Skip to main content

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process On a Knife’s Edge

The killing of a Kurdish protester by Turkish security forces has heightened fears that the fragile peace between the government and the PKK may be coming to an end.
Protesters shout slogans during an anti-government protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 29, 2013. Thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday chanting slogans against the government and police after security forces killed a Kurdish demonstrator in southeastern Turkey. The protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations that have swept through the country since the end of May, but became a voice of solidarity with the Kurds after Friday's k

Is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bold Kurdish opening aimed at ending nearly three decades of internal conflict coming to a close? The question has been weighing ever more heavily since June 28 when soldiers opened fire on a group of Kurdish demonstrators in the township of Lice in southeastern province of Diyarbakir. At least one person died and several others were wounded after the soldiers allegedly shot at the crowd as they began to flee.

The incident has sparked widespread fury among the Kurds and a flurry of condemnations from their leaders. “The state has shown that it won’t be honoring its promises (to the Kurds,)” charged Sirri Sureyya Onder, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), a sister organization of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said in a statement. “The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, with its increasing attacks, is espousing a stand that creates doubt and distrust.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.