While they have allowed the US to use Incirlik air base for bombing IS in Iraq, Turkey’s primary target is clearly PKK and not IS; even though Turkey claims it has joined with the US in its fight against IS.
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Many Kurds also are venting frustration against the United States, accusing Washington of turning a blind eye to Turkish attacks on the Kurds in exchange for logistical support on IS. One such campaign was for the Kurdish-language broadcaster Roj TV, which, although based in Denmark, was forced from the air after the Turkish government agreed to support former Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s appointment as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary-general.
First, the Syrian Kurdish political movement, the Democratic Union Party, though ideologically related to the PKK, is considered a separate organization and not designated as a terrorist group under U.S. law. Both countries agree that a buffer zone in northern Syria against the Islamic State should be created, but it is less clear which Syrian rebel groups will be involved in driving Islamic State elements from the area. The IS is against the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad and has been fighting the Kurdish forces, not only in Syria but also in Iraq.
And if Turkey keeps going after PKK while not trying to provoke ISIS, “it will leave the US without a Syria strategy”, Bremmer said.
Kurdish fighters have shown time after time that they are the most effective force combating the advance of the reactionary Islamic State.
The HDP called in a statement on Sunday for an end to military operations and restoration of the truce, saying that reviving peacemaking hinged on bolstering Ocalan’s ability to negotiate. Turkey wants to crush the Kurdish resurgence and secure regime change in Syria, in no particular priority, though it sees the IS as a distinctly lesser worry.
Violence has swept eastern Turkey since last month when the outlawed PKK ramped up attacks on security forces and Ankara launched reciprocal airstrikes against the militants in Turkey and northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it “would be regrettable that Turkey’s national peace process should go to the wall because of regional conflicts in the Middle East”.
On 21 July, the southern Turkish city of Suruc witnessed a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of scores and wounded many more.
Ankara says its objective is to fight terrorism overseas and at home – by attacking PKK and IS. The brother of one of the 18 detainees denies accusations that his sibling, 21-year-old Yunus Kaya, is a leftist militant.
Erdogan – whose relations with his Western allies have been bedevilled by human rights concerns – insisted Ankara would press its attacks to the full and said he considered peace talks with the PKK dead in the water.
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“The police must withdraw immediately and tension must be lowered”, Sariyildiz said.
