ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Amid deadly clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey said that a democratic solution is needed to end the decades-long conflict.
The parliamentary group of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in a statement on Sunday expressed their grief over the “heavy loss of lives” in the past few days and called for a “democratic and peaceful” solution that gets at the root of the problem - the “century-long unresolved Kurdish issue.”
It was a violent weekend that began with the PKK killing 12 Turkish soldiers in the Kurdistan Region in a 24-hour span. Turkey on Saturday carried out retaliatory airstrikes on 29 locations in Iraq and northeast Syria, targeting “caves, shelters, oil facilities, and warehouses” where it said PKK fighters were present. It claimed to “neutralize” 30 PKK fighters, but the Kurdish force said Ankara was inflating their casualties.
DEM’s parliamentary group said they are “to take the necessary steps for the democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue within the democratic political arena.”
The pro-Kurdish party called on both ruling and opposition parties in Ankara to refrain from the language of “condemnation, cursing, or insults,” and asked them to admit that the Kurdish issue was everyone’s problem.
“We once again propose to conduct any discussion regarding the constitutional and legal regulations that could be made for the democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue with great determination,” it said.
The death of the 12 Turkish soldiers sparked outrage among the Turkish public and politicians alike. Four parties in the parliament, from both the ruling and opposition camps, signed a joint declaration condemning PKK attacks on Turkish troops.
The largest Turkish opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), published a statement in which it condemned the PKK’s attacks and called for a parliamentary session behind closed doors, and to summon Defense Minister Yasar Guler to the parliament.
CHP also asked the government to declare national mourning.
Umit Ozdag, leader of the far-right ultranationalist Victory Party, took the angry reactions up a notch and called for non-engagement with DEM, claiming that the pro-Kurdish party is an “extension of a terror group” and it aims to divide Turkey into “Turkish and Kurdish regions,” which would facilitate the creation of a united Kurdistan state.
“Treating this politico-terrorist formation as a political party, engaging in all kinds of political relations, greetings and shaking hands weakens the fight against terrorism in the field,” Ozdag said on X, in response to a video of DEM party co-Chair Tuncer Bakirhan.
The main battlefield in the conflict has moved out of Turkey’s borders and into the northern Kurdistan Region where both the PKK and Turkish forces have recently increased their attacks on the other. Turkey also frequently targets Kurdish forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) that it says are offshoots of the PKK. Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire.
The violence is not expected to dim soon as the Turkish parliament in October approved a presidential motion allowing troops to carry out military operations inside Iraq and Syria for another two years.
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