Hurriyet published an article by Mehmet Ali Birand devoted to the hunger strikes issue. The article was entitled 'Hunger strikes can’t be seen as a simple show.'
"I am trying to figure out Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stance regarding the hunger strikes but I cannot understand it," Birand writes. "He surely must know the delicacy of the situation. He must be aware how much of a negative mood this action creates for at least some of our Kurdish-origin citizens. His own minister announced that 683 people were participating in the hunger strike. The prime minister, though, said there was only one person on a death fast. He separates hunger strikes and death fasts; he is able to say that hunger strikes are each just a simple show. As the prime minister says, there can be a biological difference between them but even so, such a difference should not be validated in humanitarian terms."
"Meanwhile, days are passing. With each passing day these people are getting closer to death. The passing of the 52nd day is especially a sign that the point of no return has been reached," the article reads. "From a humanitarian point of view, this approach is not acceptable," Birand says.
"When dead bodies start coming out of prisons tomorrow, we will all suffer as a society. Remember the strikes we experienced in the past. Think of those who lost their lives in those strikes, think of those who were sick after they had been saved. Remember that incidents will escalate. Calculate new deaths every day and new clashes, and make a decision after that," the article reads.
"If there is actually a desire to stop these hunger strikes, if there is a desire to prevent these deaths, we should know that we cannot go anywhere with this stance. As a society, all of us should see the seriousness of the situation," the author believes.
Hurriyet also published an article by Nihat Ali Ozcan headlined 'How does the PKK act like a state in Syria?' "The most important development during the “truce” was the targeting of Kurds in Aleppo, first by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and then by certain elements of the Free Syrian Army. The armed militia of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) front organization in Syria, responded to this attack in kind. Both sides suffered casualties and took civilian hostages. It won’t be a surprise if accusations and attacks by both sides continue in the days ahead," the article reads.
"The PYD – which, according to some sources, is now a 10,000-strong force – has established “People’s Defense Forces” in towns populated by a Kurdish majority. In this process, the PKK mobilized its full manpower, training and ideological, technical and organizational capacity in order to strengthen the PYD," the article reads.
"The PYD accused Turkey and some small Syrian Kurdish parties regarding the attacks. Understandably, Turkey’s struggle with the PKK is expanding into new geographical, political and ideological frontiers. In this picture, the phenomenon of “armed movements” seems to be the most interesting issue."
"Non-state actors are now capable of acting like states. This is how a sub-state actor like the PKK can sponsor the PYD in Syria. The PKK is helping the PYD get organized and armed. It is not only transferring experience but also assigning political objectives to the PYD. The PKK is saying that it is ready to “reinforce” whenever the PYD is in trouble. This is almost witnessing history in the making," the author writes.
