The recent historic address from imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan sent political speculators scurrying to extol Turkey’s prospects of finally obtaining a “real peace.” While the latest efforts at peace between the Turkish government and Kurdish rebels may in fact be the most serious to date, the situation remains as fragile as ever. Much more than a ceasefire has to occur before a permanent armistice can take hold in the Kurdish region of Turkey. Both parties still face an uphill battle.
Ocalan’s group of rebels, known as the PKK, has been waging war with the Turkish government for nearly 30 years. Originally, Ocalan called for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, but of late the PKK has tempered its demands to include increased autonomy and political rights for the Kurdish people. A minority ethnic group residing primarily in the region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the Kurds make up an estimated 15 million of Turkey’s total population of 80 million. They have long suffered discrimination and oppression at the hands of the Turkish government, the conflict with whom has left over 40,000 dead on both sides and trapped large portions of Turkey in residual poverty. Presently, the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, including the United States.
In his latest statement from prison, Ocalan asked rebel fighters of the PKK to put an end to the ongoing violence and withdraw from Turkey completely. “Let guns be silenced and politics dominate,” said Ocalan in a statement read in Diyarbakir by a pro-Kurdish politician.[1] “The stage has been reached where our armed forces should withdraw beyond the borders … It’s not the end. It’s the start of a new era.”[2]
Despite the seemingly rosy overtones, however, this is not the first time the Kurdish rebels have declared a cease-fire. In the past, most Kurdish attempts at peace have been ignored by the government, which has vowed to fight the PKK until the bitter end. Turkish forces allegedly ambushed and massacred PKK combatants in 1999 as they retreated under orders from Ocalan, who first called for peace soon after his imprisonment. A similar incident occurred during another unilateral decision to capitulate in 2004. For many Kurds, these actions by the Turkish government speak louder than any appeals for peace from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Repeat reneging on the part of the Turks has left a bitter taste in the Kurdish mouth. Still, all hope is not lost: despite his 14-year incarceration in a prison island near Istanbul, Ocalan wields a lot of control over the PKK, and his calls for peace are not likely to fall on deaf ears. PKK commanders in Iraq have declared support for his peace initiative, and Kurdish fighters in Turkey will likely obey Ocalan’s plea and withdraw.
For his part as well, Prime Minister Erdogan has cast his political clout behind Ocalan’s efforts at peace. “If guns are put down, military operations will cease,” he said in response to Ocalan.[3] A real peace promises to benefit more than just the repressed Kurdish people. Recent efforts at a lasting peace follow a surge in bloodshed last year that cost nearly a thousand lives on both sides and may have strengthened the resolve of the Turkish government to find a permanent solution to the conflict. Concurrently, a Kurdish group linked to the PKK has gained control in Syria in the midst of a bloody civil war, further worrying the Turkish government. Additionally, it comes as no surprise that Turkey’s conflict with the PKK is hampering its economic and political ambitions in the region, as residual conflict has left large portions of the country mired in poverty.
The primary difference between this latest movement and previous efforts at peace centers on its transparency. Prior negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK were conducted in secret, often going unnoticed by the public. This time, however, both sides aim to carry out talks in the open. In a gesture of goodwill, the PKK recently released eight Turkish hostages held captive by the guerillas since last year. The first concrete, tangible result of the peace talks has sparked renewed hope.
While speculators across the world may see a light at the end of the tunnel, many in the region share the sentiment that this is only the latest iteration in a string of many unfruitful peace initiatives. In the streets of the Kurdish region, skepticism abounds regarding the government’s commitment to peace. Thirty years of strife and entire generations who know nothing but violence have left the Kurds with minimal trust in the government. Truthfully, the road to peace is fraught with obstacles. Ocalan is relying on his PKK colleagues who he hasn’t seen in over a decade to toe his line. Erdogan, as well, faces political opposition from government hard-liners who resist any increases in Kurdish rights or autonomy. Hawks on both sides are likely to try and sabotage the peace process and resume the carnage. Despite the challenges, however, exasperated Kurds and Turks alike have little to do but cling to prospects of peace.
If the Turkish government can successfully navigate the many roadblocks that it will encounter in the coming months, they might just be able to capitalize on this opportunity for implementing a permanent solution to the Kurdish conflict. A ceasefire is a major step towards a resolution to one of Europe’s longest conflicts, but laying down arms alone will not bring about enduring peace: both sides must follow through, and the slow wheels of democracy and constitutional change must turn. Peace will not happen overnight.
[1] Pelin Turgut, New Day for the Kurds: Will Ocalan’s Declaration Bring Peace With Turkey?, Time World, March 21, 2013, http://world.time.com/2013/03/21/new-day-for-the-kurds-will-ocalans-declaration-bring-peace-with-turkey/#ixzz2OrCp3YKz
[2] id.
[3] id.
For a nation that has strong opinions (since the 1950s) about what the rights of Cyprus’s Turkish Cypriot minority should be, “Turkey” sure has many problems, incomprehensible if you ask me, figuring out Kurds’ proper level of rights!!
If “Turkey” ‘s solution in Cyprus is political equality, then why not also between Turks and Kurds?
If “Turkey” ‘s solution in Cyprus is two states, then why not in “Turkey” as well where the geographic existence of Kurdistan is a historical fact, as opposed to the result of an illegal war & against the millennia long Greek Christian history of Cyprus?
Anyone who understands “Turkey” deeply knows that peace is not possible because Turks are ultra nationalistic. And they don’t realize it either, which makes them a unique case study for social psychologists.
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The peace between the Turkish government and Kurdish terrorists is phony and at this point is announced in order to carry out a mission against Assad in Syria.
The Iraq war was pushed by the Neocons, majority Zionists and Israeli firsters in order to remove undesirable leaders and partition the regional countries based on ethnic and religious divide to create “greater Israel”. This is the policy of the Zionist terrorists from the beginning.
This policy was pushed by Oded Yinon according. To create “greater Israel” the zionist need to create allies including KURDISTAN in order to survive.
Now, regime change and partition of Syria is vital for the Zionist terrorists using their lobby to influence the policy of the US, that’s why the lobby brought their puppet, Obama, first Black “president”.
To push for Assad fall, Obama needs the cooperation of Trojan horse, Turkey with Israel using Kurdish terrorists against Assad so they can place another Zionist puppet on the throne in Syria using their terrorist pawn trained by CIA and Mossad.
The dumb policy of the first black “president” will be back fired and will burn not only US presence in the region but makes survival of Israel more difficult as the result of DUMB POLICY OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, which is more savage and brutal than any other president before him.
Obama is a war criminal with dumb policy in Syria which is ILLEGAL. With these policies, the first black president has done nothing but creating billions more enemies for himself and the United States with its gullible people. The United States will not survive no matter how many more people obama kills. He is hated throughout the world. The people of the region never accept ANOTHER ISRAEL.
The Kurds will receive an award for their cooperating with the common enemy, Zionism and imperialism at the right time. The Kurds widely viewed negatively in the region because of their terrorist activities on behalf of the foreign countries mainly US and Israel.
Hillary Mann Leverett and Flynt Leverett in their latest EXCELLENT Opinion note have pointed out the reason behind sudden “peace” between Israel and Turkey. They write:
{Obama’s support for Syrian oppositionists reflects the same sort of hubristic thinking. His administration started backing opposition elements in 2011, not to help Syrians but to weaken Iran’s regional position and perhaps even spark the Islamic Republic’s overthrow. This proved unrealistic, for Assad’s government even today represents sizable constituencies. As time passed and Assad didn’t fall, concern that jihadi extremists gaining ever greater prominence in opposition ranks would target US interests (as happened in Libya) prompted the administration to temper its stance in advance of the 2012 US presidential election. Now it is returning to the imperial game, disregarding risks to both US security interests and regional stability. That’s why, in contrast to his charade on the Palestinian issue, Obama put real effort during his Middle East trip into brokering a renewal of Israeli-Turkish relations—for, in Washington’s view, Israeli-Turkish cooperation could facilitate a renewed push for Assad’s removal.}
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/201333012566128270.html
The dumb policy of Obama administration has caused others like George will to raise his voice against Obama’s Syrian policy and Middle east plicy which supports Israelis’ interest against US interest
The “peace” between the Kurds and Turkey helps Erdugan, a Zionist puppet, and Israel to have more influence in the neighboring countries Syria and Iraq against Iran. Erdugan is the enemy of Muslims and works on behalf of imperialism and Zionism.
Turkey’s plan for the future of Iraq is to create a united front, consisting of Sunni Arabs and Kurds, against the Shiite majority to partition Iraq and Syria to bring the Kurds, with US/Israel agreement under influence of Turkey. This shameful plan by the Zionist puppet, Erdugan, goes well for Saudi Arabia so Turkey can inflict on Iran.
The al-Iraqiya bloc, a loose cross-sectarian alignment led by Iyad Allawi, Saudi’s puppet, was actually set up at Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s residence in the Turkish capital.
The effort eventually failed when Iran pushed for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, despite strong Turkish protests. US-Turkey-Saudi Arabia wanted Iyad Allawi against Iran, but they were not successful.
It should be said Syria was with the Saudis’ plan backing the enemy of Iran Iyad Allawi. Now, Saudis are trying to over throw Assad with the cooperation of US-Israel-Turkey. Iran has supported the Palestinian cause continually since the revolution, but Palestinians have put a knife on Iran’s back whenever opportunity opened for them. Palestinians supported Saddam in Iraq-Iran war against Iran and recently due to pressure from Obama they praised a zionist puppet, Erdugan, to improve their position but have received nothing but more insult with the help of Erdugan. You must be dumb to believe Erdugan cheap slogans. Turkey is the empire’s Trojan horse helping US policy of regime change and partition of the regional states, Iraq and Syria, for its own interest. Turkey never stops its relations with Israel.
There are two tracks the Turkish government has been following to help realize the potential of an alliance between Kurds and Sunni Arabs. One is to help soothe the concerns of Iraqi Kurds towards Turkish intentions and the other is to resolve issues between Kurds and Arabs in disputed provinces like Kirkuk. On the first track, there has already been considerable progress, as Ankara has recognized the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and established strong political and economic ties with it.
The KRG was actively working with Ankara to marginalize the PKK. Thus, recent PKK announcement is another VICTORY for Turkey to implement its plan in Iraq and Syria.
The fact that Sunni-majority areas of Iraq have already been showing an interest in self-rule, autonomy or even separation reinforces the partition scenarios as well. Now it is planning to hold a referendum on greater self-rule, a precursor to a federative solution or complete secession.
Erdugon has become so aggressive that he is dreaming to partition Iran. Iranian government must give Turkey strong warning and kick them out of the country.
Iranian people tell Erdugan that you’re pettier than that daring to think about partitioning Iran. You should hold on to your pans idiot. All these activities are supported by the DUMB policy of the first black ‘president’. Iranian people view all these activities as an insult and will respond appropriately when opportunity arise. The Green opposition has already told Obama to shut up. When opposition tells you shut up, Obama must imagine what would be the message of the people of Iran.