Turkish forces have stepped up their attacks on Kurdish fighters despite the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) continued implementation of its decision to undergo a period of military inaction following the devastating February earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria, said PKK executive Duran Kalkan in an exclusive interview with Medya Haber TV on Tuesday.
Kalkan said that Turkey has maintained continuous attacks since the catastrophe, and added, “One-sided ceasefire, one-sided inaction cannot stop the war. Both the war and the ceasefire must be bilateral.”
Kalkan recalled that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in the past had repeatedly declared unilateral ceasefires and had received a similar response from Turkey.
Kalkan also said that the attacks by Turkish forces were not limited to the areas where Kurdish fighters were deployed in northern Iraq, but that Turkey had also attacked Sulaymaniyah, Sinjar, and North and East Syria, targeting civilians in the process.
“They have declared all Kurds, all those who associate with Kurds, all those who cooperate with Kurds on the basis of freedom, as enemies, and they are attacking on this basis,” Kalkan said.
The PKK executive said that during the military inaction period the guerrillas limited their engagement in clashes solely to self-defence. He added, “But the Turkish state is not stopping, everyone should know that.”
Kalkan argued that domestic and foreign circles should take a stronger stance against the continued aggressives policies of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its far-right ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
On 10 February, Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) executive council co-chair and PKK commander Cemil Bayık announced that the PKK had decided not to take any military action against Turkey during the earthquake crisis. The following day, PKK’s military wing, the Kurdish People’s Defence Centre (HSM), called all its forces to obey the armistice.
On 28 March, co-chair of the KCK executive council co-chair Besê Hozat announced that the Kurdish military forces had decided to extend the no-action period until after Turkey goes to the polls on 14 May.
Turkish authorities, on the other hand, say the country’s cross-border operations into both Iraq and Syria will continue during the run up to the critical elections.
