What Turkey's peace activists are learning from Colombia
Colombia's success in at least forging a peace agreement with guerrillas, even if it didn't survive a vote, is inspiring both hope and concern among Kurdish peace activists.
Some friends from Turkey and I recently watched representatives of the Colombian government sign a peace deal with that country’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). My friends, young women who are peace activists, joyfully joined me on Skype to watch the signing. Joyfully, that is, until one of the women broke out in tears.
"I am happy for the people of Colombia, yet saddened for the stolen opportunity of peace for our peoples," said Berfin, a Kurdish woman from southeast Turkey. "Flags should no longer be used to wrap coffins, but rather be raised up in the sky."
On Sept. 26, the signatories used pens made from bullet casings to endorse the deal, designed to end a 52-year-old conflict. But voters narrowly rejected the pact Oct. 2. Fewer than 38% of voters turned out. Yet the disappointing results did not rob Turkish peace advocates of their enthusiasm. Several opinion pieces were penned while hundreds of comments on social media discussed the details of the FARC deal.
Ertugrul Kurkcu, a seasoned parliamentarian from Izmir province who is a founding member, former co-chair and current honorary chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), answered Al-Monitor’s questions about why the FARC peace deal generated so much enthusiasm in Turkey.
