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Bloomberg
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Turkish President Erdogan Says PKK to Start Disarmament
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK's fight for autonomy has come to an end, and that the ruling AK Party, its Nationalist Movement Party ally and the pro-Kurdish Dem Party will "walk together" from now on. (Source: Bloomberg)
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Kurdish PKK to lay down arms in big step towards ending Turkey conflict
After 40 years of armed struggle against the Turkish state, the outlawed Kurdish PKK will hold a ceremony on Friday to mark a symbolic first step in laying down its disarmament process will start under tight security in Iraqi Kurdistan and is expected to take all president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has hailed the move as "totally ripping off and throwing away the bloody shackles that were put on our country's legs".Some 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, and the PKK is listed as a terror group in Turkey, the US, EU and UK. Its disarmament will be felt not just in Turkey but in Iraq, Syria and Iran. How and where will the PKK disarm? A small group of PKK members will symbolically lay down their weapons in a ceremony near Suleymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, before going back to their security reasons, the exact location is not being revealed, although it's thought members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Dem party will be there, even if other major Turkish political parties will will then continue over the coming months at points set up with the involvement of the Turkish, Iraqi and Kurdistan regional governments, BBC Turkish has been a video, the PKK's long-imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, said it was "a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law". He has been in solitary confinement on the small prison island of Imrali, south-west of Istanbul, since he was captured in 1999. Who are the Kurds? Who are the PKK and why has the conflict lasted so long? This is not the first attempt at peace involving Turkey and the PKK, but this is the best hope so far that the armed struggle that began in 1984 will come to an a Marxist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party took up arms calling for an independent state inside Turkey. In the 1990s, they called instead for greater autonomy for Kurds, who make up about 20% of the announced a ceasefire in 2013, and urged PKK forces to withdraw from Turkey. The 2015 Dolmabahce Agreement was supposed to bring democratic and language rights for Kurds, but the fragile truce collapsed amid devastating violence, especially in the Kurdish-dominated cities of the south-east, including air force targeted PKK bases in the mountains of northern Iraq. Several military campaigns have also targeted Kurdish-led forces in government in Ankara ruled out further talks until the PKK laid down its arms. That is now on the verge of happening. Why has the PKK decided to disband? In October 2024, a prominent nationalist leader and key Erdogan ally called Devlet Bahceli began a process described by the government as "terror-free Turkey". He urged the PKK's imprisoned leader to call for the dissolution of the outlawed group. It could pave the way for his possible release from Imrali island, he Turkish government launched talks with Ocalan via the pro-Kurdish Dem party, and then in February came his historic appeal for the PKK to disband, read out by two Dem MPs who had just returned from a visit to the prison island."All groups must lay their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself," read Ocalan's letter. The PKK had been formed primarily because "the channels of democratic politics were closed", he said, but Devlet Bahceli and Erdogan's own positive signals had created the right PKK followed Ocalan's lead and declared a ceasefire and later declared that it had "completed its historical mission": the Kurdish issue could now "be resolved through democratic politics".President Erdogan said it was an "opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror" and met pro-Kurdish politicians in April. Why is Ocalan so important? As founder of the PKK, Ocalan continues to be reviled by many Turks, even after 26 years in solitary yet he still plays an important role in the eyes of Kurds."I think he really has this authority; he is a main symbol for many Kurds, not all," says Joost Jongerden, a specialist on the 41-year conflict at Wageningen University in the days before the PKK were due to begin disarmament, Ocalan appeared on video for the first time since he was put on trial more than 20 years for seven minutes, he addressed the outlawed group: "I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons. And I call on you to put this principle into practice."Ocalan was wearing a branded Lacoste polo shirt, and in an indication of his enduring relevance, the shirt quickly went viral and websites ran out of stock. What happens next? After Friday's ceremony, the scene switches to Turkey's parliament in Ankara where a commission will be set up to make decisions on the next steps for the the summer recess is around the corner, no concrete decisions are expected for several months, when MPs vote on the commission's recommendations and President Erdogan has the final happens to Abdullah Ocalan is not yet clear. The government says his conditions in jail could be reviewed as the process unfolds, but any chance of release will be left to the latter stages. What's in this process for Erdogan? Erdogan's AK Party has begun work on changing the constitution, and there has been speculation that this would mean Erdogan would be able to run for the presidency again when his final term runs out in 2028. The AKP and pro-Kurdish Dem party deny there is any link between the peace process and reshaping the constitution, but if Erdogan secures Dem support he would have a far greater chance of pushing through is behind in the polls, but his main opposition rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, is in jail accused of corruption, which he denies, and more opposition mayors have been arrested as part of a crackdown in the past week.
New York Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Dems' embrace of far-left radicals: Letters to the Editor — July 4, 2025
The Issue: Socialist Zohran Mamdani winning the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. With their proclivity to never learn from past disasters, the radical Democrats have again demonstrated the definition of insanity by voting for Zohran Mamdani ('Dem Party died as it lived: with fear & hate,' Sasha Stone, July 2). The term 'Democratic socialist' is perhaps the most glaring oxymoron in political history. and this purportedly educated mob continuously displays their baneful ignorance, obviously having missed the history classes showing that socialism has been a failure. A death knell has been sounded; New York City has one more chance to save itself from perdition in November. James McCaffrey Yonkers Is one Democratic voice brave enough to confront bigotry and urge condemnation rather than offer congratulations? Decency must overwhelm practical politics, and a candidate such as Mamdani must be actively opposed. Haters of any particular religion, race or gender orientation have not yet learned what it is to be American — let alone the mayor of the greatest city. Matthew Brief Manhattan As a self-declared socialist, Mamdani should not have been allowed to run in a Democratic primary. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Mamdani and their ilk don't have the guts or intellectual honesty to sever their connections with the Dems. Democrats welcomed the Trojan Horse, and now the party is a mélange of Hamas lovers, Fidel diehards and gender fantasists. David Rabinovitz Brooklyn How are real New Yorkers actually voting for Zohran Mamdani? He is an angry socialist and nearly a communist who hates the nation that provides him with the right to speak freely and to run for and hold higher office. Try that in your backward socialist countries, Zohran. God help New York City. Richard Melnick Queens Picture a world in which Gotham's Marxist gnomes Zohran Mamdani and his mentor AOC became, respectively, the mayor of New York City and the junior US Senator from New York. That would be a dystopian socialist nightmare. Admittedly, these two Lilliputian demagogues have mastered the social media game. But dare I say that their unstated message that communism is the wave of the future doesn't sit well with normal Americans. James Hyland Queens There is panic in the streets that socialism could be coming to New York City, and then spreading. But the United States is already halfway there, with public housing, public health care, public schooling, food stamps and so much available paid for by someone else. What is coming to New York City is communism. Socialism won't cause the awful shortages, but communism certainly will. Angela Lennox-Kay Hackettstown, NJ New York City voters had better wake up, get out and vote in November. They cannot allow this antisemite, socialist candidate to be elected; he simply has to be stopped. Just think of the probabilities should Mamdani be elected as mayor of New York City. It will be the end of the city we all know and love. Dick Mills Franklin Lakes, NJ At what point do American values supersede politics? Antisemitism, putting Israel in peril, promoting class warfare and substituting communism for capitalism threaten the very survival of New York City. Just how much faith should be given to Zohran Mamdani? Is this a prank or subterfuge? As people say: Only in New York. Joel Glazer Elizabeth, NJ Just when I thought New Yorkers couldn't elect any more anti-American people like AOC and Chuck Schumer, another affront to humanity named Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral primary. If you rearrange the letters in his name, it tells you who he is: 'I, madman.' What he is saying and doing should tell you all you need to know. Gregory Topliff Aiken, SC Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
The National
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Impossible to know when PKK will disarm, senior Kurdish politician says
It is impossible to know when the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) will make good on promises to lay down its weapons, a senior Kurdish politician co-ordinating with the group's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in Turkey said on Tuesday. 'It is time for practical steps to be taken. Mr Ocalan had already called for laying down arms. His interlocutors had said that weapons would be laid down when the requirements were fulfilled. It is impossible for us to know the date,' Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (Dem) Party, told politicians in parliament. He did not outline what the 'requirements' were, although Kurdish politicians have been calling for an end to curbs on their political activity in Turkey, and Mr Bakirhan called for Ocalan's prison conditions to be improved. Ocalan, whose group is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the US, in February called on PKK members to lay down their arms and for the group to dissolve itself. The process of actually doing so, and the fate of the group's fighters, who have waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state, is far more complex, and will probably have ramifications across the Middle East. Ocalan's call came after a months-long process initiated by an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ultranationalist politician Devlet Bahceli, for greater freedoms for Ocalan in exchange for the PKK's dissolution. Officials from the Dem Party will meet Turkey's Justice Minister in the coming days to attempt to outline a legal framework for what could be a major shift in the country's long-standing conflict with the PKK. Ocalan was captured in 1999 and is serving a life sentence in an island prison in the Sea of Marmara, south of Istanbul. 'In this critical period we are going through, two major steps must be taken: The first is to establish a solid legal basis and the second is to put forward a strong political will to realise this basis,' Mr Bakirhan said. 'That is why we will meet with the Minister of Justice in the coming days. "We will continue our contacts not only with the Minister of Justice but also with all political parties represented in the Parliament. As the Dem Party, we are ready for any responsibility for peace and a democratic solution.' There was no immediate comment from Turkey's Justice Ministry. The Dem party wants fairer sentencing and the release of political prisoners and prisoners who are sick as part of legal steps to continue momentum in the dialogue between Kurdish politicians and the Turkish government, Mr Bakirhan suggested. The Turkish government has not laid out any such steps. 'Weapons must be laid down, but there must also be a disarmament of the minds,' Mr Bakirhan said. 'We call for the establishment of a republic where everyone feels they belong. We are ready to fulfil the requirements of this. We are for peace, we are ready to take this country to a democratic ground.' Kurdish politicians have framed the dialogue with the Turkish government and the PKK's dissolution as an opportunity for greater democratic freedoms for the country's Kurdish citizens, who make up just under a fifth of the country's population of 85 million. The Turkish government has framed the process as offering a 'terror-free Turkey' and ridding the country of the attacks carried out by the PKK and affiliates over the past four decades. 'We have managed the process with great patience, determination and sensitivity until today,' Mr Erdogan said last week in his latest remarks on the process. 'We will maintain the same will until we get results.' The Turkish President met with a Dem delegation earlier this month for the first time in years, indicating the potential for dialogue in future relations between Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party and politicians from pro-Kurdish parties, who have often been accused of collaborating with the PKK. A delegation of Kurdish politicians has visited Ocalan a number of times in recent months, most recently on Monday. He passed on wishes for a quick recovery to Dem politician Sirri Sureyya Onder, who has been vital in enabling he and the Turkish government to liaise. Mr Onder suffered a heart attack last week and is in intensive care.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CNN Data Chief Hits Democrats With A 'Horrible, Horrible, Horrible' Reality Check
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten on Monday examined a bunch of polls that he believes continue to spell serious trouble for Democrats. One poll found only 29% favorability for the party, another had 27%. Both showed record-low approval numbers for the opposition party. 'Holy Toledo,' Enten continued of a 68% disapproval rating for Democrats in Congress. And the 49% approval by Democrats of their lawmakers in Congress is 'horrible, horrible, horrible,' he added. 'Oh my goodness gracious, you just can't get worse than these numbers,' said Enten. Watch the full analysis here: To quote Charles Barkley, the Dem Party's brand is "terrible, terrible".Dems in Congress approval? A record low 21% overall & more Dems disapprove (49%) than approve (40%).Dem voters want Dems in Congress to fight Trump (65%) & 77% say they're not fighting him enough. Yikes. — (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 17, 2025 Stephen Miller Throws On-Air Tantrum After MSNBC Analyst Dares To Question Trump Trump Claims In Middle-Of-The-Night Meltdown That Biden's Pardons Are 'VOID' French Lawmaker Trashes Trump's America With Call For Icon's Return, Amid Cheers
