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KILLING OF KURDISH ACTIVISTS COMES AS PEACE TALKS RAMP UP
http://www.a1plus.am/en/politics/2013/01/11/kurds
06:08 PM | TODAY | POLITICS
The execution-style killings of three female Kurdish activists in
Paris early Thursday comes just days after Turkish media reported
significant progress in talks between a jailed rebel leader and senior
Turkish intelligence officials, the Voice of America reports.
News reports identified one of the women as Sakine Cansiz, a founding
member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged an
armed campaign for self-rule against the Turkish state since 1984. The
conflict has claimed 40,000 lives.
Another victim in Paris was Fidan Dogan, a representative in France of
the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Committee, a lobbying group. The
third woman was Leyla Soylemez, a young Kurdish activist.
Turkish officials said the murders could be aimed at derailing new
peace talks seeking to end the decades-old conflict with PKK rebels.
Early last week, officials close to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan announced that senior intelligence officials had been
meeting with imprisoned PKK chief Abdullah Öcalan at his island jail
near Istanbul.
In the last few days, Turkish media began reporting on the emergence
of a four-stage plan to halt the conflict. One part of the possible
deal could involve releasing thousands of people accused of PKK links
held in prison. Neither side has confirmed the reports.
A previous round of negotiations with the PKK in Oslo was highly
secretive and appeared to have faltered.
In recent months, Turkey's conflict with the rebel group has
escalated. Since large-scale hostilities resumed in summer 2011,
more than 800 people have died, the highest casualty rate since the
late 1990s, according to reports.
The Turkish army has staged more than 1,000 raids in the past eight
months against the PKK, branded by the United States and the European
Union as a terrorist organization.
When Turkey captured PKK leader Öcalan in 1999 and cut most of the
group's links to states offering support or safe-haven, the PKK
countered by founding sister organizations, such as the PYD in Syria
and PJAK in Iran, beginning in 2002.
Despite denials, the splinter groups are all PKK-run, said Ihsan Bal,
an Ankara-based security specialist.
"[In] the case of PJAK, Iranian Kurds are involved, and, obviously,
with the PYD in Syria, the Syrian Kurds are involved, but the main
instigator and [effective] leadership is the PKK," he said.
European and American officials say the groups are loosely funded
through the PKK's network of voluntary contributions from sympathizers
in Turkey and the European Kurdish diaspora, as well as extortion,
drug trafficking and kidnapping.
The PKK reportedly raises up to $25 million annually from the diaspora,
but its main funding comes from within Turkey itself. The money is
used for everything from armed operations to TV stations and European
lobbying efforts.
http://www.a1plus.am/en/politics/2013/01/11/kurds
06:08 PM | TODAY | POLITICS
The execution-style killings of three female Kurdish activists in
Paris early Thursday comes just days after Turkish media reported
significant progress in talks between a jailed rebel leader and senior
Turkish intelligence officials, the Voice of America reports.
News reports identified one of the women as Sakine Cansiz, a founding
member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged an
armed campaign for self-rule against the Turkish state since 1984. The
conflict has claimed 40,000 lives.
Another victim in Paris was Fidan Dogan, a representative in France of
the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Committee, a lobbying group. The
third woman was Leyla Soylemez, a young Kurdish activist.
Turkish officials said the murders could be aimed at derailing new
peace talks seeking to end the decades-old conflict with PKK rebels.
Early last week, officials close to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan announced that senior intelligence officials had been
meeting with imprisoned PKK chief Abdullah Öcalan at his island jail
near Istanbul.
In the last few days, Turkish media began reporting on the emergence
of a four-stage plan to halt the conflict. One part of the possible
deal could involve releasing thousands of people accused of PKK links
held in prison. Neither side has confirmed the reports.
A previous round of negotiations with the PKK in Oslo was highly
secretive and appeared to have faltered.
In recent months, Turkey's conflict with the rebel group has
escalated. Since large-scale hostilities resumed in summer 2011,
more than 800 people have died, the highest casualty rate since the
late 1990s, according to reports.
The Turkish army has staged more than 1,000 raids in the past eight
months against the PKK, branded by the United States and the European
Union as a terrorist organization.
When Turkey captured PKK leader Öcalan in 1999 and cut most of the
group's links to states offering support or safe-haven, the PKK
countered by founding sister organizations, such as the PYD in Syria
and PJAK in Iran, beginning in 2002.
Despite denials, the splinter groups are all PKK-run, said Ihsan Bal,
an Ankara-based security specialist.
"[In] the case of PJAK, Iranian Kurds are involved, and, obviously,
with the PYD in Syria, the Syrian Kurds are involved, but the main
instigator and [effective] leadership is the PKK," he said.
European and American officials say the groups are loosely funded
through the PKK's network of voluntary contributions from sympathizers
in Turkey and the European Kurdish diaspora, as well as extortion,
drug trafficking and kidnapping.
The PKK reportedly raises up to $25 million annually from the diaspora,
but its main funding comes from within Turkey itself. The money is
used for everything from armed operations to TV stations and European
lobbying efforts.