Inside Story – Is the West too soft on the PKK?

There have been a series of attacks across Turkey over the past few months which have largely been carried out by either the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK was originally formed to fight for an independent Kurdish state and has been at war with the Turkish government for decades.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that while most Western nations consider the PKK a terrorist organisation, they do not go after the group in the same manner they go after ISIL or al-Qaeda.

The most recent attack was on Saturday in Istanbul. An ISIL suicide bomber targeted a popular shopping street filled with civilians. At least five people were killed, and more than 35 were injured.

And fighters linked to the PKK have carried out several attacks in Turkey that have killed civilians.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called Saturday’s attack inhumane and said Turkey would continue its fight against terrorism with resolution and determination.

On Inside Story, we will discuss how Western countries deal with the PKK.

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests

Kani Torun: MP for the ruling Turkish AK Party and deputy chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament

Bilal Sambur: Professor of social sciences at Yildirim Beyazit University

Sinan Ciddi: Director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC


Leave a Comment

We don't require your email address, or your name, for anyone to leave a comment. If you do add an email address, you may be notified if there are replies to your comment - we won't use it for any other purpose. Please make respectful comments, which add value, and avoid personal attacks on others. Links are not allowed in comments - 99% of spam comments, attempt to post links. Please describe where people may find additional information - for example "visit the UN website" or "search Google for..." rather than posting a link. Comments failing to adhere to these guidelines will not be published.