No ongoing talks to resolve Kurdish issue in Turkey: Pro-Kurdish party

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) spokesperson on Thursday said that no fresh talks are taking place between them and Ankara to resolve the Kurdish issue in Turkey, also calling on the Turkish government to seek peace with Kurds instead of carrying out cross-border military offensives. 

“I, as the spokesperson for the DEM Party, announce that there are no talks to resolve the Kurdish question,” Aysegul Dogan, DEM Party spokeswoman, told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on the sidelines of the Kurdish New Year (Newroz) celebrations in Amed (Diyarbakir) on Thursday, adding that there are no ongoing talks between Ankara and the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan regarding the resolution of Kurdish issue either.

Kurds have been oppressed in Turkey for decades, with their mother tongue remaining banned in official settings. Despite several attempts by a number of Turkish cabinets and Kurdish politicians, the resolution of the issue seems to be a long shot. Several Kurdish political parties have been shut down for alleged affiliation with Kurdish rebels and thousands of their members as well as those of currently operating parties remain in jail on the grounds of similar charges. 

In an unprecedented and historic move, the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced a peace process in 2013, paving the way for a new era in  Turkey. This granted Kurds certain rights which were previously seen as a taboo by many Turkish politicians, including elective Kurdish classes in schools and press conferences during which PKK commanders briefed Turkish and international media about latest developments. However, the peace ended in 2015 due to renewed tensions between both sides. 

Ocalan has been jailed on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999. His family and lawyers have not been able to communicate with him for years due to what they describe as an “isolation” policy by Ankara. 

Dogan stressed that as long as Ocalan remains isolated, no peace process is possible. 

Selahattin Demirtas, a jailed Kurdish politician, said earlier this month that the only interlocutors of a potential long-lasting peace process between the PKK and Ankara are Ocalan and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who spearheaded the 2013 ceasefire. 

Demirtas is the former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), DEM Party’s sister party. The HDP was involved in the 2013 peace process as a mediator. Some Turkish officials claim that the HDP is the political wing of the PKK, reason for which there is an ongoing legal case against the party. These accusations forced the HDP to rebrand itself as the DEM Party to avoid potential obstacles in 2023 general elections and the March 31 local polls.  

In light of Turkey’s intensification of its cross-border operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region and Ankara’s recent threat of a fresh offensive against its fighters in the Region in summer, it appears that the Turkish government is not currently seeking a ceasefire with the group. 

The Turkish defense ministry said on Thursday that Iraq is open to establishing a joint operations center with Ankara to fight the PKK, a week after a high-level security meeting with Iraqi officials. Baghdad officially banned the Kurdish group following the meeting. 

Many people who attended the Newroz celebration in Amed renewed their calls for the resolution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

“I urge [Ankara] to heed to the calls from these [Kurdish] people and see it as an opportunity to resolve the Kurdish issue, rather than carrying out cross-border [military] operations and angering both parts [of Greater Kurdistan],” Dogan said, referring to Kurdish areas in southeast Turkey and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.