Turkey: Kurds Reconsider Resignations
December 18th, 2009 by Jason
Reuters reports that the Turkish government announced it will continue as planned with reforms expanding Kurdish rights despite a court ruling that banned (see previous post) the Democratic Society Party (DTP). According to Interior Minister Besir Atalay, “the Kurdish initiative will continue with determination, the necessary regulations will be accelerated.”
Nonetheless, Christian Science Monitor wonders whether the ban on the DTP and subsequent violent protests will undermine reform efforts. According to Dilek Kurban of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), the ban “has made it increasingly difficult for Kurds to see a space for themselves in legitimate political life in Turkey.”
Meanwhile, according to al-Jazeera, a group of DTP politicians have reconsidered their resignation from parliament. According to DTP leader Ahmet Turk, “this decision is a clear demonstration that we have faith in democracy […] and that we advocate peace and not violence.” It is reported that their decision came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, currently imprisoned, sent a message through his lawyers urging them to not abandon the political process. The DTP members will now join the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) instead of serving as independents.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Judiciary, Kurds, NGOs, PKK, Protests, Reform, Turkey | Comment »
Turkey: Democracy and the Kurds
November 24th, 2009 by Zack
The Washington Post has written an editorial criticizing Turkish PM Recep Erdogan for backsliding on his commitment to democratic principles. Despite the fact that Erdogan is pushing through Kurdish reforms, the dimming prospects of Turkey joining the E.U. has led Turkey to adopt an unwanted stance on Israel and a coziness with Iran, Syria and Sudan, as well as cracking down on Turkish media. The editorial concludes that Erdogan must stop “coddling Muslim dictators — and stop following their practice of silencing domestic opposition.”
The New York Times on the other hand has published an editorial focusing on the courage of Erdogan’s Turkish reforms. While the editorial notes the same worrying trends, it argues Turkey is responding to U.S. efforts to push democracy and that Europe “must finally make clear that if Turkey bolsters its democracy and respects the rights of its minorities, it will be welcome in the European Union.”
Posted in Diplomacy, EU, Elections, Foreign Aid, Kurds, PKK, Reform, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
Turkish Reforms for Kurdish Minority
November 16th, 2009 by Zack
Reuters is reporting that Turkey has laid out a reform plan to expand Kurdish rights, including the creation of an independent body to investigate cases of torture and allowing Kurds to campaign and broadcast in Kurdish. The main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), walked out of parliament in response to the legislation, which aims to disarm the Kurdish PKK. According to the New York Times this new plan comes a year after “Parliament approved private Kurdish language courses and a public television channel in Kurdish, as part of what it called a democracy package.”
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Legislation, PKK, Reform, Turkey | Comment »
Turkish Rallies over Detained ‘Peace’ Group
October 20th, 2009 by Zack
Agence France Presse is reporting that thousands of Kurds rallied in Diyarbakir as 34 members, including eight Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels, of a “peace group” arrived from Iraq to show support for Ankara’s plans to end the 25-year Kurdish conflict. The group surrendered to police and were taken into custody for questioning immediately after crossing the border. According to the article, ”Turkish officials have said the group’s members were welcome if they were in Turkey to turn themselves in, but senior PKK commander Murat Karayilan told the pro-Kurdish Firat agency on Sunday that the group’s aim was not surrender.” Demonstrations also took place in Batman and Mardin in the southeast and the eastern cities of Tunceli, Van and Mus, as well as Izmir and Istanbul, both of which have sizeable Kurdish communities.
The AP is now reporting that the Turkish government has released the eight PKK members pending future trials for their membership in the PKK. The fate of these men will likely influence further moves towards reconciliation.
Posted in Kurds, PKK, Turkey | Comment »
How to Define a Turk?
September 9th, 2009 by Jason
The Washington Institute’s Soner Cagaptay questions whether Turkey should grant group rights to the Kurds as part of the “democratic opening process” recently spearheaded by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Instead, he argues Turkey should deal with the Kurdish issue by focusing on the individual rights of all Turkish citizens to “help make Turkey a more liberal country.”
Posted in Human Rights, Kurds, PKK, Political Parties, Reform, Turkey | Comment »
Middle East Progress: A Spotlight on Turkey
June 17th, 2008 by Sarah
Middle East Progress focuses on the Turkey’s impending constitutional crisis.
Ian Lesser warns that the likely court decision in Turkey may have dire consequences. “Turkey’s E.U. candidacy may be irreparably damaged, nationalist tendencies reinforced, and relations with the United States, already troubled, could be further compromised.”
The Economist calls the situation “a tragedy in the making,” and suggests that “the fallout at home would be serious, even if the AKP were reconstituted in a different form.” The article looks to Turkey’s teetering economy and unrest among Kurds that could spill into northern Iraq.
Pierre Atlas can see how Turkey’s likely court ruling may preserve Turkey’s secularism, but finds it hard to see how it preserves its democracy. He offers hope by suggesting that “this crisis can be overcome in a way that could strengthen the country’s democracy—if cooler heads prevail, and if the right signals are sent from Washington and the EU.”
Mark Almond warns that “neglecting Turkey is not only foolish, it is dangerous.” The war in Iraq “de-stabilized Turkey’s Western orientation more than the US cares to admit…and if the EU spurns them while speeding up entry for weaker candidates, Turkey may come to feel sufficiently strong and embittered to strike out on a new geo-political course.”
Yigal Schleifer discusses Turkey’s emerging role as a key regional mediator in the Mid East, while the Middle East Progress elaborates on the principles underlying Turkey’s constitution.
Posted in Iraq, PKK, Political Islam, Secularism, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
Turkish Raids on PKK
May 15th, 2008 by Amanda
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Samantha Rollinger at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies ask, “Should the U.S. take steps to address Turkish concerns about the PKK, and thus make future interventions less necessary?” At the end of April the Turkish military made numerous strikes on the Kurdish group just over the border, furthering strain on the Turkish-Iraqi- American alliance triangle.
The authors cite Svante Cornell of Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, who “emphasized that while the U.S. was likely displeased with Turkey’s incursion, it understood that the intervention was inevitable due to PKK attacks against Turkey.”
Posted in Iraq, PKK, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
PKK Strains Turkey-Iraq Relations
April 25th, 2008 by Amanda
Hiwa Osman in the Daily Star declares that the best solution to moderating the PKK is not an offensive one, citing the recent incursion by Turkish military as a failure. He also notes problems the PKK, the militant Kurdish population in Turkey, poses for their Iraqi brethren politically. “The Kurds appreciate the importance of long-term strategic ties with Turkey,” and believe that “PKK issue is an irritating factor that is hampering progress in relations with their much-needed neighbor.” Osman calls for the dampening of radicalism and for moderate groups to come to the fore.
The Iraqi Kurds also recognize the importance of a relationship with the US. Osman affirms that the Americans wish to maintain positive relations with both the Turks and Iraqis as well, noting that “America does have two allies: a long-standing Turkish one and a nascent Iraqi one.”
Posted in Iraq, Kurds, PKK, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
Struggles in Turkey
April 18th, 2008 by Sharlina
An editorial in The International Herald Tribune analyzes the current attempts to ban the AKP, arguing that “a high court decision to nullify the popular will by dissolving a legitimately elected party would cast a pall over Turkish democracy and make it harder than it already is for Turkey to gain membership in the European Union.”
In a discussion on the interplay between Turkey, Iraq, and the PKK, Bitterlemons International presents opinions on the topic. Hiwa Osman argues that a ripe opportunity has presented itself to engage in “direct talks between Ankara and Arbil,” while Abdulkadir Onay urges Iraqi Kurds to recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization and thus “come on board” with the U.S., Iraqi and Turkish governments. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Steven A. Cook states, “Washington would not look favorably on any Turkish actions in the north that would precipitate further Iranian meddling in Iraq.” Bulent Aras argues that Turkey’s new strategy in regards to the Kurds is “based on three principles: domestic peace, regional legitimacy and coordination with the United States and the European Union.”
Posted in Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Kurds, PKK, Turkey | Comment »
Tensions in Turkey
April 3rd, 2008 by Amanda
At Bitterlemmons, Mustafa Kibaroglu discusses the US relationship both with Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds, writing that “US policy in Iraq appears much more sensitive to meeting the demands of the Kurdish authority than those of its long-time NATO ally.”
He notes that this has deteriorated American-Turkish relations.
According to Kibaroglu, Turks are increasingly concerned over the border threat of the PKK while Kurds remain a critical ally of the United States in the structuring of Iraqi government.
Other news in Turkey: The Constitutional Court is considering a ban on the AKP (Justice and Development Party) in response to what it believes is Prime Minister Erdogan’s threat to secularism, according to a Center for Strategic and International Studies report. It claims the Court “has been instrumental in sending into political extinction twenty four political parties in four decades. “
Posted in PKK, Secularism, Turkey, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
Ramifications of Turkish Bombing Last Thursday
January 8th, 2008 by Sharlina
The larger meaning of a terrorist car bombing that killed five people and wounded 68 last Thursday in southeastern Turkey is discussed in an editorial in the International Herald Tribune today. The article implores the lethal blast to be seen against “the backdrop of a domestic struggle over the political and cultural identity of Turkey.” It also indicates that a reprisal of the dirty war that the Turkish military conducted against the PKK in the 1980s and ’90s could endanger the continuance of Turkish economic and political reforms and also undermine regional relationships with Iran, Syria, and Israel, as well as Turkey’s bid for membership in the European Union and Turkey’s relationship with the United States.
Posted in Kurds, PKK, Terrorism, Turkey, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
How to Deal with the PKK in Northern Iraq
December 18th, 2007 by Celest
After
Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq chasing the PKK,
Juan Cole discusses the
implications for Iraqi stability of the US giving intelligence aid for the strike. He guesses that that this provision of intel from Iraq went by way of Baghdad and may destabilize the shaky parliamentary balance if the Kurdish PMs turn against al-Maliki.
Michael Rubin, in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only), argues that the current US strategy–urging Turkey to negotiate amnesty for PKK members in exchange for Iraqi Kurdistan ending its safe haven for the PKK–is “cockeyed.” Instead, the US should threaten isolation and a cessation of all financial assistance until the Iraqi Kurds cease giving safe haven.
Tulin Dalioglu, in the Washington Times, discusses the problem of the PKK havens in northern Iraq. He argues that the PKK does not represent Turkish Kurds and wonders where the moderate Kurds are who can help resolve the problems.
Posted in Iraq, PKK, Terrorism, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
Turkey, Iraq and the PKK
October 23rd, 2007 by Celest
Many articles discuss the possibility of a Turkish invasion into northern Iraq and the possible ramifications. An opinion article in the New York Times argues that Washington needs to walk Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds back from the brink to avoid a disastrous regional war. An article by Ralph Peters, in USA Today, argues that the PKK threat is weak and both success and failure of the Turkish military would be dangerous for the region.
Ilan Goldenberg argues that the situation has reached a boiling point but notes that all sides have an interest in avoiding confrontation. Juan Cole also comments on US efforts to resolve the situation.
Posted in Iraq, Kurds, PKK, Turkey | Comment »
