I remember when I first started to travel to Turkey I was told one of two things -- that there was no Kurdish problem because the Kurds were well integrated and happy with their lot or, alternatively, they deserved all they got because they were either part of or supporting the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Clearly -- at that time -- for the most part Turkey was a nation in denial of the realities on the ground and Turkey has paid a high price for the continuing conflict with the PKK: more than 40,000 people have died; it has cost the state billions of dollars; blotted Turkey’s international image; and stymied Turkey’s efforts to become a fully fledged democracy.Indeed only a short time ago being caught near a Kurdish flag was almost a hanging offence. It would have been unimaginable to picture a scene where a Turkish foreign minister would stand smiling surrounded by Iraqi Kurdish flags together with the president of the Kurdish Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, delivering a message of friendship (translated into Kurdish) and describe being in Arbil -- the Iraqi Kurdish capital -- like home. But this is exactly what Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu did when he visited Arbil at the end of last month. It was a truly historic moment and another example of Davutoğlu’s “zero problems with neighbours” policy which is bringing Turkey so much praise.
Recognition that there was a serious problem has been a long time coming but the first steps were taken by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when he made his now famous speech in Diyarbakır in 2005 when he admitted there was a Kurdish issue and promised change. Although thereafter his approach has been quite hit and miss -- thanks not least to meddling from the military and undermining from other political circles -- there is no doubt that these days -- firstly following changes asked by the European Union as part of Turkey’s membership process, which opened the way to more cultural rights and linguistic freedoms for the Kurds, and more recently with the government’s new and very ambitious “Kurdish initiative,” which if successful will be beneficial for the entire region -- Turkey no longer wants to be seen as a hardcore military power that will try to bomb its way out of difficulties. Ankara’s decades-long experience of fighting the PKK has proved this method to be ineffective. This is something that even the military now recognizes, with Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ making history by becoming the first ever Turkish general to accept that guns alone cannot resolve this problem. Hearts and minds must be won over too. Not having the military undermining the initiative every step of the way is already a big achievement.
Davutoğlu’s visit to northern Iraq was the clearest signal yet that Erdoğan is determined to press ahead -- even staking his political reputation on this initiative -- and in order to do this constructive and strong cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds is essential given that up to 5,000 PKK fighters are thought to be stationed in the mountains separating Turkey and Iraq. Indeed, the the situation now is quite paradoxical. On the one hand, traditionally, the main fear of Turkey -- particularly the military -- was the possible creation of a Kurdish state in Iraq, which is why many people held that maintaining instability was actually favoured by Ankara. However, since the first Gulf War there has been a de facto Kurdish region which Turkey has contributed to with investments, construction, the trade of Turkish products and immigrant workers. Therefore, it is in Turkey’s interest to maintain good relations with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan given the economic interests that have developed there. And it is also obvious that for Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish investors, closer trade relations and a shared use of water resources requires that the area is safe and at peace, which is another strong incentive for Erdoğan to push ahead.
Nevertheless, many in Turkey’s opposition continue accuse the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of betraying the country, caving in to the terrorists or pointing the finger -- just for a change -- at the international community and in particular the United States whom they claim is pressuring Turkey. But at the same time advocates of peace are increasing day by day with more than 45 percent of Turks now supporting the government’s initiative. Erdoğan needs to remain resolute in his decision and keep moving forward. It will not be easy, but for a man who has already survived several coup attempts, been jailed and has virtually been in a permanent head-to-head with the opposition since he first came to power, he certainly has the experience to do it. He is a fighter and a survivor and has every chance to win this battle too.
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