Cemil Bayik, a member of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), recently gave an in-depth analysis of the political situation in Turkey and its implications for the Middle East. Discussing the crisis within the Turkish state, its imperial ambitions and the political landscape in Iraqi Kurdistan, Bayik stressed that Turkey’s way out of its current crisis is to achieve peaceful coexistence with the Kurdish people. He stressed that the first step must be to end the isolation of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Bayik stated that Öcalan’s isolation continues and Turkey shows no intention of addressing the Kurdish issue, as evidenced by the recent sanctions against Öcalan that prevent visits. He urged democratic forces to pressure Turkey into a real dialogue and said that Turkey must be forced to “properly address the Kurdish problem”.
Bayik criticised recent statements by Turkish leaders suggesting dialogue with Öcalan if the armed struggle ends, calling them a political façade. He argued that Turkey’s real aim is to “liquidate the freedom movement, complete the genocide of the Kurds and impose its neo-Ottoman hegemony”. He cited Turkey’s failed imperial strategies in regions such as Libya, the Caucasus and Iraq as evidence of the state’s crisis, which he claimed was now being masked by diversionary tactics, including targeting Israel as a “threat” and calling for “Islamic unity”.
He also pointed to Turkey’s strategy of diverting attention from Öcalan’s role in possible peace talks and instead trying to create ‘its own Kurds’ and present a manufactured solution. Bayik argued that Ankara was imposing a solution without dialogue and pressuring the Kurds to ‘surrender’ rather than negotiate.
Commenting on Turkey’s recent imposition of trustees in Kurdish-majority cities, Bayik described it as a continuation of efforts to erase Kurdish identity. He also warned that Turkey’s plan to invade Rojava (northern Syria) would only deepen the crisis. Turkey’s diplomatic meetings with Iraq, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and the UK, Bayik suggested, are aimed at changing the international dynamic in Turkey’s favour and gaining ‘authorisation to intervene in Rojava’.
Bayik criticised the growing alliance between Turkey and Israel, both of whom he sees as pursuing imperialist policies, noting that recent displays of territorial maps at the UN by Erdoğan and Netanyahu reflected competing regional ambitions.
Outlining steps towards a democratic solution, Bayik called for an end to the isolation of Öcalan, an end to anti-Kurdish propaganda and recognition of the historical role of the Kurds in the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. He emphasised that true sisterhood between the peoples of Turkey depends on a fair approach to the Kurdish question.
He concluded that democratisation in Turkey requires collective efforts, especially from democratic and socialist forces, and stressed that solving the Kurdish question is essential to solving wider social, economic and political problems.
Finally, Bayik addressed the recent elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, arguing that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) serves Turkish rather than Kurdish interests. He urged national unity in the face of both “great danger and great opportunity” as the Middle East undergoes significant change.
Cemil Bayik is a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and has been involved in the Kurdish revolutionary struggle led by Abdullah Öcalan since 1973. He’s currently a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organisation proposed by Abdullah Öcalan to lead the construction of Öcalan’s system of Democratic Confederalism.
