The
Turkish air raids against the IS terror group are very much welcome. However,
the bombing of Kurdish positions in Northern Iraq, linked to the Kurdistan
Workers' Party, also known by its initials PKK, are provoking a serious disquiet
within European circles.
The EU does not see the PKK as a terrorist
organization. It changed its position in 2008 and its current approach is to
encourage both sides – the Ankara government and PKK – to find a political
agreement to their conflict. This should lead to constitutional changes,
including some degree of acceptance of the Kurdish people´s rights and Kurdistan as an
autonomous entity within Turkey.
There
has been a cease-fire since 2013. But that is now under serious risk of falling apart.
In
the meantime, it has been announced that the NATO Council will meet on Tuesday
at the request of Turkey to discuss IS and also PKK-related matters. It will be
important to listen to Ankara´s views. And it would also be critical that such
views take into account the opinions of Turkey´s allies.
1 comment:
In the mean time it has become clear that the first Turkish concern is PKK, not IS. Also that NATO has given in to all demands of Turkey without any garantee for the Kurds, who are good enough to fight IS with poor means, hindered by Turkey and without any help of anybody. The price of the weak attitude of NATO was the limited use of Turkish airbases by US airplanes. Easy short term solutions, no strategic or moral insight. Is NATO only good to maintain the war language with Russia?
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