Amid Turkish reforms, terrorists still defiant

31/03/2008

With the authorities becoming more open to Kurdish concerns, has the PKK's terror campaign lost its rationale?

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times –31/03/08

A PKK supporter carries the terrorist group's flag [Getty Images]

Even as it pursues a military response to Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorism, Turkey's government has pledged a new openness towards its ethnic Kurdish citizens. Days after a limited ground offensive against PKK bases in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced an ambitious new plan to boost economic prospects in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast of Turkey, including investments of up to $15 billion.

He also pledged to launch a new public television station that will broadcast in Kurdish, and reminded PKK members of amnesty legislation that offers lesser sentences or early release for those who surrender and provide information about the group.

Through such moves, the Erdogan administration hopes to convince Kurds in Turkey that Ankara is addressing their concerns, while at the same time curbing the appeal of the PKK. However, the terror organisation has fought back, scorning the effort and arguing that its lethal brand of "revolution" remains the only real option. Erdogan's social economic programme is nothing but a "continuation of the policy of denying the Kurdish reality," said Duran Kalkan, a senior member of the group.

Founded in the 1970s as a Marxist group advocating a "people's republic" in southeastern Turkey, the PKK envisages an independent state for Kurds that would include northern Iraq and parts of Iran and Syria as well. To win support among Turkey's Kurds for this grandiose vision, the group exploits resentment over economic disparities and government policies aimed at containing Kurdish nationalism.

It also seeks to gain political capital from an ongoing military campaign by Turkey, which has conducted cross-border attacks on PKK bases in northern Iraq. "The Turkish military will continue its struggle against the PKK, while the government will continue its anti-Kurdish policies in the fields of politics, economics and society," Kalkin said in an interview published on a PKK website.

But are such claims still plausible? Partly in conjunction with its EU bid, the authorities in Turkey have made concrete moves in recent years to relax limits on minority rights. For the first time in decades, a political party associated with the Kurdish cause -- and, many in Ankara claim, with the PKK-- has representatives in parliament.

The administration has repeatedly stressed that a military response to separatist terrorism is not enough; the roots of Kurdish frustration must also be addressed. It is working hard to make the case for a political solution, within the parameters of civil society. And yet the violence, which has claimed more than 37,000 lives over the past quarter-century, continues.

Demonstrators at a London protest condemn the PKK. [Getty Images

Ceasefires broken as factions disagree

This month, the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation (KCK), an umbrella for various outlawed groups tied to the PKK, called for a conditional ceasefire and dialogue with the Turkish government. But it also warned of a "decades-long war" if its demands are not met. While claiming it wants to negotiate, the group also questions the founding treaties and territorial integrity of Turkey, a stance which Turkish officials find totally unacceptable.

The PKK has proclaimed several unilateral ceasefires in the past, but none have been sustained. Factionalism is partly to blame. Different groups follow different policies, and some powerful forces within the PKK continue to see violence as the way to achieve their goals.

Even as the KCK issued its call for dialogue, PKK commander Bahoz Erdal, a Syrian citizen, vowed to keep up attacks on Turkish soldiers and other targets. Kalkin, meanwhile, insisted "the war climate is sustainable and it is the only tool through which Kurds make political gains".

‘PKK in weakest but most dangerous point’

"The PKK is today at its weakest but also the most dangerous point;" says Sedat Laciner, president of the International Strategic Research Organisation. "Being under heavy pressure, the terrorist group now may try to launch sensational attacks, also by using suicide bombers that would show its strength."

Turkey has conducted military operations against PKK terrorists in northern Iraq since December and in February it launched an eight-day ground offensive, killing at least 240 terrorists, according to the General Staff. A successful military campaign combined with well-orchestrated diplomacy has cut off the logistical and financial sources of the PKK, Laciner says.

In addition, he adds, the group is now isolated politically. As a result, it may now aim -- as it has done in the past -- to seek the support of global or regional players, which could use it as a sort of "subcontractor" for their regional policies.

The PKK is able to survive in part because of its octopus-like structure, with criminal activities extending throughout the region and Europe. According to the US State Department's April 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism, the organisation finances its operations through drug and people smuggling in Europe, as well as through conventional fundraising among sympathizers.

Many security experts, both at home and internationally, have long argued that the nature of the PKK threat makes it inadvisable to rely solely on a military answer. Rather, Turkey must continue to work with other countries, particularly in Europe, to cut off funding and recruitment. At home, meanwhile, the government must work to convince Kurds to place their trust in civil society and the rule of law.

Socioeconomic underdevelopment is one of the woes which the PKK has fed on in the past. Now Prime Minister Erdogan is leading an aggressive $15 billion plan to boost investment and economic prospects in southeast Turkey as a key element in the broader fight against terrorism.

Another grievance is Turkey's track record in the past of emphasizing security at the expense of human rights. The sense that Kurds are discriminated against and lack self-determination has helped the PKK gain traction over the past two decades. Until recently, even the idea of Kurdish-language radio and TV programming was controversial in Turkey.

In 2004, a limited amount of Kurdish language broadcasting was introduced. The Erdogan admininstration says it plans to go even farther. A special public television station will broadcast not only in Kurdish, but also Arabic and Farsi. The prime minister insists that his government will proceed with new reforms. He has also instructed one of his deputy prime ministers to spend time in the region and gain a clearer picture of expectations there.

Kurdish farmers work in a cotton field near Turkey's border with Iraq. The government in Ankara has announced an ambitious plan for boosting economic development in Kurd-dominated parts of the country. [Getty Images]

DTP views government programme as 'insufficient'

Despite its efforts, however, the Turkish government still faces scepticism. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) has said it is unimpressed. "We should first sit down and talk without any restriction," said Sirri Sakık, an influential DTP deputy. "If the AKP government is sincere in its efforts to solve the Kurdish problem, let us go for a referendum and ask the demands of the Kurdish people."

The DTP demands Turkey's recognition of the Kurds' identity in its constitution and some sort of autonomy in the southeast. Because of the similarities between its platform and the PKK's demands, it has proved impossible for a dialogue to develop between the government and Turkey's main Kurdish party.

Especially in the context of PKK terrorism, Erdogan faces strong public pressure urging him not to have anything to do with the DTP. He recently dismissed a request by party members to meet with him, and said he would not do so until they define the PKK as a terrorist group and clearly renounce violence. Public outrage over PKK violence has been high since last October, when terrorist attacks left at least 47 dead, including 35 soldiers, in only one month. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives since 1984.

There is growing evidence, meanwhile, that the DTP's failure to separate itself from the PKK is undermining the party's base among ethnic Kurds. In November 2007, the Metropoll research group conducted an opinion survey in the southeast. More than a third of those polled (35.1%) said the DTP doesn't represent ethnic Kurds, while only 38.6% said it represents them fully.

According to Metropoll, the DTP "has built its political legitimacy on the democratic rights of the region's population and on solving the Kurdish issue. But they have had to face heavy negative criticism due to the recent terrorist actions." One of the main reasons, according to the researchers, is the party's failure to call the PKK a terrorist organisation.

The survey found little support for PKK goals. A majority (64.5%) opposed the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, and an overwhelming 95.2% said they would rather stay in Turkey than go live in such a state. Over half of the survey respondents (51.5%) said a cross-border action against PKK bases in northern Iraq is necessary.

Asked who their favourite politician is, nearly 60% of respondents named Prime Minister Erdogan. Sixty-five percent said that they voted for the AKP during the last elections, and even more (68.3%) said they would do so again. The research team cautioned, however, that these figures differ from actual election turnout. Some respondents may not have wished to acknowledge supporting the DTP, the researchers said.