The European Council on Foreign Relations

Kurds in Turkey: not another false dawn, please

Date: 15th June 2012  |  Author: Dimitar Bechev,

Categories: Middle East and North Africa, Wider Europe,

It is beyond doubt that finding a lasting solution to the Kurdish problem is the principal challenge to Turkey’s democratic consolidation. It bears on relations with neighbours too – from Iraq, the home of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), to embattled Syria where Adelbasset Seyda, a Kurdish activist, recently became the head of the Syrian National Council. Whether it accommodates demand of its Kurdish population for cultural and political rights matters to Ankara if it wishes to serve as a source of inspiration for the Middle East’s quest for more open and inclusive government. Or as Seyda put it shortly after his election: “If Turkey wants to engage in a constructive and lasting reform and dialogue process with the Arab world, it must be through the Kurds both across its border and within.” 

Unfortunately, news coming from Turkey are not encouraging. While Prime Minister

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