How effective is PKK's new 'carrot and stick policy'?

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-- It has been a week of contradictions for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. While stepping up its attacks on army and police compounds across Turkey's Kurdish southeast with notable frequency, the guerrilla movement has also called on the government to resume the forgotten peace process in the country which was severely compromised last year when deadly clashes broke out between the PKK and the army.

 

The group has claimed responsibility for several bombings of police and military bases in the Kurdish areas-- the latest attack in Dersim on Monday-- while also publicly inviting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to reenter talks with the PKK and its jailed leader Abdulla Ocalan.

 

The pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP)—considered an ally of the PKK in the Turkish parliament—also urged the government to "embrace" PKK's recent initiative for dialogue and end the yearlong suspension of peace talks.  

 

HDP lawmaker Altan Tan said last week the party would soon hold a press conference in the parliament to address the PKK initiative.

 

PKK's political council known as the KCK sent out a message last week and expressed willingness to resume talks with the AKP on the condition that the government takes "the first step."

 

Security analyst Nihad Ali Özcan, who has followed PKK's actions over the past decade, expects more attacks to take place before the parties gather around the negotiating table.

 

Özcan says a whole new political atmosphere has emerged in post-coup Turkey which the PKK wants to drag maximum benefit from.

"The attacks are most likely to increase. The army is being rebuilt along with the security forces after the July 15 failed coup. The PKK wants to take the opportunity and influence the government through its attacks," Özcan told Rudaw.

 

"The least it can expect is the resumption of the peace talks," he says.

 

Seen in this light, recent fiery remarks by PKK's leading hawk Cemil Bayik is hardly a coincidence as he threatened to bring the war into the urban areas again.

 

"Because of the continuation of Turkish government's destruction of the [Kurdish] cities, we will change our warfare and it will no longer stay in the mountains alone," Bayik was quoted by PKK mouthpiece Firat news agency.

 

Bayik's comments, who is also a leading member of the KCK, were quickly criticized by the HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas who told the media "such remarks are unacceptable" as he also took the opportunity and called on the government to renegotiate with Ocalan.

 

For now however, both hawks and doves of the PKK appear to be part of the same policy-- more attacks, better terms; something Ankara has been acutely aware of and tried to counter with its own politics-- more attacks on Kurdish cities.