The PYD’s victory in Kobane has had a tremendous impact on Turkey’s Kurdish political movement. The feeling of Pan-Kurdish solidarity with Rojava – three autonomous cantons in neighboring Syria – has complicated the AKP and Abdullah Ocalan led efforts to strike a peace accord. The situation remains fluid, but schisms inside the AKP and the Kurdish political movement appear to have grown over two inter-related issues: Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s quest for an executive presidency and the PKK’s withdrawal from Turkey. Is the peace process beholden to Erdogan’s Presidential ambitions? How has Kobane changed the nature of Pan-Kurdish politics? Will the HDP’s electoral strategy backfire?
To answer these questions, Aaron spoke with Amberin Zaman, the Turkey correspondent for The Economist and a columnist for Turkey’s Taraf newspaper, about the state of Kurdish politics in Turkey today.
Links:
- Turkey and its Kurds: Dreams of self-rule | The Economist
- Kurdish victory in Kobani defeat for Turkish policy – Al-Monitor
- Cizre de bizim, Kobane de bizim! – Taraf Gazetesi
- Divided Kurds fight the Islamic State | European Council on Foreign Relations
- BBC News – Kurds demand unity amid battle against Islamic State
- How Turkey misread the Kurds – Al Jazeera English
Related Turkey Wonk Podcasts:
Turkey Wonk: Nuclear and Political Musings in Turkey and Beyond 