Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan declares ceasefire with Turkey

Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan declares ceasefire with Turkey

www.guardian.co.uk

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), is due to use the Kurdish new year's celebrations today to announce a truce, according to Kurdish politicians who recently visited the Turkish prison island of Imrali, where Ocalan has been held for the past 14 years.

"The statement I am preparing will be a historical call," Ocalan said. He also pleaded for the support of the Turkish government: "We want to rapidly solve the arms problem without losing time or another life."

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is huge news, I never thought I'd see the day. The Turkish Government is known for its brutal crackdowns on the Kurdish PKK at times pursuing militants into Iraq and mountainous regions.

Ocalan has asked his fighters to withdraw, this will inevitably leave a power vacuum and they may flee to neighboring Iraq and seek shelter in the autonomous Kurdish region.

Its highly doubtful that the PKK will conduct operations in Syria but it cannot be ruled out completely.

The timing of this cease fire is interesting, time will tell if both sides hold up their end of the bargain. This would be a huge milestone in Turkey's history, I hope it truly comes to fruition but I remain slightly skeptical given both sides past.

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I wonder who's going to take this seriously considering he is currently being held captive by his Turkish enemies.. maybe he's down to his last finger,the PKK are all over Syria btw,fighting against Arab invaders,esp in areas of northern Syria vacated by Syrian government forces.

i didnt realise turkey sits down and negotiates with terrorists!!?

oh.. i guess theyr freedom fighters again!

its all good... unless the kurds are gonna want land from turkey, syria and iran

time will tell

peace

reply to post by thePharaoh


That is if you think holding a gun to his head would be considered negotiating .
The PKK have a huge swath of northern Syria they occupy,and controll,Assad basically gave it to them early on in the war,so he could consentrate his forces on more important areas of his country,a brilliant move imo
Though not a country, Kurd dominated Kurdistan is enormous,and they do occupy large areas of the Middle east,ill post a map when i have time

Originally posted by all2human
reply to post by thePharaoh

 

That is if you think holding a gun to his head would be considered negotiating .

The PKK have a huge swath of northern Syria they occupy,and controll,Assad basically gave it to them early on in t he war,so he could consentrate his forces on more important areas of his country.

i didnt realise that they already occupy syria, though i did wonder what was keeping them quiet during syrias problems.

as for turkey ... i am really confused with their decisions... though a pattern is forming
they are turning into the most two-faced state on earth...i wouldnt trust these decisions to last

Just to let yo know...i posted this tid bit a while back.....www.abovetopsecret.com...
I have been waiting for it to play out but was about to file under forget it till you posted...thanks
At least this is been negotiated with the security service for a while......

reply to post by thePharaoh


Look-up Kurdistan,it's a real eye opener
My guess is Turkey wants to join the EU,but is fast becoming the biggest loser from the Syrian conflict

reply to post by all2human
He must be under pressure from Kurdish political leaders I'd assume. The Turkish government might have offered an olive branch of some form.

On the outside it seems the rebel commanders are willing to give it a shot

Meanwhile, a top Kurdish rebel commander said PKK will abide by Ocalan's ceasefire call, the pro-Kurdish Firat News Agency reported.

"We will implement with determination the process initiated by our chief Apo," Murat Karayilan told the agency after Ocalan called for an end to the 29-year armed Kurdish rebellion in a letter he penned from prison.

"Everyone should know the PKK is as ready for peace as it is for war," he added.

So the PKK are in Syria you say? I was aware that cross border attacks were occurring from Turkish territory but I was under the impression it was being coordinated by the Turkish military and French special forces..

A lot of the "rebels" coming from Turkey were not actually Turks I knew as much. Turkey has no qualms sending terrorists to Syria because they have an agenda. I'd imagine Syria would be a dangerous place for Kurds (and everyone else mind you) and seeing as they only have around 4000 fighters the majority are in northern Iraq and Turkey.. Reckon they're trying to carve a piece of Syria out for themselves?

Originally posted by all2human
reply to post by thePharaoh

 

Look-up Kurdistan,it's a real eye opener

i know too much about kurdistan and the pkk.

lets hope someones not being dragged into another dead end
either the kurds or the turks!

Syria has become the wild west,The armed wing of the Kurds have made huge gains for the kurds,this is a land rich in resources,and important pipelines,with words coming form a captive leader,i would be very surprised to see any lasting peace,the last quote of your article says it all.

reply to post by thePharaoh


Then you should have known the kurds/PKK occupy and operate from areas in Syria,Iran,Turkey,and Iraq
I agree with you,the Turkish govt is playing a dangerous game with both sides,and there losing

Originally posted by all2human
Syria has become the wild west,The armed wing of the Kurds have made huge gains for the kurds,this is a land rich in resources,and important pipelines,with words coming form a captive leader,i would be very surprised to see any lasting peace,the last quote of your article says it all.

Then it should be no suprise the first leader of new Syrian provisional government is a Kurd. I would wager the Syrian rebels, the Kurds and the Turks have all come to some sort of agreement. Win win for everyone but Assad.

reply to post by thePharaoh
Yeah no doubt the PKK are terrorists but I mean at some point somebody needs to break the cycle of violence.

I'm not saying it will be broken but tit for tat killings will just keep the conflict on going.

Then again true fanaticism can't be reasoned or bargained with, especially when they're willing to give their lives to the cause.

Iraq has managed to recognize Kurdish autonomy to a degree and this is where the PKK base their operations.
The ideal solution would be to give the Kurds in Turkey some form of recognition, provided they lay down their weapons.

Considering what's happening in Syria and Iraq a peace solution in Turkey with the PKK would be a breath of fresh air.

reply to post by MrSpad


Unfortunately and i hate to say this but these people have to fight it out,no one has the right to install a government,a country is formed by the will of it's people through blood sweat and tears.That being said,if the Syrian people wanted Assad gone,he would have been history long ago(slightly off topic but i had too :p)

reply to post by all2human

the last quote of your article says it all.

Yeah its probably just rhetoric so they don't appear too weak. They've been at war for three decades anyway so nothing would change if it doesn't happen, but I'm skeptical as well, they've all got blood on their hands either way.

The recent assassinations of Kurdish activists in France was no doubt a Turkish operation. www.abovetopsecret.com...

I guess they were waiting for the PKK to pretty much concede defeat, and voila here we are.

Can always remain hopeful but given the locale, any lasting peace is probably a pipe dream.

I think the Kurdish people deserve a Kurdistan or at least some measure of self determination in the areas they traditionally inhabit.

If this helps further that goal then bully for them

Ocalan is a bit more than just another jailed captain Kurd.....
This has a real chance to work......given the fluidity of the situation, maybe the Kurds will get a measure of autonomy...but i doubt theyll get a Kurdish homeland exactly.......

Originally posted by Mkoll
I think the Kurdish people deserve a Kurdistan or at least some measure of self determination in the areas they traditionally inhabit.

If this helps further that goal then bully for them

edit on 21-3-2013 by Mkoll because: (no reason given)

yea but their land is in other states

best thing was the federalised style government states of iraq and syria idea

fragmenting and trying to build a new middle east is a double workload...

i say work with the states as they are... a democratic federalised goverment with kurdish territory (in the four states) having a free trade zone and bilateral border controls .... then everyone can realise theyr dreams

it would be the richest and culuraly rich place on earth
and more importantly everyone gets the choice about the identity they wish to follow

peace