The Third Front in Turkey's 'Kurdish Problem'

The most critical consequence of the Syrian uprising for Turkey is the “regionalization of the Turkey’s Kurdish problem.”  Last July after the Damascus regime abandoned most parts of the Kurdish region, Syrian Kurds took over the control of Kurdish-populated towns and villages and launched an experiment in autonomy that is ongoing. 

There is a powerful reason why this development means regionalization of Turkey’s own Kurdish problem:  The Democratic Union Party [PYD] that is steering developments in Syria’s Kurdish region has the largest popular base, is the best organized and has the strongest military arm, and it is the Syrian branch of Kurdish Workers Party [PKK] that has been waging armed struggle against Turkey’s central authority for the past 28 years.

If the rulers of Turkey for the past 30 years had been able to come up with a workable and comprehensive solution approach to Turkey’s Kurdish problem and if they had made some progress in this direction, today they wouldn’t be fearing a threat from autonomy aspirations of the Syrian Kurds. What is more, such a development could have even served Turkey’s interests.

But Turkish rulers did not succeed in moving towards a solution of the country’s Kurdish problem and as a result now they perceive threats endangering Turkey’s security from developments in Syria’s Kurdish region.

The reaction of  Ankara leaders to this perception was to initiate a third front in Turkey’s Kurdish problem

The first front is Turkey.  The second front is the Kurdistan Regional Government’s territory in Iraq where the leaders of PKK’S armed wing and thousands of its militants are based.

Turkey has not directly intervened militarily with the third front in Syria.  But it is evident that to enfeeble the Kurdish autonomy Turkey is carrying out a multi-pronged campaign using proxy elements. When we say “proxy elements” inevitably emerging on the radar screen is the Al Nusra Front that is the strongest international jihadist movement that is also linked to Al Qaeda.

It is now possible to read in the Western press reports that Turkey is supporting Al Nusra Front. In 12 December edition of the International Herald Tribune an article headlined “Al Qaeda in Syria,” said;

“Mr. Obama has blacklisted the Nusra Front as a terrorist organization. It makes sense to isolate the group, but the designation by itself isn’t sufficient. U.S. officials have to make a case directly to the countries or actors that are believed to be most responsible for the weapons and other assistance to the Nusra Front: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan.”

Representatives of the mainstream Kurdish movement in Turkey go further and accuse Turkey of conducting a proxy war against the PYD by using jihadists led by Al Nusra.  The co-chair of Turkey’s legal Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] Gultan Kisanak recently met with a group of Turkish columnists following her visit to Kurdish populated towns along the Syrian border. She said:

“The situation is Syria is spreading to Turkey. Local people in Ceylanpinar can see with naked eyes that some military groups are armed and transferred to Syria. Most of them are from Al Nusra. They are brought in buses. There is pressure on some Arab villages nearby to accommodate these groups in their homes. If Turkey insists on doing this, it could lead to problems between Arabs and Kurds. There is no clash in Ras el Ain between Kurds and Arabs. Assad forces have completely abandoned the town. Unless Turkey instigates a conflict, there is no reason for further clashes there.”

What Kisanak said illustrates that tension prevails in the region following  PYD-Al Nusra clashes  that peaked in November.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu acknowledges that his government has adopted a tough position against the PYD but insists that has nothing to do with their Kurdish identity. Following lines are from Davutoglu’s statement that was printed in daily Milliyet on 15 December: “The real problem here is the PYD’s cooperation with the Baath regime and continuation of its terror [PKK] links. Otherwise we don’t perceive a threat from the Kurdish issue.”

We have to remember that the PKK is identified as a terror organization by the USA and EU in addition to Turkey. An economic offensive is in the making against Ankara’s third front, the PYD.

We see that Ankara is achieving some results in economically crippling the areas under the PYD’s domination by exerting pressure via the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government.

Border crossings to Syrian Kurdish region from Turkey are already closed. It is reported that the KRG has also closed the Iraq-Syrian border under Ankara’s pressure. As a result there is now serious food, fuel and basic supplies shortages in Kurdish regions of Syria. Here we have note that pressures from Ankara coincide with military threats from Baghdad against KRG capital, Erbil. KRG now needs Turkey more than ever against Baghdad and can’t afford to resist Ankara’s demands about the PYD.

According to Iraqi Kurdish website Rudaw, a PYD delegation under their leader Salih Muslim last week met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and asked him to open all  Iraqi borders with Syria to enable delivery of humanitarian assistance to Syrian Kurds.

The meeting that took place when relations of Ankara and KRG with Baghdad are at their lowest also signals a search for new balances and alliances in Turkey’s regionalized Kurdish problem.

But Kisanak is optimistic about the relations between the Kurds of the region. She says: “Turkey has serious pressure on Barzani. But Barzani will never ever fire on the PKK and the PKK won’t fire on him. There will be no clashes between the Kurds in Syria. Kurds can be rivals but not enemies of each other.”

Kisanak concludes by calling on Turkey to make a “historical and strategic alliance” with all the Kurds of the region.