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The vicious cycle of “no peace, no war”
bites Turkey once more
29.6.2010
By Bashdar Ismaeel,
a
longtime contributing writer for ekurd.net
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June 29, 2010
Hope and growing expectation that the age-old
Kurdish issue could be finally resolved in Turkey,
underlined by the government’s bold and historical
undertaking referred to as the “Kurdish opening”,
quickly evaporated.
The derailment of the brief positivity that was sewn
in the much impoverished and conflict scarred east
of Turkey is highlighted by the dramatic escalation
of events in Turkey this past week.
The PKK have evidently escalated attacks in recent
weeks, but the death tolls marked by a string of
deadly attacks over the past number of days has
rocked Turkey and stirred nationalist anger.
|
Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel, senior UK Editor |
A
bomb attack on a bus in Istanbul, claimed by an
off-shoot of the PKK, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
(TAK), brought the number of soldiers killed to 17
in less than week.
This has placed immense pressure on Turkish Prime
Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, already under broad
attack from the opposition and nationalist circles
for his attempts to reach out to the Kurds and
ultimately reach out to the PKK to lay down their
arms.
This all begs the question, where did it all go
wrong? Surely, all sides would seek to capitalise on
positive motions to bring peace to Turkey and a
democratic settlement to such an age old problem
that has left scars on both sides? The simple answer
is no. This is Turkey after all, and cracks formed
from decades of nationalistic policies,
disenfranchisement, bitter feelings from both
circles and a raging guerrilla war that has claimed
thousand of lives, will not be papered over all too
easily.
Turkey has finally come to the realisation that
cutting the branches of your problem is not
equivalent to cutting its root. As long as the PKK
machine is fuelled by government policies, peace
will not be achievable and bloodshed will continue.
The greatest goal of the Turkish government should
be to isolate the PKK, not militaristically or
economically but emotionally. Not all Kurds support
the PKK and certainly only a very small minority of
Kurds prefer bloodshed to peace.
However, even as Kurdish political parties with
firstly the DTP which was dramatically ousted last
year for alleged links with the PKK and was the
first fatal blow to the peace process, and there
successor the BDP, have had presence in the Turkish
parliament, they have failed to become the true
representatives of the Kurds and have succumbed
under the great PKK shadow and persistent attempts
in Turkey to clip their wings, before the political
birds could even fly.
However, the Turkish government hardly helped their
cause, in spite of what initially seemed positive
developments between the AKP and the now defunct DTP
last year.
Nationalists and Kemalists have gulped at the mere
idea that the Kurdish problem should be drawn on a
democratic or ethnic basis and have persistently
acknowledged the battle with the PKK as a fight
against terrorism. In truth, the root of this battle
is for greater cultural and democratic rights,
freedoms and social development in the Kurdish
region.
As such, these democratic openings and initiatives
can only be attained in the Turkish parliament, not
in the mountains or by the sheer military might of
any army. Therefore, the more the Kurdish issue is
rendered to a battle in the distant mountains,
whilst the situation on the ground deteriorates,
this only entices Turkey into a vicious “no peace,
no war” cycle that as history has shown has blighted
both sides.
In spite of widespread public pressure and the
recent attacks, Erdogan maintained his pledge to the
Kurdish opening and the broadening of Kurdish
rights. However, as violence escalates, Erdogan will
have a fight on his hand to instil any motion in
parliament against a backdrop of opposition and
sheer animosity. Constitutional changes, the
fundamental aim of the Kurds, will become almost
impossible in such a tense and nationalistically
polluted climate.
In reality, ongoing tension in many ways supports
the nationalist and Kemalist circles, the Turkish
military as well as the PKK. As peace and democratic
moves falter, the PKK continues to be the flagship
of the Kurds.
It is important for Turkey not to rescind on its
pledges, lest allow the PKK to take centre stage
again. It must support and encourage Kurdish
political evolvement, which has historically been
starved and facilitate true representation in the
Turkish parliament, rather than pressure, alienate
or as has been common place, shut down Kurdish
parties all together.
The peace initiative took a great blow when the
government was largely embarrassed, as what should
have been a milestone for the Kurdish opening with
the surrender of a number of PKK rebels last year
turned into a pro-PKK ceremony.
Currently, there has emerged a huge vacuum in the
peace process that can not be so easily bridged. The
Turkish government will simply refuse to ever
negotiate directly with the PKK,www.ekurd.netlet
alone be seen to succumb to the rebels. The war with
the PKK has become far too bloody, too many scars
have developed and too much pride is at stake for
that to ever happen.
Yet as long as the PKK continues to be the
representative voice of the Kurds, then the process
is stalled without true recognisable and widely
respected Kurdish interlocutors on the ground.
The aim of Turkey should remain unhindered. Reach
out to the Kurds and entice them into a genuine
alternative between separatism and violence on the
one hand, and historical repression by successive
Turkish governments on the other.
The tears of a mother, whether Kurdish or Turkish,
are sacred. Violence serves no gain and only deepens
scars. The more deaths that emerge, the more that
both sides reach deeper into the position of no
return.
When the Kurds see development of their region,
democratic rights, employment and a firm place as
true partners of the Turks, Kurds will themselves
turn on separatists or those who seek violence or
bring instability.
For now, the situation will get worse before it gets
better. With imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan
openly abandoning efforts to seek dialogue, this has
culminated in a fresh wave of violence, with the PKK
threatening more attacks until its demands for
greater rights are fulfilled.
While Erdogan remains persistent on his bold and
historical opening, he can not at the same time
watch as attacks escalate and pressure mounts. A
dismayed Erdogan accused European countries of not
doing enough in its combat against terrorism.
This was an all too frequent criticism of the US in
the past, even as the US have openly denounced the
PKK and publicly defended the Turkish government
while often overlooking Turkish actions in Iraq.
As Turkey continues to flagrantly breach Iraqi
sovereignty with military incursions and air raids,
this places the Iraqi Kurds into a more precarious
predicament. Iraqi Kurds, who have often been blamed
for aiding the PKK, have repeatedly refused to fight
fellow Kurds.
However, with the much welcome thawing of relations
between Turkey and Kurdistan in recent times
resulting in the landmark visit by Kurdistan
President Massaud Barzani, the Iraqi Kurds may well
have a price to pay for the new strong bond with
Turkey.
Barzani pledged “all efforts” to assist Turkey on
his visit, and the Turkish government may well give
the Iraqi Kurds more support and official
recognition, including annexation of disputed
territories, for their hand in further alienating
the PKK.
This places the Kurdistan government into a tough
situation. It needs the strategic support and
recognition of Turkey to prosper and develop, while
at the same time it does not want the PKK problem to
become a greater Kurdish issue. After all, no matter
how you look at it, the Kurdish dilemma in Turkey is
a cultural and democratic one, specific to Turkey
alone and can only be resolved in the Turkish
parliament – and no where else.
Bashdar Pusho Ismaeel is a London-based freelance
writer and analyst,
a regular
contributing writer for ekurd.net website.
Ismaeel whose primary focus and
expertise is on the Kurds, Iraq and Middle Eastern
current affairs. The main focus of his writing is to
promote peace, justice and increase awareness of the
diversity, suffering and at times explosive mix in
Iraq and the Middle East.
Most recently he has produced work for the
Washington Examiner, Asian Times, The Epoch Times,
Asia News, The Daily Star (Lebanon), Kurdish Globe,
Hewler Post, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), KurdishMedia, PUK Online and OnlineOpinion.
He has achieved seminar recommended readings for Le
High University (Pennsylvania) and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. His work has been
republished extensively elsewhere on the Internet.
You may reach the author via email at:
bashdar@hotmail.com
Copyright © 2010 ekurd.net. All rights
reserved
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