Turkey Attacks Kurds under Anti-ISIS Cover

Special for the Armenian Weekly 

On Wed., July 22, U.S. President Barrack Obama and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan got on the phone and struck a deal to carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Since then, the Western press has been full of adulation for Turkey, claiming that it has finally overcome its reluctance to act against the Islamic State, realized that ISIS has to be dealt with, and has joined forces with the U.S. in the fight against extremism.

Makeshift barricades fill the streets as left-wing protesters light a fire trying to avoid tear gas used by police to disperse them during clashes between police and people protesting against Turkey's operation against Kurdish militants. (Photo: AP Photo - Cagdas Erdogan)
Makeshift barricades fill the streets as left-wing protesters light a fire trying to avoid tear gas used by police to disperse them during clashes between police and people protesting against Turkey’s operation against Kurdish militants. (Photo: AP Photo – Cagdas Erdogan)

There is only one problem with this story: The main target of Turkey’s offensive has not been ISIS but, rather, the sole force in the region that has proven effective in combating ISIS—the Kurds.

Since the start of Turkish air strikes this past weekend, only three ISIS targets have been hit (reportedly damaging some vehicles). Meanwhile, 75 warplanes have hit 48 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq, and Syrian Kurds have reported similar attacks on their units across the border.

“Instead of targeting ISIS terrorists’ occupied positions, Turkish forces attack our defenders’ positions,” read a statement by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria on Monday. “We urge Turkish leadership to halt this aggression and to follow international guidelines. We are telling the Turkish Army to stop shooting at our fighters and their positions.”

Similarly, the vast majority of the more than 1,000 suspected militants arrested inside Turkey over the past few days are not affiliated with ISIS but with other groups, such as the PKK. In addition, Erdogan has ended all peace talks with the Kurds and even called for stripping members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) of their parliamentary immunity.

For Turkey, the fight is clearly not against the Islamic State. It’s against Kurdish democracy and self-determination.

Ankara’s concern over the Kurds peaked this past June, when the HDP succeeded in winning 80 seats in the Turkish Parliament, blocking Erdogan’s plans to gain a majority needed to push through controversial constitutional reforms. About a week later, Syrian-Kurdish forces, backed by the U.S., pushed ISIS out of the strategic border town of Tel Abyad, striking a major blow to their operations.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters gather at the eastern entrance to the town of Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate(Reuters)
Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters gather at the eastern entrance to the town of Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate (Photo: Reuters)

While the rest of the world celebrated the liberation of Tel Abyad, Turkish officials were incensed. “This leads to a structure that poses a threat to our borders,” Erdogan was quoted as saying. “Everyone needs to take into account our sensitivities on this issue.”

Turkey’s outgoing Defense Minister, Ismet Yilmaz, went so far as to claim that the anti-ISIS operation resulted in “ethnic cleansing” in Syria, in a desperate attempt to tarnish the victory and justify action against the Kurds.

Official plans of a Turkish invasion emerged soon after, with Erdogan declaring, “We will never allow a state to be established in northern Syria and in the south of our country. No matter what the cost, we will continue our struggle in this regard.”

Of course, both Turkey and the West constantly accuse the Kurds of wanting to establish a separate state in the region. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the northern Syrian territories under their control since 2012, the Kurds have not sought separatism or exclusion but have, rather, instituted an exemplary form of democracy that emphasizes local decision making, ethnic solidarity, and a “third way” for Syria—one that rejects both the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and the barbarism of ISIS. They have repeatedly stated, and proven with action, that they reject the notion of a nation-state altogether. Instead, they are working for an alternative society based on “democratic autonomy.” This is the same position of the Kurds in Turkey, who have been calling for peace talks and working within the electoral system for years to achieve basic democratic rights.

It is precisely this Kurdish commitment to democracy, coupled with success on the battlefield against ISIS, that has spurred Turkey to enter the fray. Since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the government has sought to crush any semblance of Kurdish identity and cultural rights. Any advancement in Kurdish equality, electoral representation, or self-defense is merely too much for Ankara to tolerate.

In the northern Syrian territories under their control since 2012, the Kurds have not sought separatism or exclusion but have, rather, instituted an exemplary form of democracy (Photo: roarmag.org)
In the northern Syrian territories under their control since 2012, the Kurds have not sought separatism or exclusion but have, rather, instituted an exemplary form of democracy (Photo: roarmag.org)

Thus, as pointed out by Kerem Oktem, a professor at the Centre for Southeast European Studies in Austria, official Turkish policy is “to pretend that it is waging a war against ISIS, while at the same time following up on another goal, which is to destroy the PKK.”

Much like the “Armenian Question” 100 years before it, Turkey is seeking to solve today’s “Kurdish Question” through violence and criminality. Sadly, the role being played by Western powers is not much different than it was a century ago. Every time the West turns a blind eye to these unjustified attacks of Turkey against the Kurds, and falsely characterizes the latter as “separatists,” they are helping pave the way for further Turkish aggression.

This shameful reality will not only prove disastrous for the humanitarian situation in the region, but will be a major blow against progress, democracy, and any hope of defeating the Islamic State.

Serouj Aprahamian

Serouj Aprahamian

Serouj Aprahamian has always been actively involved in the Armenian community. From 2007-2009, he served as the Capital Gateway Program Director for the Armenian National Committee of America in DC, while obtaining a Master's in International Relations from American University. He also served for three years as the Executive Director of the AYF Western Region and has contributed regularly to the Armenian Weekly, Haytoug, and Asbarez. He is currently a correspondent of the Armenian Weekly in Yerevan.

7 Comments

  1. The situation in Syria and Iraq is a total bloody mess and the end most probably will be disasterous.
    The US is caught in a conundrum, without a clear strategy and Turkey is playing its usual dirty games taking advantage of the situation to achieve its political objectives.
    The US was supporting the Kurdish/PKK in the fight against ISIS; indeed they were most effective, but the unclear part is that supposedly the PKK in Iraq is affiliated with but separate from the Syrian Kurdish fighters> How confusing is this???
    The US was pleased with Turkey’s air assault on ISIS and with Turkey’s decision to open airbases (Incerlik) for American sorties. Wonder what agreements were reached to?
    Turkey used the brief offensive against ISIS as a cover to launch a broad attack against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
    Now, in Turkey under the disguise of anti-terror sweep, the Government has aggressively embarked on rounding up Kurdish people and attack members of the pro-Kurdish HDP party.
    All these shows that Turkey always has a dirty hidden agenda, and the US does not clearly see what’s wrong with their misguided and wrong strategy.
    The ending cannot be good.
    Vart Adjemian

  2. Unfortunately for Kurds neither the US nor Europe will stand up for the rights of 25 million Kurds. Turkey is a spoiled ally can get away with crime. They have done it for centuries.

  3. Very much agree with Vart Adjemian and would add that this may ultimately result in a huge backlash against Turkey, i.e. if the Kurds are seriously weakened by Turkish attacks then who will be the boots on the ground against ISIS? Almost certainly the US will not step put boots on the ground and so that leaves who, the Iraqi army which unfortunately falls to ISIS time and time again. So when ISIS comes a knocking on Turkey’s door which they almost have to do in order to somehow keep manpower and supplies flowing in, Turkey will have to put boots on the ground. Seeing Turkey in this situation may be just what brings together all the various Kurds (in Turkey, in Syria, in Iraq, and in Iran) to start a second front for the Turks aka a civil war within Turkey itself. Especially in such a case, Armenia needs to be ready.

  4. Turkish President Erdogan wants to kill three birds with one stone by giving US access to use Incirlik airbase.
    He want to prevent the Syrian Kurds from uniting the 3 cantons, which would create a Kurdish-controlled zone along the Turkish-Syrian border that could inspire Kurds in Turkey, who seek greater cultural and political rights.
    The second reason is Ankara seeks to attack the PKK.
    Thirdly, We all know none of Turkish assaults and offensives against PKK has ever been effective, but Erdogan is doing it now to pressure PKK to compromise and push HDP [legal pro-Kurdish party] to support Erdogan’s AKP party, if not to win the hearts of Turkish nationalists and weaken HDP so as to prepare for early elections.

  5. What is glaringly obvious to any thinking person seems to elude and baffle US policy makers;they are either stupid or naive. Time and time again they keep on making frustratingly silly decisions. What chance have we got, these people are the supposed champions of the free world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*