One of the most significant findings of a study conducted jointly by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) and PollMark, titled “Turkey's perception of the Kurdish issue,” is that the majority of society views the Kurdish issue as the most important political issue of Turkey after unemployment, which can be seen as an economic problem.
According to the research, the nation upholds that policies focusing on the security dimension of the problem alone and avoiding the complex dimensions of the issue in the last 25 years have failed (71.1 percent of respondents). Likewise, a vast majority (55.6 percent) holds that the defeat of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by the Turkish military or the PKK ceasing its violence will not be adequate to end the violence and terrorism issue. For this segment of people, the resolution of the Kurdish issue is possible by considering other dynamics excluding the PKK. This places responsibility on political actors.
To this end, the research shows that the Kurdish issue, independent of the terrorist violence, is perceived as Turkey's biggest issue by the majority of people. This also confirms that denying the issue is no longer sustainable and that people are ready to extend their support for an alternative resolution based on correct political communication.
Political actors and institutions responsible for resolution
The nation, which holds that eliminating the PKK will not fully solve the problem, refers to several other alternatives as possible solutions to the Kurdish issue. One of the most important findings of the survey shows that the majority of people expect political actors to take action. To this end, 59.9 percent of respondents believe the parties represented in Parliament should develop an initiative, whereas 64.5 percent hold that the government and the military should cooperate to devise a solution.
If political actors and institutions are expected to solve the issue, then what do the people think about the recent initiative offered by the government? According to the survey, 48.1 percent of respondents support the government's initiative. While 75.7 percent of Kurds firmly back the plan, 42.7 percent of Turks favor the solution publicized by the government. A full 16.5 percent remain undecided. Of the respondents polled, 36.4 percent find the policies of the ruling party negative, though their unsupportive stance toward the opposition is far more visible: 64 percent of people hold that the Republican People's Party's (CHP) reaction to the government action is wrong while 62 percent of the participants accuse the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) of not adequately addressing the problem. Only 16 percent of people hold that both parties are doing right in their opposition. Thirty-five percent of respondents find the Democratic Society Party's (DTP) reaction to the government's opening plan positive while 41 percent consider this party's stance unconstructive.
Sixty percent of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) supporters, 40 percent of MHP voters and 33 percent of CHP voters find their parties' stance positive. Therefore, it appears that the AK Party is able to secure extensive support from voters in general as well as its supporters whereas both the CHP and the MHP have failed to attract support for their policies even from their party bases. It is also apparent that 59.7 percent of the respondents do not agree with these parties' accusation against the AK Party suggesting that this recent move is aimed at dividing the country; 55.9 percent of Turks and 79.1 percent of Kurds dismiss this allegation and accusation.
Kurds unable to convince Turks they do not want a separate state
At this point, attention must be paid to the differences between Turks and Kurds in their perceptions of political issues as well as different attitudes toward the probable solutions of society, which considers political institutions and actors as responsible for finding a solution. Eighty-five perce
