DEM Party leader attacks Alevi intellectuals over criticism of Öcalan reference

Tuncer Bakırhan has sharply rebuked Alevi intellectuals who objected to an alleged reference by Abdullah Öcalan to the historical alliance between Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim and Idris-i Bitlisi.

The dispute followed a declaration signed by 53 Alevi citizens and intellectuals. They had protested the reference, which they associated with anti-Alevi interpretations. The declaration caused unease within the DEM Party. In a statement, the party said Öcalan had made no assessment in that context and rejected attempts to portray Alevis as opponents of the process.

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There are some clean, very honest intellectual friends among them whom I know. But there are also people we brought in from the street and made members of parliament, and I do not know what makes them intellectuals.

Speaking on a television program, Bakırhan questioned the credentials of some signatories. “There are some clean, very honest intellectual friends among them whom I know. But there are also people we brought in from the street and made members of parliament, and I do not know what makes them intellectuals,” he said. He added, “If criticizing the Kurdish Movement and Mr. Öcalan means being an intellectual, then I am sorry, that was yesterday. It has no audience today.”

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If criticizing the Kurdish Movement and Mr. Öcalan means being an intellectual, then I am sorry, that was yesterday. It has no audience today.

Bakırhan also rejected a direct connection between the historical figures and an anti-Alevi message. “Idris-i Bitlisi is a historical figure. His good and bad deeds are clear. Yavuz Selim was also an Ottoman sultan. I cannot see how the fact that both names appear in the same phrase can be connected to an anti-Alevi interpretation,” he said.

He pointed to the party’s parliamentary group, Central Executive Board and Party Assembly as evidence of its diversity. Bakırhan said the DEM Party provides a political ground for people of different backgrounds, beliefs and religions, and argued that it could not fairly be characterized as hostile to Alevis when Alevis hold important roles within it.

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Idris-i Bitlisi is a historical figure. His good and bad deeds are clear. Yavuz Selim was also an Ottoman sultan. I cannot see how the fact that both names appear in the same phrase can be connected to an anti-Alevi interpretation.