As blood flows in the Turkey-PKK war, Erdogan has his ally Perincek appeal to the PKK to disarm, telling them to drop the US-Israel weapons from their hands and stop the killing with the Turks, implementing pre-election an “old tried and tested recipe”
War between the Turkish Armed Forces (TDF) and the PKK continues unabated in Northern Iraq and on the border with Turkey’s Kurdish SE provinces, with the Turks paying a heavy blood toll, despite claims of success in military operations conduct against them.
According to the latest information from the media, “Two Turkish soldiers were killed in an operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the Kurdistan Region.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement that the two soldiers succumbed to their injuries when an explosive device planted by PKK insurgents detonated.
The above news essentially debunks Turkish claims that its Armed Forces, which are equipped with IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) detection systems, easily deal with them, destroying them without the latter causing casualties to their personnel.
In fact, if we combine the above with the fact that the Turkish operations against the PKK do not involve conscripts, but permanent personnel, especially of the Special Forces, the above losses of the Turks are a significant indication of their capabilities.
The fact that the TED are constantly bleeding in Northern Iraq from the continuous attacks of the PKK, is also admitted by the Turkish media.
“In the campaign of terror against Turkey for more than 35 years, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU, is responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK,” points out in a recent Turkish media article, admitting the military impasse the TED have been led to and their inability after so many years to eliminate the PKK.
It is pointed out here once again that the Turks are attempting to equate the YPG Syrian Kurds with the PKK, calling them an offshoot of the PKK, thus labeling them a terrorist organization, something that the US-EU do not agree on.
It is noted that since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of anti-terrorist operations on its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a Kurdish corridor, named Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Spring of Peace (2019). ).
However, beyond the conquest of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian province of Afrin and part of the Idlib province, the Turks did not achieve their goals, with the result that the area east of the Euphrates River in its overwhelming territory is controlled by the YPG Kurds
On the contrary, trying to reverse the negative climate in the same article, the Turkish media states:
Turkish forces “neutralized” two YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, as the Ministry of National Defense announced on Sunday.
The terrorists were targeted in the Operation Peace Spring zone, the ministry said in a statement.
Turkish authorities use the term ‘neutralized’ to imply that the terrorists in question have surrendered, been killed or captured.”
However, in addition to the above, the fact that, according to a media article, “Erdogan’s ally calls on the PKK to disarm, saying that Turkey is ready to embrace it” is sensational.
“The leader of the neo-nationalist party, an ally of Turkish President Erdogan, Dogu Perincek,
staunch supporter of the leader of the ruling People’s Alliance, the Patriotic Party (VP) on November 5 called on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disarm.
“We call Qandil, throw the weapons of the USA and Israel from your hands. Turkey is ready to embrace you. Don’t shoot your brother. Let’s not shoot each other with American weapons, let’s embrace, let’s unite,” Perinçek said during his party’s provincial congress in the southeastern province of Mardin.
Qandil is a mountain range on the N.Iraq-Iran border near the Turkish border where the PKK headquarters is located
Known for its pro-China views, the politician’s party has no seats in the Turkish parliament but acts as a major coalition partner with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Earlier, the jailed former co-chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas said he wanted the PKK to completely disarm and give up its armed struggle against the Turkish state.
From the above we understand that while blood is flowing in the Turkey-PKK war, Erdogan has his ally appeal to the PKK to disarm by telling them to drop the US-Israeli weapons from their hands and stop the killing with Turks.
What is the purpose of this move, why is it being done now and what does it show for the future of relations with Israel after Netanyahu prevails?
Experience has taught us that the Turks always, even now during the pre-election period, appeal to the PKK for an end to hostilities and peace, aiming at the above:
1. Not to face human losses as a consequence, either of military operations in N. Iraq-SE Turkey, or due to sabotage by the PKK inside the country.
The reason is that this would disrupt the polarized political climate even more, while there would also be a loss of moderate Kurdish votes in favor of the Turkish political parties.
2. Erdogan is trying to get votes from the Kurds who live in the vast majority of SE Turkey, showing even now a compromising profile. He does this in addition because he knows that the Kurdish HDP party has formed with the opposition and polls around 11%, thus making it a regulator of political developments.
Finally, the call of Doğu Perincek, Erdogan’s ally, to the PKK to drop the US-Israel weapons it has and embrace Turkey, echoes the fact that the Turkish President sees the two above countries as his enemies.
This, especially with Israel, is a clear indication of how Turkey’s relations with it will move in the future, while the mutual antipathy between Netanyahu and Erdogan is well known.
In particular, the latter reflects the further tightening of Greek-Israeli relations, since Netanyahu is a well-known friend of our country.
