Leyla Zana matters

Oath-taking in the Turkish parliament is an event never short of exciting moments and surprises. Female politicians' dresses and shoes are always under scrutiny. And if you dare to make a political statement, it becomes an issue.

So people were hardly shocked to see Mrs. Leyla Zana changing the words of the constitutional oath by using the phrase "people of Turkey" instead of "Turkish nation."

A Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) veteran politician and a symbol of the Kurdish cause, Mrs. Leyla Zana wanted to shake her party's election results and wanted to make sure that everybody knew their place. She lived through the wild 1990s. She has served time in jail and seen suffering firsthand. So it comes as no surprise when Zana stopped the clock and made everyone remember the real challenge of this nation. Can we build a just and fair peace in this land after all?

The constitutional oath is not something written in stone. The reference to "people of Turkey" had been a big discussion topic during the previous legislative sessions' constitutional amendment talks. And as far as I can remember, three out of four parties were not completely against this. 

Zana's attempt to change the starting point of peace talks comes at a crucial time. She in fact initiated the discussion about "Turkishness" or being a "nation of Turkey." According to daily Hurriyet's reporting, Zana and the HDP had debated the oath-taking issue in-depth. The younger generation had opted not to make a statement, whereas Zana reportedly said, "I have spent my entire life on this. I will not sit idle and do nothing while youngsters are still getting killed on the streets and alleys in the region."

Zana's significance comes from the deeds and timing of things she does...