Penny Papadopoulou
In October, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and member of Turkey’s ruling coalition, stood at the podium in the Grand National Assembly in Ankara and raised the possibility of granting parole to jailed Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan, if he renounces violence and disbands the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“If the terrorist leader’s isolation is lifted, let him come and speak at the [pro-Kurdish] DEM Party group meeting in Parliament,” Bahçeli told MHP lawmakers. “Let him shout that terrorism is completely over and the organisation disbanded.”
The day after Bahçeli made the surprise suggestion, the PKK leader’s nephew Omer Öcalan, an MP for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), was permitted to visit his uncle in Imrali prison. The visit, Öcalan’s first in-person contact with the outside world in four years, came at a time when the Turkish forces had escalated their aerial and ground attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and civilian infrastructure in North and East Syria (NES), and against the PKK in northern Iraq.
Reason to doubt
These attacks further exacerbated the distrustful and confrontational relationship between Ankara and the Kurds, and cast doubts over the sincerity of the Turkish government to resume peace talks with the PKK. “The prospect of peace brings excitement and hope to the Kurdish people who have suffered violence and persecution for decades,” says Çiya*, a computer science teacher from Diyarbakır (Amed) who is currently living in Athens as a political refugee. “But, it is important to look at who talks about peace and how they talk about peace as there have been several attempts in the past to end the conflict through dialogue. Us, Kurds have to be careful because the Turkish state has been disingenuous before. What if they deceive us again?”
This sceptical view is shared by Haydar*, a trader and political asylum seeker from Cizre who warns that calls for peace ring hollow unless concrete steps are taken to build trust and confidence. “The Turkish government must end the isolation of Abdullah Ocalan because his isolation is an isolation of all the Kurdish people. As a Kurd, I want to be free to express my democratic thoughts and ideas; to have the fundamental right to live and exist without the fear of being deprived of my physical freedom.”
Anti-democratic ‘coup’
Since 2016, several legislators and democratically elected mayors in Kurdish-majority areas have been jailed on terror-related charges and repeatedly been replaced by government-appointed trustees. Now, more than eight years from the 15 July coup attempt, the Turkish government’s restrictions on civil society organisations, lack of judicial independence and persistent human rights violations against journalists, activists and political opponents is under the spotlight again.
Last week saw the removal of more democratically elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office in a move that deeply threatens and significantly damages the chances of a new peace process. It also raises questions about Ankara’s genuine interest in moving towards a rapprochement with the Kurds. “History has taught us that the Turkish state’s politics cannot be trusted,” says Haydar. “In the past, we have been betrayed during and after peace talks. The Kurdish people have been instrumentalised to serve other goals. We have seen such processes leading to a resurgence of massacres, displacements and escalation of political violence.”
Trade interests
The dismissals have fuelled waves of civil unrest, clashes with the police, incidents of violence against civilians and excessive force against protestors. They have also strained relations across the political spectrum in a period of increased volatility in Turkey and beyond. Çiya argues that this is yet another orchestrated attempt to weaken the Kurdish freedom movement under the guise of fighting terrorism. “This [Devlet Bahçeli’s message] was not an attempt out of sympathy and love for the Kurds, or a wish to have a rapprochement and the Kurds to have better lives. It is definitely related to the international balances in the region, i.e. Israel’s attack on Lebanon, and the trade routes. A trade route via Turkey is not safe if there are armed conflicts and if Turkey wants to play a key role in the global trade, then it has to solve the Kurdish issue. Moreover, the Kurds have proven to be an effective and successful force in recent conflicts, and the lack of status of the Kurdish people is ensuring Turkey’s existence.”
Against a backdrop of divisive rhetoric, alternating between dialogue and repression, the Kurds are called to navigate through uncertainty and complexity. However, the new US administration could potentially change the dynamics of the relationships between the Kurds and the Turks, despite the lack of clarity in Trump’s US-Kurdish policy. As Haydar points out, the Kurdish movement had always advocated a transition to a more democratic, pluralistic Turkish state and respect for human dignity and for the rule of law. “The most important thing is that Abdullah Öcalan is released because this would signal a change in the Turkish state’s attitude towards dissident voices. It could also lead to the freedom of all political prisoners in Turkey which would, in turn, lead to a normalisation of the political process and a step towards freedom and peaceful coexistence,” he said.
Cause for hope?
Çiya and Haydar are just two of the thousands of Kurds who have fled to Europe to escape persecution. Despite being forced into exile, they continue to believe that they will see peace between Turks and Kurds in their lifetime. “Our movement is built on hope. So as a Kurd, I am always hopeful. And what gives me hope is Öcalan’s ideas,” says Haydar. Çiya and Haydar made the journey to Greece less than two months ago. As they settle into life in Athens, they find themselves missing the important but also the little things they’ve left behind. “I miss my mother and carelessly walking down a street that I know in my hometown,” says Haydar.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Penny Papadopoulou is a freelance journalist and interview producer specialising in Greece, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. She has a particular interest in foreign affairs and international diplomacy, and previously worked at the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.
