centric. While doing this, it calculates to re-consolidate its power under the name of “strengthening the inner front.” However, no matter what it does, its “dark” calculations will not hold.

The AKP-MHP regime, which deepens its dependency relationship with US imperialism and strengthens its position within NATO, aims not for a democratic, pro-people solution to the Kurdish question, but for the perpetuation of its own regime. Every step they take is directed towards this. Consequently, rather than a blockage in the process, there is a “controlled” situation.

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As the LEFT Party (Sol Parti) spokesperson Önder İşleyen has also emphasised in the past, “We are witnessing a process in which various powers—led by the US—are intervening, with everyone pursuing their own agendas, and which has nothing to do with a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Erdoğan, who lacks the power to maintain his regime, is also attempting to use this process as a means of at least neutralising the Kurdish opposition.”

It is clear that a democratic solution cannot be expected from a mindset that continues to impose a one-man regime under the guise of a ‘solution’. The path to a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, and to achieving peace, democracy and freedom, lies in ridding ourselves of this political Islamist one-man regime.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Rejimin elindeki rehine: Süreç, published in BirGün newspaper on May 11, 2026.