Amid an apparent change in Türkiye’s political scene to put an end to decadeslong PKK terrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan renewed his government’s support for what he called a “historic window of opportunity.”
Addressing lawmakers of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara, Erdoğan ruled out any direct negotiations with PKK ringleaders but backed a call from his nationalist ally’s appeal to Kurds, stressing Kurdish-Turkish unity would be what drives PKK terrorism to extinction.
Last week, Devlet Bahçeli, who heads the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), made an unprecedented proposal that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan could be granted parole on the condition that he renounce violence and dissolve the PKK.
Öcalan has been in solitary confinement on a prison island near Istanbul since his capture in Kenya in 1999.
Soon after Bahçeli’s appeal, Türkiye was shaken by a terror attack on the headquarters of the defense firm Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) that killed five and injured 22.
The PKK claimed responsibility.
Several days later, Bahçeli spoke of the brotherhood of Turks and Kurds and said: “Turks and Kurds must love each other; this is both a religious and a political obligation for both sides.”
In the MHP leader’s remarks, the Turkish people see “the window of historic opportunity that has opened before us, and are excited,” Erdoğan said.
“My dear Kurdish brothers, we expect you to firmly grasp (Bahçeli’s) sincerely outstretched hand,” Erdoğan said, urging them to join in efforts to build the “Century of Türkiye.”
“If God gives us the opportunity, we intend to remove (terrorism) entirely from the national agenda,” he said, expressing hope it would be the “crowning achievement” of his political career.
But his appeal was not directed toward the “terror barons” in Iraq and Syria, he stressed.
The PKK, which has waged its bloody terror campaign since 1984, exploited the Kurdish community to create a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Türkiye.
Turkish officials are opposed to the conflation of the Kurdish community and the PKK, arguing the definition implies Kurds are a problem for Türkiye and abets the PKK’s terrorist agenda.
Tens of thousands of people have already died in the campaign of terrorism. The last attempt at peace failed in 2015 when the PKK resumed attacks during negotiations.
After the Turkish military continued to push back PKK terrorists over and away from its borders, the campaign of violence has shifted from Türkiye to northern Iraq and Syria since 2019.
The PKK and its U.S.-backed Syrian wing, YPG, have hideouts near the Turkish border there, and they often launch attacks on Türkiye and its security forces.
In retaliation for last Wednesday’s attack, the Turkish army has struck PKK targets in Iraq and Syria, eliminating a “significant number” of terrorists.
“The only language terrorists will understand is an uncompromised fight against terrorism, as is proven by the attack on TAI,” Erdoğan said.
He also urged the Kurds to “get the apparatus of Zionist Israel and Türkiye’s enemies out of the way” in a reference to Israel’s alleged “patronage” of the PKK.
Ankara has been a staunch supporter of Palestine and a harsh critic of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, which it and others say amounts to genocide.
According to Turkish media citing intelligence reports, Israel, which has sent representatives to PKK camps in northern Syria, is working to encourage and support the PKK and has helped the group determine a new strategy of attacks against Türkiye.
Erdoğan dismissed the “insistent attempts” of PKK ringleaders in Qandil to “talk to us” as “nothing but an effort to prove themselves to their patrons.”
Reaffirming his message of solidarity, Erdoğan said the Republic of Türkiye “belongs to the Kurds as much as it does to Turks.”
