Regular readers of World News and Prophecy recognize that prophecy is not only about the passing away of this current age of human rule, but the establishment of a future world government under Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:10 declares that He is now preparing "kings and priests" to rule and teach within that new society. Christians are now in training to learn how to administer justice and long-term peace in that new realm. Let me present a scenario from today's news and ask you, "What would you do?" Based upon your answer, the outcome may be the difference between "fire, ready, aim" or "ready, aim, peace."

Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent for The Toronto Sun, recently wrote about the capture of a well known terrorist in his article "A Unique Opportunity to End the War Against the Kurds" (Inside Track on World News, The Toronto Sun, June 5, 1999). This unexpected and surprising turn of events now presents an incredible dilemma to the Turkish government. This event is the focus of this article.

Win the War, but Lose the Peace?

The article begins, "In a stunning development, the captured Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who is currently on trial for treason, called last week for an end to the 15 year rebellion against Turkey, and admitted responsibility for the many charges against him." Margolis continues, "Other leaders of the outlawed Turkish Workers Party, or PKK, backed Ocalan's dramatic offer to end the bitter war that has killed 30,000 civilians and 5,500 Turkish troops, and to transform the outlawed PKK into a civilian political party. Ocalan, who was kidnapped in Kenya on February 15 by mercenaries and turned over to Turkish security forces, faces a death sentence, and may be trying to save his own skin by admitting guilt and calling for an end to the long Kurdish insurrection."

Let's ask ourselves a question. Why not pull the trigger on this terrorist who is known as the "Kurdish Stalin?" The PKK, in the author's own words, is a "violent Marxist organization which has murdered thousands of innocent citizens and supporters who ran afoul of Ocalan." Simply put, there is no allowance to sanitize the image of this man. He is a killer and terrorist.

Ocalan's capture and confession allow the Turks every justifiable reason to fully punish this man. But is it possible that Turkey could win the war but lose the peace by responding hastily? Gaining momentary satisfaction at the expense of long-term stability of the region is a distinct possibility.

Let's look closer at a long and bloodied history. In his article, Margolis states that 20 to 22 million Kurds, a people ethnically distinct from their Turkish and Arab neighbors, have long demanded an independent homeland carved out of Anatolia and northern parts of Iraq and Iran. They represent 20 percent of Turkey's 63 million people. This yearning goes back to the aftermath of World War I when the victors began to carve up the defeated and exhausted Ottoman Empire. The hope for a "Kurdistan" was dashed, as this same area was the geopolitical crunch zone between the national interests of the British Empire, an emerging Soviet Union, and a developing modern state of Turkey. The modern nations of Iraq and Iran to various degrees have granted Kurds limited autonomy, while Turkey has sought to crush the Kurdish independence movement and eradicate a separate identity by banning the teaching of the native tongue. Margolis pinpoints the concern "that recognition of Kurdish cultural identity, Turkey fears, would lead to demands for political autonomy, and then inevitably, creation of an independent Kurdish state."

Why the Turkish intransigence? Margolis continues by stating, "all Turks vividly recall the 1920s, when Turkey was to be divided up by the victorious allies into zones run by France, Britain, Greece, and Italy. Russia's century-old attempt to destabilize Turkey and seize Istanbul and the Dardanelles remains a constant threat to most passionately nationalistic Turks. In the Turkish view, all attempts by past and present ethnic minorities, notably Armenians and Kurds, to gain autonomy were part of a plot hatched by foreign powers to dismember the Turkish nation."

Terrorists or Founding Fathers?

But now, everything has changed, or has it? Ocalan is in Turkish hands. As Margolis so aptly states, "the vital question now facing Turkey is whether the brutal Ocalan is better at the end of a rope or heading up a legitimate Kurdish party agitating for autonomy or independence." The geopolitically vital land bridge of Turkey, resting between Europe and Asia, cannot be stabilized till the Kurdish question is answered. Empires, kingdoms and nations have a historical habit of running out of soldiers before turning to solutions. Will Turkey?

Proverbs 25:2-3 tells those who would read and understand to reach for new horizons when it comes to problem solving. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable." These verses suggest that we extend our search and reach new depths in our quest for solutions. It has often been stated that "yesterday's terrorist is today's founding father." Often men of revolution and war become men of vision and transcend their beginnings and reach the new heights spoken of in Proverbs. For a moment let's focus on the example of Anwar Sadat.

Changing the Fabric of Our Thoughts

Sadat's early life was engaged in revolution alongside his mentor Nasser in trying to set up an independent Egyptian nation which was then under the sway of the British Empire. He served jail time during British rule. Stuck in prison, he began to unclog his thinking in a way that perhaps gives us a key to resolving the Turkish dilemma. For it was here that Sadat would begin to establish the line of thinking of possibilities that would lead him to his famous visit to Jerusalem. That daring and decisive visit broke the rules of history and allowed Egypt and Israel "to move from soldiers to solutions."

Author Stephen R. Covey captures the essence of Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem that has since changed the political landscape of the Middle East. Covey states, "Sadat stood between a past that had created a huge wall of suspicion, fear, hate, and misunderstanding between Arabs and Israelis, and a future in which increased conflict and isolation seemed inevitable. Efforts at negotiation had been met with objections on every scale-even to formalities and procedural points, to an insignificant comma or period in the text of proposed agreements. While others attempted to resolve the tense situation by hacking at the leaves, Sadat drew upon his earlier centering experience in a lonely prison cell and went to work on the root. And in doing so, he changed the course of history for millions of people."

Quoting Sadat, Covey continues, "It was then that I drew, almost unconsciously, on the inner strength I had developed in Cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison-a strength or capacity, for change. I found that I faced a highly complex situation, and that I couldn't hope to change it until I had armed myself with the necessary psychological and intellectual capacity. My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place had taught me that he who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress" (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster, 1989, page 317).

Turks and Kurds now face a "highly complex situation" like Sadat's. To simply hang Ocalan could, as Margolis points out, "extend the tension between the two groups creating further repression in Turkey, severe economic strain, and exclusion from Europe. On the other hand, continued intransigency by the impoverished Kurds or the set up of a mini-Stalinist state under Ocalan will not solve their need for jobs, water and agricultural projects." The options for both sides lead us to the thought-"just because we can, does it mean we should?" Perhaps there is a better way.

A Better Way

In Philippians 4:5, the apostle Paul states, "Let your moderation be known unto all men" (King James Version). Interesting words from a man who at one time had been regarded as a spiritual terrorist rampaging through the early Christian community. But, a miracle occurred in his life. He went from being one who tore down, based upon what seemed reasonable, to an individual who became a builder of what seemed impossible!

Through Paul, God asks us to focus on moderation. The Greek word for moderation is epiekes. It means "yieldedness or pliability." Perhaps the thought implies flexibility towards problem solving and a capacity that allows us to view the future good for all, over our very real present grievances. It is interesting that this phrase comes from one of Paul's "Prison Epistles." It is shared at a time when the author himself was under the shackles of the Roman Empire. Perhaps Paul, like Sadat, discovered that the loneliness of prison could allow one to rethink a new and different future based on new and challenging options.

Will the Turkish government come to accommodation with Ocalan and the Kurdish people? Will there be capacity to "change the very fabric of their thoughts?" Will the prison experience allow Ocalan to outgrow his terrorist past? How about you? Remember the opening paragraph? Where is the target, what is your focus, and how would you take aim on this particular problem?

"Let Us Take Our Journey"

Long ago, the biblical patriarch Esau set a marvelous example of bridge building between two peoples seemingly on a collision course. He became a transitional person of incredible capacity who looked beyond all the "ifs, ands and buts" of past hurts and grievances.

He had been snookered out of his birthright by a cunning foe, none other than his brother. Talk about too close for comfort and "in your face!" Yet after years of separation, Esau chose to make a difference and took the moderate course.

As these two special families came together on a common road, history was in the making! We know that Jacob was scared to death. But something happened that caused Esau to choose to forgive. Then and there he forged and founded an alliance with a brother who had often betrayed his interests. The rope of justice was in his hand and the numbers were on his side.

It's often been stated that the human version of the Golden Rule is "those who have the gold, make the rules." But Esau didn't go there! Instead of stretching his brother's neck with a noose, he chose to pull him into a partnership. He states in Genesis 33:12, "Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you." Esau could have remained confined to an emotional prison of his own making, but he applied the key of forgiveness and decided to build a future with his brother. Then and there a crowded neighborhood of humanity with a backdrop of different perspectives and injustices came to peace.

Will modern day Turkey and the Kurds have the same vision as Esau in dealing with their nemesis? Only time will tell, but their "then and there" is now! Whether they do or not, it is the voice of Esau that echoes the millennial refrain "this is the way, walk you in it."