İsmail Hakkı Pekin, former head of the General Staff Intelligence Department, made controversial remarks suggesting the assassination of Bafel Talabani, president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), during a live programme on the Turkish news channel Habertürk on 21 September. Pekin referred to a recent agreement between the Iraqi central government and Turkey on operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and suggested that similar measures should be taken in Syria.
In his remarks, Pekin said: “The agreement Turkey has reached with Iraq is very important. We need to do the same on this side (Syria). If Bafel Talabani does something, eliminate him. If necessary, assassinate him.” After a warning from the studio, Pekin corrected himself, saying: “You don’t do it, you get someone else to do it.”
This statement has raised serious concerns as to whether it is a direct call to action or a blatant threat, given the suggestion of assassination as a possible method of “eliminating” Talabani.
Pekin’s comments echo earlier remarks he made regarding the killing of three Kurdish female political activists in Paris in January 2013, who were shot execution-style. He said: “Something must be done against the (PKK) elements in Europe. It was done before in Paris,” implying that similar action could be taken again.
When asked about his comments, Pekin told Medya Haber TV: “If the Turkish intelligence did it, they did a good job,” referring to the murders of the three women in Paris.
Pekin has a controversial past; he was involved in the Ergenekon investigation and was arrested on 5 September 2011 in connection with the “Internet Memorandum” case. This case involved allegations of creating and funding websites for propaganda against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Pekin was held in Hasdal and Silivri prisons from 2011 to 2013, but was released in 2013 and acquitted in 2019.
This is not the first time the Talabani family has been publicly threatened. Earlier, Turkish President Erdoğan issued a stern warning to the PUK, threatening harsher measures if the group continued to support entities designated by Turkey as terrorist organisations, specifically the PKK, YPG and PYD.
Erdoğan stated: “We may be forgiving in many things, but when it comes to national security and our survival, our doors of forgiveness are closed in every way. Whatever is necessary, we will do it. If their aim is to antagonise us, we also have measures and responses for that, and we will not hesitate to escalate”. This statement followed discussions with officials from Baghdad and Erbil on the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the PUK.
In defiance of Erdoğan’s threats, PUK leader Bafel Talabani nominated the late SDF commander Shervan Kobani for a posthumous award and emphasised the PUK’s commitment to honouring Kurdish martyrs and resisting Turkish pressure. “We are Kurds and we will always be Kurds,” said Bafel Talabani.
