Author: SPIEGEL, translation by European office of VK
A breakthrough in the Kurdish conflict seemed closer than ever before. However, everything changed on Thursday. On January 11 in Paris three Kurdish activists were killed with pistols with silencers. It is unknown who is behind the triple murder – these could be both radical activists of the PKK or Turkish right-wing extremists. But the prospects for the negotiations on the Kurdish issue between Turkey and the PKK are quite alarming.
Sarukhan Oluch, a Turkish journalist who has for many years been engaged in a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey, looks deeply disappointed. "There is always the same thing. Immediately after a positive step a new blow is made." Oluch watches in horror the news from Paris: like all other commentators in the Turkish media, he believes that the killing of the Kurdish activists in the French capital is aimed at striking a blow against a resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK. The French police are still investigating this case; however, the circumstances of the murder indicate that it was committed by professional killers. French Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, commenting on the massacre, called it "a very real punishment."
The murder of the three Kurdish activists is also nothing more than a "customary execution" for the Kurdish community of France. Anyway, that's what the Kurdish demonstrators gathered for a rally because of the murder at the Gard du Nord in Paris say. In addition to the bitterness with regard to the death of their fellow members, they feel frustrated about the French Government, which, despite their hopes, has not changed its course on the Kurdish issue and did not exclude the PKK from the list of terrorist organizations.
Who could be interested in the murder of Kurdish activists, and what message does it carry? According to Oluch, all options are possible. “Both opponents of the peace process in the ranks of the PKK and Turkish extremists, for whom a political solution to the Kurdish question is not acceptable and who are associated with the Turkish security services, could organize this murder," he said. In any case, this triple murder may instil uncertainty in those who now lead the peace process. For instance, the left-liberal journalist of the Turkish newspaper "Radikal", Avni Ozgurel, believes that the real target of the offence is the PKK chief, Abdullah Ocalan. One of the three murdered activists in Paris was Sakineh Jansiz, a close ally of Ocalan. She was with him when the PKK was established in the 70s, and over the years she was in prison in Diyarbakir after which she was an important emissary of the organization in Europe.
When Ocalan was forced to leave Syria in late 90's because of massive pressure from Turkey and tried to find refuge in Europe, Jansiz remained at his side until the arrest of Ocalan in Kenya in 1999. Those who killed Jansiz may be sending a signal to Ocalan and his associates: further negotiations with the Turkish government could be life-threatening.
If the Turkish media and expert community are inclined to believe that the search for the perpetrators should be conducted among the most radical elements of the PKK unwilling to achieve peace, the majority of Kurds are convinced of the opposite: that the killer is a Turkish extremist.
However, the parties of the conflict agree on one thing: the murders show how complex the process of negotiations is. The renewed talks between the Turkish government and the PKK were more promising than ever before. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a TV interview on December 28 made it clear that his government after a long break had begun to negotiate with Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in a prison on the island of Marmara. Following this, one of the closest advisers of Erdogan said that Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan spent two days - December 23 and 24 - in Imrali to conduct detailed discussions with Ocalan.
As a first step in the new year, two Kurdish politicians were permitted to visit Ocalan in prison. For the first time since the arrest of the PKK chief he was permitted to meet with the deputy of the legal Kurdish "Peace and Democracy Party" Ayla Akat and his colleague Ahmet Türk. The mere fact of this meeting is evidence of the fact that a man long considered to be a terrorist leader by the Turkish media is actively involved in a peace settlement of many years of bloody conflict.
The Turkish newspaper "Radikal" argues that there is an agreement between the government and the PKK. According to the newspaper, the PKK should declare a ceasefire, withdraw all its troops into northern Iraq, and lay down its arms for the foreseeable future. As a retaliatory step, the Turkish government will free some Kurdish prisoners and de facto proclaim an amnesty for the PKK militants on whose conscience there are no murders, following legislative changes. In addition, in the process of drafting a new constitution the concept of citizenship must be defined so that Kurds and other ethnic minorities of the country can become full citizens of the country. Finally, the Kurdish language should be legalized in schools and for management staff, “Radikal” says.
Although Erdogan stressed that the options of house arrest or complete amnesty for Ocalan were not considered, the reaction to his speech was quite remarkable. For example, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said unexpectedly that in his youth Ocalan was a faithful Muslim. Other commentators are surprised that Ocalan for 30 years has not lost a single gram of his authority under the vicissitudes of Middle Eastern politics. "This man is a cult for the Kurds," head of Turkish intelligence Fidan speaks about Ocalan with visible recognition. When the opposition leader Kemal Kilidzhdaroglu promised his support to the talks with the PKK, it seemed that the parties were sensationally fast approaching agreement – up until Thursday morning, when there was the triple murder in Paris. "I think the process will still continue, because the renewed negotiations are the last chance for Erdogan and Ocalan to stop the bloodshed," Oluch says. Sceptics of the peace process see it, however, less rosily.
Scepticism also reigns in France. Bernard Guetta, foreign policy commentator of Radio France Inter, is quite pessimistic. The military separatism of the Kurds, despite their concessions to Ankara, will be revitalized, he predicts. For one simple reason: "Their dream of a single secular state is simply too ambitious,” Guetta says.
