Democracy Social Change Turkey

Erdogan Risks Kurdish Flare-Up Weakening Turkey Role Model for Arab Spring

As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Arab leaders to heed popular demands for change, in Turkey’s southeast violence and political protests are spreading among Kurds.

Fighting between the army and Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has escalated this year, leaving at least 107 people dead. Meanwhile, the group’s political ally, the main legal Kurdish party, has declared autonomy for the region after making record gains in national elections.

Erdogan, who has promised an end to the three-decade war, has toughened his line in recent weeks. He accused Kurdish politicians of “dancing to their own tune” and announced plans to beef up special operation teams. A flare-up in the conflict could undermine Erdogan’s effort to position Turkey as a stable, democratic role model for Arab neighbors gripped by unrest.

“Turkey cannot itself be a model at the moment when the process of nation-building is far from complete,” said Fadi Hakura, an analyst at Chatham House research institute in London . “There’s growing ethnic antagonism in Turkey and that is the ultimate fear: that it’s feeding a growing polarization that can reach a point of no return.”

Turkey’s war with the PKK has left 40,000 people dead, mostly Kurds. The movement, classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union as well as Turkey, demands self- government for the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey’s 74 million people.

The conflict has taken as much as $10 billion a year out of Turkey’s budget, as well as scaring off business, said Huseyin Yayman, a researcher at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research in Ankara. “For foreign investors and people planning to invest in the region, violence constitutes a problem,” he said.

Erdogan’s economic growth record is under threat: the lira has slid more than 8 percent since the start of July, the most among global currencies. A second-quarter trade deficit of almost $30 billion was the biggest ever.

The Peace and Democracy Party, linked to the PKK, won 36 seats in Turkey’s 550-member legislature on June 12, then boycotted parliament after five of its lawmakers failed to win release from prison to attend. Another, Hatip Dicle, was stripped of his seat, which was then allocated to a runner-up from Erdogan’s governing party.

The party called a July 14 congress in Diyarbakir, the biggest Kurdish city, and declared autonomy. The same day, 13 soldiers were killed in a firefight with the PKK in the countryside outside Diyarbakir.

Turkey Fears Kurdish Spring Revolution | Indy News Israel

By Mahmoud Abu Ghosh

As Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Arab leaders to heed popular demands for change, popular resistance is spreading among ethnic Kurds in Turkish-occupied northern Kurdistan.

Fighting between Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has escalated this year, leaving at least 107 people dead. Meanwhile, the main legal Kurdish party in the area has declared autonomy for the region after making record gains in Turkish elections earlier in the year.

Erdogan, who has promised an end to the three-decade war, has toughened his line in recent weeks, accusing Kurdish politicians of “dancing to their own tune” and announcing plans to increase military operations in Kurdish population centers. A flare-up in the conflict could undermine Erdogan’s effort to position Turkey as a stable, democratic role model for Arab neighbors gripped by unrest.

“Turkey cannot itself be a model at the moment when the process of nation-building is far from complete,” said Fadi Hakura, an analyst at the globalist Chatham House research institute in London. “There’s growing ethnic antagonism in Turkey and that is the ultimate fear: that it’s feeding a growing polarization that can reach a point of no return.”

The PKK’s struggle to resist Turkish occupation, launched in 1984, has left over 40,000 people dead, mostly Kurds. The movement, classified as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union as well as Turkey, demands political independence for the Kurds, who comprise roughly 20 percent of Turkey’s 74 million people.

The conflict has also taken as much as $10 billion a year out of Turkey’s budget, as well as scaring away business, said Huseyin Yayman, a researcher at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research in Ankara. “For foreign investors and people planning to invest in the region, violence constitutes a problem,” he said.

Erdogan’s economic growth record is under threat as the lira has slid more than 8 percent since the start of July, the most among global currencies. A second-quarter trade deficit of almost $30 billion was the biggest ever.

The Peace and Democracy Party, linked to the PKK, won 36 seats in Turkey’s 550-member legislature on June 12, then boycotted parliament after five of its lawmakers failed to win release from prison to attend.

Another Kurdish parliamentarian, Hatip Dicle, was stripped of his seat, which was then allocated to a runner-up from Erdogan’s governing AK Party.

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