Erdogan claims peace with Kurds is near

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 18 made remarks during the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the southern province of Mersin, addressing regional dynamics and domestic policies.  The president believes  former PKK leader Ocalan will soon  urge PKK and its Syrian affiliate PYD-YPG to lay down arms and disband.  If the two Kurdish entities refuse to disappear,  Erdogan threatens to use force to annihilate PYD-YPG.  Whether he can deliver on the latter threat depends on what the Trump administration thinks about Syria.

 

Here are the latest developments which Turkish press dubs “peace with Kurds”, though Erdogan and ally Bahceli refuse to acknowledge the current talks between Ocalan, pro-Kurdish DEM Party and government sources will  eventually address the long-standing demands of minority Kurds for equality and an end to institutionalized discrimination.

 

Speaking on the Imrali process (Ocalan is imprisoned on the island), Erdoğan said, “A new era is unfolding. The future of this region will be determined by the ancient peoples of the lands. The 100-year-old game to divide Turks and Kurds is being disrupted. The West’s divide-and-rule strategy in this region is over.”

 

Erdoğan also stated that the process, initiated by ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, was “nearing its final stage.”

 

He continued, “We believe it is time to dream new dreams and take new steps. We seek stability, security, peace, and prosperity in the region.”

 

Erdoğan added, “Turkey would be the winner if the terrorist organization listened to its leader’s calls and its political extensions fulfilled their responsibilities (of laying down arms).”

 

“Otherwise, we know how to resolve this issue through military operations. We will address the matter in its own course. Our preference is for this issue to be permanently consigned to history. The scourge of separatist terrorism will be eradicated”.

 

Marco Rubio:  US will stand by its Syrian Kurdish ally

 

While Erdogan threatens to use military force to convince Syrian Kurds to disarm, experts believe that he will not order the army into Syria, unless Trump agrees, or the new White House  uses its contacts with PYD-YPG to persuade it to obey Turkey’s demands.

Senator Marco Rubio, the nominee for US secretary of state in the Donald Trump administration, has said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should not be allowed to see the change of administration in the US as a “window” for taking advantage of or violating agreements with the Syrian Kurds.

 

Rubio’s remarks came during his Senate Foreign Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday when he answered a question as to whether he agrees the US should continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

 

He said the US should “absolutely” continue to support the SDF and must also recognize that abandoning the US partners, the Kurds, in Syria, who have made a “great sacrifice” and hosted ISIL militants in jails “at great personal threat to them” could have implications such as the resurgence of ISIL.

 

Rubio said there is currently a very “tenuous” ceasefire between Turkey-backed groups and Kurdish forces in northern Syria and that it is important to maintain the ceasefire and signal to Erdoğan early that “they should not view a transition in power in the US as a window in which they can take advantage of to sort of violate whatever agreements are in place.”

 

Turkey views the SDF and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as terrorist groups and offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a bloody war in the country’s southeast since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

 

Turkey stepped up its rhetoric against Syria’s Kurds following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by an alliance of rebel groups on December 8 following an 11-day offensive.

 

Last month Turkey hit back at claims by the United States that it had agreed to a ceasefire with Kurdish militant groups in northern Syria and vowed to continue working to clear them from the territory amid growing fears about a military operation.

 

Press sources

 

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE:  PA Turkey intends to inform Turkey watchers with diverse views and opinions.  Articles in our website may not necessarily represent the view of our editorial board or count as endorsement.

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Published By: Atilla Yeşilada

GlobalSource Partners’ Turkey Country Analyst Atilla Yesilada is the country’s leading political analyst and commentator. He is known throughout the finance and political science world for his thorough and outspoken coverage of Turkey’s political and financial developments. In addition to his extensive writing schedule, he is often called upon to provide his political expertise on major radio and television channels. Based in Istanbul, Atilla is co-founder of the information platform Istanbul Analytics and is one of GlobalSource’s local partners in Turkey. In addition to his consulting work and speaking engagements throughout the US, Europe and the Middle East, he writes regular columns for Turkey’s leading financial websites VATAN and www.paraanaliz.com and has contributed to the financial daily Referans and the liberal daily Radikal.