A Crossroads Reveals Turkey's Fears of Denying Kurdish Identity Consequences

A Crossroads Reveals Turkey's Fears of Denying Kurdish Identity Consequences
Escalating Turkish fears of partition possibilities have led to reconsidering traditional policies toward the Kurdish issue after their failure to end the conflict
October 31, 2024, 8:27 pm

البرلمان التركي

The first peace attempts in ten years have emerged to end a four-decade conflict between Turkey and Kurdish militants, amid accelerating regional changes that raise Ankara's fears about the consequences of its historical policies in denying Kurdish identity.

Turkish fears of increasing Kurdish influence in Syria and Iraq reveal a deep crisis facing Ankara due to decades of national assimilation policies, which included banning the Kurdish language, denying Kurdish nationality, and committing massacres against Kurdish civilians.

Politicians and analysts told Reuters that the peace initiative proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ally reflects a belated recognition of the failure of repressive policies in resolving the Kurdish issue, especially with the growth of Kurdish national awareness in the region.

While the recent PKK attack in Ankara confirms the difficulty of resuming peace talks, experts believe Turkey now fears that continuing denial and repression policies could threaten its territorial unity, especially with increasing international support for Kurdish rights.

A peaceful solution represents an opportunity for Turkey to correct historical mistakes, as it would ease the burden on its security forces and boost the economy of the Kurdish-majority southeast, while paving the way for addressing the historical injustice suffered by the Kurds.

Kurds hope any settlement will include official recognition of their identity and cultural and linguistic rights, in a radical shift from the forced "Turkification" policies practiced by the Turkish state since its establishment.

Analysts link Turkish officials' silence regarding peace plans to the difficulty of abandoning decades of hardline nationalist ideology, despite their awareness of the risks of continued conflict amid regional changes.

Vahap Coşkun, a lecturer at Dicle University, confirms that regional dynamics are forcing Turkey to reconsider its policies, especially with the increasing cost of denying the Kurdish issue amid regional instability.

The proposal by Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli regarding bringing Abdullah Öcalan to parliament surprised observers, given its contradiction with the traditional hardline Turkish right's position in refusing any recognition of Kurdish identity.

Despite ruling coalition deputies' reservations about the initiative, observers see its mere proposal reflecting a shift in Turkish awareness of the need to address the roots of the Kurdish problem, rather than continuing denial and repression policies that have proven their failure.

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