Unlike the previous attempts, the ceremony occurred after a long series of negotiations behind the doors so that no parties would be humiliated (remembering the Habur gate incident). This, of course, does not stop nationalists fuming. They may be right on some points, but peace is still better than not. Full text: PKK statement during … Read more
Öcalan released a 7-minute video. This is historic and provides food for thought for commentators on TV and YouTube. But I feel like people have already moved on to the other issues. There was much talk about the brand of the T-shirt Öcalan was wearing, rather than political debates on social media – of course, … Read more
The mood is calm, not much excitement, but this is historic in any case. The PKK’s decision to disband after four decades of conflict represents a potential turning point in Turkish-Kurdish relations and regional stability. While the announcement has been met with cautious optimism from various stakeholders, there is widespread acknowledgment that this is just … Read more
It is funny that I could not find a suitable image for this post. An image that includes Öcalan or PKK imagery may be risky if the negotiations turn sour; the AI produced some fictional images where the Turkish and PKK flags were of equal size, which may trigger nationalist reactions. I decided to publish … Read more