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Turkey-PKK peace process unravels in Lice

After the violence in Lice, are Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on a path to resumed violence?
Fireworks thrown by Kurdish protestors burst in front of a riot police vehicle during a clashes with riot police on June 8, 2014 at Okmeydani district in Istanbul. The demonstration followed the death of a man during clashes with Turkish soldiers the night before in Lice, southeastern Turkey. Two Kurdish protesters have died of gunshot wounds sustained during fierce clashes with Turkish soldiers in the country's southeast on June 7. Three people, including two soldiers, were hospitalised after the demonstra

The prevailing mistrust between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey and the Kurdish insurgent Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its followers led to bloody incidents in Lice, a district of the Kurdish political and moral action of the province of Diyarbakir, starting on June 1. Lice is well-known for its pro-PKK sympathies — to the extent that the founding congress of the PKK was held at a village of Lice in 1978. Lice's militancy made it a frequent target of oppressive measures by the security forces, especially during the turbulent 1990s.

For the past two weeks there have been demonstrations by Lice residents goaded by the PKK against fortress-like security outposts under construction around the town. AKP circles conveniently labeled the protests as a “provocation” by those aiming to disrupt the peace process. The escalating tension at Lice that led to bloody clashes and for the first time to deaths by fire from security forces after a year and half of respite was not surprising, but its timing was noteworthy. The incidents erupted a few days after imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan sent positive signals about the future of the peace process and only a day after three AKP ministers took part in a resolution process workshop in Diyarbakir, where Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay on June 6 announced that more important steps were on the way, including announcement of a road map.

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