Erdogan’s 'Now Or Never' Moment In Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process

Yavuz Baydar

Syrian Kurds practise reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live autonomously — Syrian Kurds practice reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Oct. 31, 2012. A sticking point in Turkey's peace talks with Turkish Kurds is the Kurds' desire for their students to be taught all subjects in Kurdish. — REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Lack of mutual confidence — the missing link of the Kurdish peace process — still prevails after nine months into the talks, which are vital for Turkey’s future.

Statements in recent days from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Peace Democracy Party (BDP), the political wing of the PKK, all point to potential problems in the future if this critical issue is manipulated for tactical moves.

The peace process, launched on Jan. 1, 2013, was divided into three phases: withdrawal of the PKK from Turkey; constitutional reform; and normalization that entails giving up arms, general amnesty and reintegration into society.

In a private conversation in May, a key government minister raised the following points: "If the withdrawal is completed before the parliament goes on recess, we can take one or two reform steps and thus assure the continuation of the second phase after the summer break."

Erdogan’s 'Now Or Never' Moment In Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process

Pressure is mounting on Turkey’s peace process, with such issues as teaching the Kurdish language in schools proving particularly important.

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