"Apo" and his legacy of bloodshed

29/11/2007

Even as Turkey moves towards reform, the Kurdistan Workers' Party has escalated its armed campaign, seeking to convince Kurds that violence is the only answer.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 29/11/07

Protesters demonstrate in London against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, calling on European governments to block support for the terrorist organisation. [Ahmet Gormez]

Three senior US generals paid visits to Turkey late last week, signalling stronger co-operation between the two NATO allies in the fight against Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorists operating out of northern Iraq.

The visits of General Bantz Craddock, commander of US forces in Europe; General David Petraeus, head of US forces in Iraq, and General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, came only two weeks after a key meeting in Washington between US President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on November 5th.

"The PKK is a terrorist organisation. They're an enemy of Turkey, they're an enemy of Iraq, and they're an enemy of the United States," Bush said at the meeting."Good, sound intelligence delivered on a real-time basis, using modern technology, will make it much easier to deal effectively with people who are using murder as a weapon to achieve political objectives."

The Turkish government has come under mounting public pressure to crack down on PKK bases in northern Iraq, following some of the deadliest attacks by the group in years.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, the EU and much of the international community, has been fighting since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan studied at the prestigious Ankara School of Political Science during the 1970s and embraced Maoism. The group's founding members -- known as "Apoists", after Ocalan's nickname Apo -- sought to establish a Marxist-Leninist people's republic in southeastern Turkey. Over time, though, the PKK has shifted away from leftist ideology, incorporating a more Islamic and nationalistic agenda.

When the PKK started its terror campaign in the early 1980s, it had around 200 militants. By the following decade, the number had grown to 12,000. Currently, about 5,000 are thought to be active: 2,000 within Turkey and another 3,000 in northern Iraq.

Socio-economic underdevelopment, human rights violations and a preoccupation among Turkish officials with security at the expense of other issues have helped the organisation gain traction. Former Turkish political and military leaders acknowledge today that mistaken policies have exacerbated the problem.

[Ahmet Gormez]

"It was our mistake to strictly ban the Kurdish language. I have later understood that fact," former Chief of the Turkish General Staff, General Kenan Evren, told the daily <I>Milliyet</I>. The leader of the coup d'état in September 1980 and seventh president of Turkey, Evren has also acknowledged that torture and maltreatment of detainees was a big mistake.

"We have to acknowledge the Kurdish reality in Turkey," another former chief of general staff, Hilmi Ozkok, told the daily. "Turkey has to take its ethnic Kurdish citizens seriously; one shouldn't look down on these people. I believe the problem can be solved when Turkey becomes an EU member and the level of income reaches $15,000," he said.

PKK violence in Turkey peaked between 1993 and 1995, as the group carried out massive attacks against the armed forces. Turkey, however, was able to carry out effective counterinsurgency operations and the threat was contained. In 1999, Ocalan was captured in Kenya, and most of his militants withdrew from Turkey to northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK), said it would pursue a peaceful and political agenda, and declared a unilateral truce.

Within a few years, however, the attacks began anew. To date, in 2007, 160 civilian casualties can be directly attributed to the PKK, along with the deaths of 138 Turkish soldiers and 266 PKK members. In October alone, PKK violence left 47 dead, including 35 Turkish soldiers.

Paradoxically, the resurgence of violence has occurred at a time when Turkey, as part of its EU accession process, has introduced key reforms. Private Kurdish-language courses and broadcasting are now allowed, although they remain limited. Restrictions on pro-Kurdish cultural organisations have been eased.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, which won a second mandate in the July parliamentary elections, has promised further engagement with the country's ethnic Kurds. At the same time, lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish party DTP have won seats in parliament for the first time in years.

Analysts say these signs of a burgeoning political process are seen as a threat by the PKK. "These attacks aim at provoking Turks against the Kurds, and undermine the inclusion of the DTP party in Turkey's political system," says Sedat Laciner, director of the International Strategic Research Organisation in Ankara. "They want to tell Kurdish people that the only way forward is a so-called armed struggle."

Public outrage over the attacks has put pressure on the authorities to mount a cross-border military operation, targeting PKK bases in Iraq. However, past precedents suggest that such an approach may not be effective. Several incursions have been launched in the past -- the first in 1983 and the latest in 2001 -- but did not bring an end to the PKK.

Turkish Land Forces Commander, General Ilker Basbug, acknowledges this, but insists that a military operation remains necessary.

"Countering the separatist terror has four main dimensions -- security, economic, socio-cultural and psychological struggle," Basbug said in a recent speech at the Land Forces Military Academy. "These all four are complementary. Turkey's fight against the PKK has lasted so long due to problems in co-ordinating steps in these four areas."

Meanwhile, co-operation between the United States and Turkey has increased, with a focus on locating and isolating the PKK leadership and cutting off logistical support to the group. The US administration has urged European allies to root out the PKK's activities within Europe and block its financial resources and propaganda outlets.

Iraqi Kurdish groups have urged Turkey to offer a general amnesty to the PKK militants and start a dialogue with the group. Turkey, however, says its priority is to force the militants to lay down their weapons.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, the government's spokesman, told reporters that while previous amnesty laws yielded positive results, they are not a permanent solution.