Who are the Kurds and what is behind their struggle for Kurdistan?

[FearlessRoar]

Let’s talk about a key issue in geopolitics that has persisted for decades but doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: the Kurds and their fight for a homeland, Kurdistan.

The Kurds are often described as the largest ethnic group in the world without a state of their own. They number over 30 million people, spread mainly across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, with smaller populations in other countries. Despite their shared language and cultural heritage, they’ve faced centuries of marginalization and oppression, especially from the governments of the nations where they live.

The idea of an independent Kurdistan is at the heart of the Kurdish movement. But here’s the tricky part: while the Kurds dream of a unified homeland, the political realities are messy. Each of the countries they live in has its own concerns about losing territory, and the international community has often hesitated to get involved, fearing instability in an already volatile region.

The Kurdish struggle has taken many forms, from armed resistance to peaceful political movements. Groups like the PKK (in Turkey) and the Peshmerga (in Iraq) have gained international recognition, but they’ve also been labeled differently—freedom fighters by some, terrorists by others. And then there’s the role of outside powers, like the U.S. and Russia, who sometimes support the Kurds when it suits their interests but often leave them stranded when priorities shift.

What’s your take on this? Should the Kurds have a state of their own, or is the idea of a unified Kurdistan too complicated to become a reality? And how do we view their movement—through the lens of self-determination or regional disruption?

 

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Six arrested in UK over links to Kurdish rebel group​

Six people have been arrested by counter-terrorism police in London for suspected activity linked to the banned militant group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The Metropolitan Police said two women, aged 59 and 31, and four men, aged 27, 62, 56 and 23, were arrested at separate addresses in the early hours of Wednesday.

They have all been detained under the Terrorism Act and are in custody at a London police station.

There is not believed to be any imminent threat to the public linked to the matters under investigation, the force said.

The PKK is banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the US and UK, and has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for the country's significant Kurdish minority.

Officers are carrying out searches at eight addresses across the capital, including the Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey, as part of the investigation.

The search is expected to last up to a fortnight, with the centre and surrounding area closed to the public in the meantime.
Extra officers will carry out patrols over the coming days, the Met said.

Acting Commander Helen Flanagan, from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said the arrests over the "very serious allegations" followed a "significant" investigation.

"This investigation and activity is about protecting all of our communities, but particularly those in our Turkish and Kurdish communities," she added.

"I would urge anyone who thinks they may have been affected or targeted by those linked to the PKK to get in touch."

PKK: Six arrested by counter-terror police over links to group

Six people are in custody at a London police station over suspected activity linked to the PKK.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Kurdish group PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey

Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK has declared a ceasefire with Turkey after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve itself.

In a statement on Saturday, the PKK said it hoped Turkey would release Ocalan, who has been imprisoned in solitary confinement since 1999, so he can lead a process of disarmament.

It follows his call this week aimed at ending four decades of armed struggle in south-eastern Turkey in which tens of thousands of people have been killed.

His announcement came months after Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey's ultra-nationalist MHP party and an ally of the Turkish government, launched an initiative to bring an end to the conflict.

Ocalan - affectionately referred to as Apo by Kurdish nationalists - met MPs from a pro-Kurdish party this week on Imrali, an island in the Sea of Marmara, south-west of Istanbul, where he is imprisoned.

"In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo's call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today," the PKK executive committee said in a statement on Saturday, quoted by the pro-PKK ANF news agency.

"None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked," it added.

The PKK - which stands for the Kurdistan Workers' Party - said Ocalan's prison conditions must be eased, adding he "must be able to live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants, including his friends".

The group has waged an insurgency since 1984, with the aim of carving out a homeland for Kurds, who account for about 20% of Turkey's 85 million people. It is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK and US.

Calling for disarmament, Ocalan had appealed to members of the PKK in a letter read out by Dem party members Ahmet Turk and Pervin Buldan in both Kurdish and Turkish.

He said "all groups must lay their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself", adding that his movement was formed primarily because "the channels of democratic politics were closed".

However, Bahceli, backed by positive signals from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other political parties, had created the right environment for the PKK to lay down its arms, Ocalan added.

Kurdish leaders largely welcomed the development. Local reports said thousands of people gathered to watch the statement on big screens in the cities of Diyarbakir and Van in the predominantly Kurdish south-east.

However, significant questions remain among both the Kurdish and Turkish public over what the next steps might be - and not everyone was convinced things would change.

Last week, senior PKK commander Duran Kalkan said Turkey's ruling party, the AKP, was not looking for a solution but to "take over, destroy and annihilate".

Turkish-backed forces in north-eastern Syria have intensified their campaign against Kurdish forces and last month called on Syria's new leaders to eliminate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Pro-Kurdish politicians have been targeted by a wave of arrests and jail sentences in recent years.

Some 40,000 people have died since the PKK's insurgency began.

There was a spike in violence in south-eastern Turkey from 2015 to 2017 when a two-and-a-half year ceasefire broke down.

More recently, in October the PKK claimed an attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters near Ankara which left five people dead.

BBC

 

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Kurdish PKK militants declare ceasefire in 40-year conflict with Turkey​

Kurdish militants have declared a ceasefire in their 40-year conflict with Turkey.

It comes two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

The statement from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was published on Saturday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet which is close to the group.

Referring to its leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in prison for almost three decades, the group said: "We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo's call for peace and democratic society.

"None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked."

Ocalan had previously called for the PKK to lay down its arms. The 75-year-old continues to have significant influence over the PKK, despite having been imprisoned in 1999 after he was convicted of treason.

The conflict, which began in 1984, has seen the PKK wage an insurgency in the hope of carving out a homeland for the Kurds in an area straddling the borders of southeastern Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq, and part of Iran.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict. In October last year, five people died in a terror attack on a defence company headquarters, which the Turkish government blamed on the PKK.

The group is proscribed as a terror organisation by Western nations, including the US and UK, as well as the European Union.

The ceasefire is the first sign of an end to the conflict since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.

This latest peace bid was initiated in October by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli and could see Ocalan granted parole - if the PKK renounce violence and disbands.

In its statement, the PKK said Ocalan's statement indicated that a "new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East".

Kurdistan refers to the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran inhabited by Kurds.

The group also called for Ocalan to be released from Imrali prison, in the Marmara Sea, to "personally direct and execute" a party congress.

Kurdish PKK militants declare ceasefire in 40-year conflict with Turkey

The conflict, which began in 1984, has led to tens of thousands of deaths. The ceasefire is the first sign of an end to the conflict since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.

news.sky.com