Can Erdogan Keep PKK Peace Process on Track?
The Kurdistan Workers Party attempted to showcase its force in Sirnak’s Cizre province on Sunday, June 23, creating concern that the PKK is violating the negotiation parameters.
That was really some coincidence when there was a cheering crowd from Cizre listening to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s weekly parliamentary group talk on Tuesday [June 25]. “Cizre is here,” one shouted out. “He is now saying Cizre is here,” responded the prime minister right back. “Inshallah we will soon be in Sirnak, because the (construction of) Sirnak airport is completed, and we will be at its opening.”
But right before this exchange, Erdogan drove attention again to the Gezi Park protests, which started on May 27 with about 500 people who wanted to counter the government’s proposal to build a replica there of an Ottoman artillery barracks constructed in 1870 and demolished in 1940. Although Erdogan tried to portray these protesters as being violent, the majority of his party members have remained silent on this issue. It’s no secret in Ankara’s beltway that many ruling party members are disappointed with the way this issue has been handled.
