Latest news with #PeaceProcess
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm
TURKIYE: Deep in the mountains of Turkiye's southeastern Hakkari province, bordering Iran and Iraq, Kurdish livestock owners and farmers have gradually returned with their animals after decades of armed conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish army. 'We've been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago we used to come and go, but then we couldn't come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want,' said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep's neck to keep it from moving during shearing. On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics – part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkiye and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation. It took up arms in 1984. The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Alongside with several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet). A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations. But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. 'In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd,' another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, said, rejecting such claims. 'Now it's calmer,' he added. Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction. 'Life is quite good and it's very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on,' said farmer Mahir Irinc. But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city. 'I don't think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don't want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier,' he lamented. An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village. 'We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I'm preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick,' explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis. 'I told my mother: don't do this anymore, because it's so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There's nothing else,' she said.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Support for Palestinian statehood gathers momentum
In many European countries, official recognition of a Palestinian state is an excruciatingly slow process, more so than it should be. Despite mounting pressure from parliamentarians, civil society organizations and the wider public, many governments remain cautious, including British and the French authorities who have already expressed support for such a move. Their caution, even fear, before taking such a crucial decision is harming their own national interests, violates natural justice, and ignores the fact that the promise of the advancement of a peace based on a two-state solution outstrips, by far, any political risks that come with taking the plunge and recognizing Palestine as a state. Therefore, it was refreshing to hear French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to London this month for an Anglo-French summit, tell British parliamentarians: 'With Gaza in ruins and the West Bank being attacked on a daily basis, the perspective of a Palestinian state has never been put at risk as it is (now), and this is why this solution of the two states and the recognition of the state of Palestine is … the only way to build peace and stability for all in the whole region.' This is a somewhat late realization of something that, had it been done years ago, might have prevented the events of the past two, horrific years. Still, Macron deserves credit for advancing this agenda now and resisting Israeli claims that in the aftermath of Oct. 7, such recognition would be a reward for Hamas and terrorism. Israel is deliberately advancing this spurious theory that recognition of Palestinian statehood is effectively caving in to terrorism, when in fact the aim of such recognition is to break the impasse in resolving the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict peacefully, and actually sideline extremism. If nothing else, recognition would be a step toward redressing the power imbalance between Israel and Palestine, which has become a hindrance to efforts at reaching a peace agreement based on a two-state solution. Macron's remarks in London created some momentum for Palestinian statehood; immediately after his departure, perhaps inspired and encouraged by his statements, 59 MPs from Britain's governing Labour Party signed a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, calling on him to recognize, 'with great urgency,' the State of Palestine. Certainly, many of those who signed the letter have for a long time been outspoken proponents of such recognition. But others were new recruits to the idea, who see it not only as an end in itself but also a response to the shocking news coming out of Gaza every day, and to the constant stream of 'novel ideas' that originate from the Israeli government and inflict even more misery on the Palestinian people. Recognition would be a step toward redressing the power imbalance between Israel and Palestine. Yossi Mekelberg Deplorable suggestions from both Washington and senior Israeli officials have also served as a catalyst for the letter from MPs, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal of a 'voluntary migration' of Palestinians from Gaza, and the announcement by Defense Minister Israel Katz of his plan to forcibly transfer hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians, if not the entire population of the territory, to a camp in the almost completely destroyed city of Rafah. The MPs called for action to prevent Katz's sinister plan becoming reality before it is too late. Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week described it as tantamount to the construction of a 'concentration camp.' It is designed to make the lives of those forcibly placed there impossible, while preventing them from leaving unless their destination is outside of Mandatory Palestine. The British politicians who signed the letter to Lammy consider recognition of Palestinian statehood a priority, but in the meantime they also demanded the removal from the agenda of Katz's draconian proposal to concentrate masses of Palestinians in such a camp, which seems to be more of a transitional facility serving as a precursor to expulsion. In addition, they urged Lammy to continue to support the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in providing aid to the people of Gaza, while also pressing for the 'full and unhindered resumption of the humanitarian aid,' and efforts to secure the release of all hostages. This is an opportunity for the British government to adopt these recommendations — some would call them demands — and in doing so become an important player in efforts to resolve one of the most intractable conflicts in modern history. In an ideal world, recognition of the State of Palestine by European nations would come from the EU as a whole and not happen in piecemeal fashion, as has been the case so far with the much-welcomed recognition in May last year by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Norway (the last of which is not a member of the EU). Nevertheless, the need for unanimity in passing such a resolution within the EU makes it almost impossible to achieve, as long as countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Hungary oppose it. Therefore, if Paris and London were to announce recognition of Palestinian statehood in tandem — either before or during the upcoming summit of world leaders on the two-state solution, which was postponed by the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran in June and is now scheduled to convene at the UN headquarters in New York in September — it would send a strong message from two major powers, which are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, in support of what is already the policy of 147 other members of the UN. The message should be clear: This is not an anti-Israeli act, and most definitely not a reward for terrorism, but instead a positive move toward the peaceful resolution of one of the longest-running disputes in contemporary international politics, stretching all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century. It reaffirms the partition plan of 1947 and many subsequent international resolutions, and follows in the footsteps of diplomatic efforts that began with the Oslo Accords in 1993 and have been negotiated in different rounds of peace talks since then. It could be a game-changer, allowing the Palestinians to negotiate with the Israelis as equals. As long as this does not happen, the asymmetry in the balance of power between the two protagonists remains a major obstacle, and it is one Israel is unfairly using during negotiations to demand concessions their Palestinian interlocutors cannot deliver, or to cause crises in the discussions. This effectively allows Israel to postpone indefinitely any agreement based on a two-state solution, while also creating a situation on the ground that is prohibitive to the establishment of a territorially contiguous independent Palestinian state. Recognition of a Palestinian state would send a clear message from the international community to those who are hell-bent on annexation of the occupied West Bank and the building of Israeli settlements there. Whatever the setbacks along the way, the only viable and long-term sustainable solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians remains a two-state solution. The letter from British MPs is, therefore, a welcome contribution to the efforts to advance this cause, and the British government must heed its recommendations. • Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Ex-Rebel Leader ‘General' Kauona Is Brimming With Confidence In Bougainville Presidential Race
Article – RNZ The former Bougainville Revolutionary Army leader says, 'This time, I'm going to win. I'm confident.'17 July 2025 , RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist Sam Kauona, a former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), wants to become president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Bougainville is immersed in political campaigning as it prepares to choose 46 MPs from 404 candidates in elections shceduled for the first week of September. Seven people are contesting the presidency, including Kauona and his former BRA colleague, the incumbent President Ishmael Toroama. Kauona, who styles himself as 'General' Kauona, has in recent years been more focussed on developing a potential new gold mine, but now he wants the presidency. He ran unsuccessfully in 2020, but this time, he told RNZ Pacific, he is brimming with confidence. (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) SAM KAUONA: This time, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the seat. I'm going to win. I am confident. DON WISEMAN: Why? Given that you didn't do that well last time? SK: Because the government, for the last five years, did not achieve what Bougainvilleans, what we, wanted. They were concentrating on one option only. That's why it wasted the last five years, and we did not achieve anything. DW: And we're talking here about independence? SK: Oh yes. That's the only agenda for Bougainville – independence. There are many approaches that we can consider. One, there is an option in which we can work with Papua New Guinea, and there's an option that we negotiate. You know, it varies. So this government, they went for the option of negotiating for ratification [of the 2019 independence referendum]. They did not achieve what Bougainville wanted. DW: Well, what do you think they should have done? And what would you do? SK: Well, to me, I would go to exercising those powers and function that will make Bougainville realise its independent, meaning to say those powers and functions that concern sovereignty protection, sovereignty rights. Exercising those powers, Bougainville can be able to reach her destiny by exercising the powers of foreign affairs, currency, number two and number three, exercising the powers to protect ourselves – security, defence. In the Peace Process, those powers and functions were reserved for Papua New Guinea. We were not independent at that time, but after the referendum, people voted not for autonomy to be with Papua New Guinea, but they voted to become independent, on their own, exercising the sovereign right. It means that with the referendum achieving independence, the door to exercising those rights, sovereign rights, was open. It was open. It was closed during the peace process, when it was open, we should have put into policies necessary functions. For example, the defence. You see Bougainville is not protected. We are not protected at this point of time, there is fatal incidents happening south to north. We need to exercise the power of security – establishing defence, establishing police powers and functions, protecting our people, our natural resources, our sea boundaries. Of course, whatever we do, we have to consult with Papua New Guinea and establish those functions. Currency, [is] another function that we should be able to now establish our own banks [and] currency, so that we can be able to achieve the level of independence. DW: So you're not talking about making a unilateral declaration or anything like that. You're still talking about negotiating a solution with Port Moresby? SK: Not negotiating, but coming up with a plan, a strategy, that will accommodate Papua New Guinea to participate. When accommodating Papua New Guinea, we need to see Papua New Guinea we are on one side. There is still a common enemy out there: BCL, CRA, Rio Tinto using the system, and then they subjugated us with all their systems, the laws. And here, when we come up with a plan of exercising our rights, Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of that. We need to compensate Papua New Guinea. We need to support Papua New Guinea, also in the economy which, which was incurred during the crisis conflict. They borrowed so much funding, so we should be sharing. DW: What you're talking about, still, is negotiation, isn't it? Bougainville can't do these things you're talking about unless it reaches some sort of a deal with Papua New Guinea, and it's going to need the money. SK: Correct. We need money. Bougainville is full of resources. We are rich in natural resources. But how we manage our resources is a different dimension this time. Before, we were under all those colonial laws, and when we are free now we should be able to come up with the laws to protect our natural resources and use it wisely, together with whoever invests, that comes in. But here, I'm trying to say, not so much negotiation, but it's a plan that Bougainville needs to do. The plan is to be user friendly with Papua New Guinea. And of course, for us, we have won it. We have won the political battle. We need to set away. We need to have a compass that we need to navigate with, and that compass, we Bougainvilleans, we have it in our hands, and that has to be a user friendly direction that we close out. Papua New Guinea will have to be drawn in, we have to participate in that, yes, to a level, it is negotiating, but it is like, you know, we have to lead the way. We have to come up with a plan [that's] user friendly. Not just for Papua New Guinea, let me say that. It is friendly to our Pacific countries, our neighbours, Australia, New Zealand. In terms of security, we will have to make sure that we secure our region together, not just Bougainville, together with the countries that are around us. That's why we need a defence force that is not really big, but enough to protect its internal affairs, internal issues.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Ex-Rebel Leader 'General' Kauona Is Brimming With Confidence In Bougainville Presidential Race
17 July 2025 Sam Kauona, a former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), wants to become president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Bougainville is immersed in political campaigning as it prepares to choose 46 MPs from 404 candidates in elections shceduled for the first week of September. Seven people are contesting the presidency, including Kauona and his former BRA colleague, the incumbent President Ishmael Toroama. Kauona, who styles himself as 'General' Kauona, has in recent years been more focussed on developing a potential new gold mine, but now he wants the presidency. He ran unsuccessfully in 2020, but this time, he told RNZ Pacific, he is brimming with confidence. (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) SAM KAUONA: This time, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the seat. I'm going to win. I am confident. DON WISEMAN: Why? Given that you didn't do that well last time? SK: Because the government, for the last five years, did not achieve what Bougainvilleans, what we, wanted. They were concentrating on one option only. That's why it wasted the last five years, and we did not achieve anything. DW: And we're talking here about independence? SK: Oh yes. That's the only agenda for Bougainville - independence. There are many approaches that we can consider. One, there is an option in which we can work with Papua New Guinea, and there's an option that we negotiate. You know, it varies. So this government, they went for the option of negotiating for ratification [of the 2019 independence referendum]. They did not achieve what Bougainville wanted. DW: Well, what do you think they should have done? And what would you do? SK: Well, to me, I would go to exercising those powers and function that will make Bougainville realise its independent, meaning to say those powers and functions that concern sovereignty protection, sovereignty rights. Exercising those powers, Bougainville can be able to reach her destiny by exercising the powers of foreign affairs, currency, number two and number three, exercising the powers to protect ourselves - security, defence. In the Peace Process, those powers and functions were reserved for Papua New Guinea. We were not independent at that time, but after the referendum, people voted not for autonomy to be with Papua New Guinea, but they voted to become independent, on their own, exercising the sovereign right. It means that with the referendum achieving independence, the door to exercising those rights, sovereign rights, was open. It was open. It was closed during the peace process, when it was open, we should have put into policies necessary functions. For example, the defence. You see Bougainville is not protected. We are not protected at this point of time, there is fatal incidents happening south to north. We need to exercise the power of security - establishing defence, establishing police powers and functions, protecting our people, our natural resources, our sea boundaries. Of course, whatever we do, we have to consult with Papua New Guinea and establish those functions. Currency, [is] another function that we should be able to now establish our own banks [and] currency, so that we can be able to achieve the level of independence. DW: So you're not talking about making a unilateral declaration or anything like that. You're still talking about negotiating a solution with Port Moresby? SK: Not negotiating, but coming up with a plan, a strategy, that will accommodate Papua New Guinea to participate. When accommodating Papua New Guinea, we need to see Papua New Guinea we are on one side. There is still a common enemy out there: BCL, CRA, Rio Tinto using the system, and then they subjugated us with all their systems, the laws. And here, when we come up with a plan of exercising our rights, Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of that. We need to compensate Papua New Guinea. We need to support Papua New Guinea, also in the economy which, which was incurred during the crisis conflict. They borrowed so much funding, so we should be sharing. DW: What you're talking about, still, is negotiation, isn't it? Bougainville can't do these things you're talking about unless it reaches some sort of a deal with Papua New Guinea, and it's going to need the money. SK: Correct. We need money. Bougainville is full of resources. We are rich in natural resources. But how we manage our resources is a different dimension this time. Before, we were under all those colonial laws, and when we are free now we should be able to come up with the laws to protect our natural resources and use it wisely, together with whoever invests, that comes in. But here, I'm trying to say, not so much negotiation, but it's a plan that Bougainville needs to do. The plan is to be user friendly with Papua New Guinea. And of course, for us, we have won it. We have won the political battle. We need to set away. We need to have a compass that we need to navigate with, and that compass, we Bougainvilleans, we have it in our hands, and that has to be a user friendly direction that we close out. Papua New Guinea will have to be drawn in, we have to participate in that, yes, to a level, it is negotiating, but it is like, you know, we have to lead the way. We have to come up with a plan [that's] user friendly. Not just for Papua New Guinea, let me say that. It is friendly to our Pacific countries, our neighbours, Australia, New Zealand. In terms of security, we will have to make sure that we secure our region together, not just Bougainville, together with the countries that are around us. That's why we need a defence force that is not really big, but enough to protect its internal affairs, internal issues.
Arab News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
French president calls for joint recognition of Palestinian state by France and UK
LONDON: French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his country and the UK to jointly recognize Palestinian statehood, describing it as 'the only path to peace.' Speaking during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Macron stressed the urgent need for efforts to advance a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 'I believe in the future of the two-state solution, and in the need to unify our voices in Paris, London and beyond to recognize the State of Palestine and launch this political dynamic that alone can lead to a horizon of peace,' Macron said. Starmer reaffirmed the UK's commitment to a just political settlement of the Palestinian issue, and highlighted the importance of international support for the Palestinian people and the need for stability in the region. Macron concluded on Thursday a three-day state visit to the UK. It was the first such visit by a French statesman since 2008, and the first by an EU leader since Brexit in 2020. On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority welcomed comments by Macron during his speech to the British Parliament in which he affirmed the position of France on recognition of a Palestinian state as a way to help ensure stability in the Middle East. Organizers of an international conference to garner support for Palestinian national independence, planned for mid-June and sponsored by Saudi Arabia and France, had to postpone the event because of the outbreak on June 13 of war between Iran and Israel. In recent weeks, several members of Parliament belonging to Starmer's ruling Labour Party have called on his government to officially recognize a Palestinian state and join with France in doing so.
