At its core, the Kurdish conflict is about identity. The US should insist to Turkey that it cannot be resolved by military force
Stephen Kinzer
guardian.co.uk, Friday October 24 2008
".....I recently spent 10 days travelling through the southeastern provinces that are the ancestral homeland of Turkey's Kurds. Hardly an hour passed without someone giving me the same refrain. A mayor, a barber, a law student, a businesswoman, a historian - each told me that this conflict will end when Turkey gives Kurds the right to their language and their culture......
Part of what makes this conflict so tragic is that every rational analyst knows how it will end. The solution will have three simple parts: the PKK will give up its weapons and pledge to pursue its goals by political means only; a general amnesty will be given to fighters on both sides; and Kurds will be granted cultural rights and a measure of political self-determination. What no one knows is whether the state will accept this solution next year, in 10 years, or in half a century.
Public pressure on Turkey to make this deal sooner rather than later would provoke angry nationalist reaction. The US, however, could use its extensive contacts in the Turkish military to nudge its commanders away from the self-destructive policy they have followed for the last two decades. American leaders should insist that the Kurdish conflict cannot be resolved by military force, because at its core, it is a conflict over identity.
Today, however, any general in the world would probably break out in laughter upon hearing an American leader say that compromise and patient negotiation is a better way to resolve conflicts than military force. For the last six years, the US has been acting on precisely the opposite principle. Americans cannot credibly urge restraint on others while pursuing their bomb-and-occupy policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. This leaves the Kurdish challenge where it should be left: to the Turks themselves........"
Stephen Kinzer
guardian.co.uk, Friday October 24 2008
".....I recently spent 10 days travelling through the southeastern provinces that are the ancestral homeland of Turkey's Kurds. Hardly an hour passed without someone giving me the same refrain. A mayor, a barber, a law student, a businesswoman, a historian - each told me that this conflict will end when Turkey gives Kurds the right to their language and their culture......
Part of what makes this conflict so tragic is that every rational analyst knows how it will end. The solution will have three simple parts: the PKK will give up its weapons and pledge to pursue its goals by political means only; a general amnesty will be given to fighters on both sides; and Kurds will be granted cultural rights and a measure of political self-determination. What no one knows is whether the state will accept this solution next year, in 10 years, or in half a century.
Public pressure on Turkey to make this deal sooner rather than later would provoke angry nationalist reaction. The US, however, could use its extensive contacts in the Turkish military to nudge its commanders away from the self-destructive policy they have followed for the last two decades. American leaders should insist that the Kurdish conflict cannot be resolved by military force, because at its core, it is a conflict over identity.
Today, however, any general in the world would probably break out in laughter upon hearing an American leader say that compromise and patient negotiation is a better way to resolve conflicts than military force. For the last six years, the US has been acting on precisely the opposite principle. Americans cannot credibly urge restraint on others while pursuing their bomb-and-occupy policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. This leaves the Kurdish challenge where it should be left: to the Turks themselves........"
No comments:
Post a Comment