Turkey's Kurdish Road MapLosing Direction - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters walk on the way to their new base in northern Iraq May 14, 2013. The first group of Kurdish militants to withdraw from Turkey under a peace process entered northern Iraq on Tuesday, and were greeted by comrades from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in a symbolic step towards ending a three-decades-old insurgency. The 13 men and women, carrying guns and with rucksacks on their backs, arrived in the area of Heror, near Metina mountain on the Turkish-Iraqi border, a Reu

Subscribe for as low as $2/week to access this story and all reporting.

Why AL-MONITOR?

AL-MONITOR is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the highest levels, as well as by media, thought and business leaders and academia.

Read by

Live news & notifications

Follow over 100 expert journalists based across the region and get notified in real time of breaking stories and exclusives. *Expanded coverage on Energy & Defense sectors.

Premier analysis of the Middle East

Access the sharpest and most diverse regional minds giving you all the angles on regional trends.

Live events & video

Priority access to roundtables, summits and other events alongside AL-MONITOR's global community of regional influencers.

Specialized Newsletters

Get timely reporting on key countries and sectors with up to 10 daily and weekly newsletters straight to your inbox.

Big, exclusive interviews

Follow conversations with the region's biggest names in politics and business.

AL-MONITOR archives since 2012

Access a repository of over a decade's worth of regional coverage, insights and trends.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters walk on the way to their new base in northern Iraq May 14, 2013. The first group of Kurdish militants to withdraw from Turkey under a peace process entered northern Iraq on Tuesday, and were greeted by comrades from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in a symbolic step towards ending a three-decades-old insurgency. The 13 men and women, carrying guns and with rucksacks on their backs, arrived in the area of Heror, near Metina mountain on the Turkish-Iraqi border, a Reu

Subscribe for unlimited access

By becoming an AL-MONITOR subscriber, you drive our team’s rigorous and independent journalism spanning the Middle East.

Gultan Kisanak (C), co-leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), makes a speech on the killing of three female Kurdish activist during a demonstration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, January 10, 2013. Three female Kurdish activists including a founding member of the PKK rebel group were shot dead in Paris overnight in execution-style killings condemned by Turkish politicians trying to broker a peace deal. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3

Time running out for Turkey-PKK peace process

Kadri Gürsel

Turkish Kurdish people hold pictures of their relatives who were killed in clashes between Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas and Turkish security forces, during a demonstration in central Istanbul June 8, 2013. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict in southeast Turkey since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms against the state in 1984. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10G9A

Turkey Should Press Ahead With PKK Process

Yavuz Baydar

People wave Kurdish flags during a gathering celebrating Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in Diyarbakir March 21, 2015. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on Saturday for his militant group to hold a congress on ending a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state but stopped short of declaring an immediate halt to its armed struggle. Tens of thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to hear the message from Kurdistan Workers Party (P

Will Erdogan's backtracking torpedo PKK disarmament?

Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics

An Albanian man touches a banner with a picture of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally in support of Erdogan in Tirana June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Arben Celi (ALBANIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10TTO

Erdogan Doesn't Have Luxury of Suspending PKK Negotiations

Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics