Recent statements from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and remarks by Cemal Bayik, the co-chair of the Union of Kurdish Communities (KCK), clearly indicate that Turkey and the PKK feel the need for a new negotiation process.
He says, “We openly stated that the course Turkey was on is dangerous. If Turkey, the [Justice and Development Party] AKP government and [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan don’t abandon their enmity to Kurds, humanity and democracy, Turkey will end up with either a coup or a civil war. They have to see their policies are destroying Turkey and must sit down to negotiations immediately.”
The PKK, like its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, wants to start negotiations and continue on that track. But Bayik cannot help but remind us that the two sides are no longer at the point where they started. It is true.
After Kobani, the earlier politics are outdated. There can be no war or diplomacy based on earlier premises. Bayik adds, "If you continue with the old ways, you will lose big. If the Turkish state grants the basic rights of the Kurdish people, we will definitely not fire a single bullet."
Then he says that not only did the PKK not withdraw from Turkey as initially agreed, but its forces are now deployed on Turkish territory better prepared and in increasing numbers. He adds, “In the north, there are guerrillas in every corner. Their position is stronger than before the 2013 Nowruz celebrations both in numbers and in quality. We have sent back some of the forces we had withdrawn from Turkey. We have massive numbers of new fighters joining, about one thousand a month.”
He says, “We openly stated that the course Turkey was on is dangerous. If Turkey, the [Justice and Development Party] AKP government and [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan don’t abandon their enmity to Kurds, humanity and democracy, Turkey will end up with either a coup or a civil war. They have to see their policies are destroying Turkey and must sit down to negotiations immediately.”
The PKK, like its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, wants to start negotiations and continue on that track. But Bayik cannot help but remind us that the two sides are no longer at the point where they started. It is true.
After Kobani, the earlier politics are outdated. There can be no war or diplomacy based on earlier premises. Bayik adds, "If you continue with the old ways, you will lose big. If the Turkish state grants the basic rights of the Kurdish people, we will definitely not fire a single bullet."
Then he says that not only did the PKK not withdraw from Turkey as initially agreed, but its forces are now deployed on Turkish territory better prepared and in increasing numbers. He adds, “In the north, there are guerrillas in every corner. Their position is stronger than before the 2013 Nowruz celebrations both in numbers and in quality. We have sent back some of the forces we had withdrawn from Turkey. We have massive numbers of new fighters joining, about one thousand a month.”
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