Unexpected and contradictory political developments in Turkey have once again raised the prospect of negotiations between Turkish authorities and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with analysts looking to prior rounds of negotiation like those in place between Turkey and the PKK from 2013 to 2015 for clues as to the government’s intentions.
Medya News has assembled an expert panel of politicians, ex-combatants and peace negotiators from Ireland, South Africa, the Basque Country, Colombia and Kurdistan, to further discuss developments in Kurdistan, their own experiences of challenging and protracted negotiations with state authorities, and the diverse eventual outcomes throughout the various combat zones and contested territories.
Join Medya News via our Twitter (X) account at 7pm GMT (8pm CET) on Monday 11 November to hear from Dáire Hughes MP, Sinn Fein, Ireland; Igor Zulaika MP, EH Bildu International Coordinator, Basque Country; Fazela Mohammed, KHRAG Co-Chair and former ANC combatant, South Africa; Tanja Nijmeijer, FARC-EP Peace Negotiator and former combatant, Colombia; and Nilüfer Koç, foreign policy spokeswoman for the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK).
The discussion comes at a critical time in Kurdish and global politics. On the one hand, jailed Kurdish figurehead and political leader Abdullah Öcalan was recently granted his first prison visit in nearly four years, with the resumption of communication between Mr. Öcalan and the outside world seen as a crucial precursor for any potential peace talks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a key, ultra-nationalist ally have also appeared to signal an interest in a rapprochement with the country’s pro-democratic Kurdish movement.
However, other repressive policies in Turkey have gathered steam in recent weeks, serving as a reminder that the path to putative negotiations remains fraught and steeped in challenges. Turkish authorities have this week removed three democratically-elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office, in a repressive move likely to dampen any hopes of productive dialogue, while Turkish warplanes have continued to bombard infrastructure throughout Kurdish-led North and East Syria.
In other news, re-elected US President Donald Trump intends to withdraw US troops from northern Syria to prevent them becoming “cannon fodder” in potential Turkish-Kurdish conflicts, according to revelations by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Meanwhile, Turkish President Erdoğan said on Friday that he had urged Trump to end American support for the People’s Protection Units (YPG). We’ll also ask our panellists for an assessment of recent geopolitical developments in the USA, Middle East and worldwide, and what impact the change of US administration will have on actors pursuing, peace, democracy and stability in Kurdistan, Palestine and throughout the region.
