Author: nina hovnanian

Serzh Sargsyan had a tough conversation with Nazarbayev in Astana

September 6 2014

Scandal at ErdoÄ?an’s inauguration ceremony

`Aravot’ learned some details of yesterday’s closed-door meeting
between the MPs and Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Edward Nalbandyan,
during the sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
Assembly.

Note that MPs of all factions were invited to the meeting, but very
few MPs from opposition factions attended the meeting. In particular,
Aram Manukyan from ANC, Vahe Enfiajyan from PAP, Artsvik Minasyan from
ARF, the `Heritage’ faction was represented by three MPs: the leader
of the faction Ruben Hakobyan, Secretary Tevan Poghosyan and Alexander
Arzumanyan. According to the information by `Aravot’, Aram Manukyan
and Alexander Arzumanyan were quite active in asking questions to
Edward Nalbandyan.

According to our information, Edward Nalbandyan has told details about
his participation in inauguration ceremony of the President of Turkey,
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an. In particular, the minister had informed
that the invitation by Turkey to the President of Armenia to attend
the inauguration of the President of Turkey was a very convenient
opportunity for the Armenian side to give an official appearance to
the public invitation made by Serzh Sargsyan to the President of
Turkey to visit Armenia on the 100th anniversary of Genocide. Since
there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries, it was
the best opportunity to convey the invitation, especially when after
Serzh Sargsyan’s public invitation, the Turkish side hinted that it
would be better if it were made official.

`Aravot’ failed to clarify whether Edward Nalbandyan had presented
explanations to the MPs as to why the Armenian side was so eagerly
hiding the information about sending the official invitation, in the
event when there was a publication about it in the Turkish media. As
informed by our source, the presence of official Armenia in
ErdoÄ?an’s inauguration, according to Nalbandyan, was a surprise
not only for Turkey but also in other attending countries. However,
the move by the Armenian side was quite positive and was highly
appreciated. Since there have been no official receptions, it was a
bit difficult for Edward Nalbandyan to convey Serge Sargsyan’s
invitation.

However, Nalbandyan managed to inform ErdoÄ?an about the
original mission of his visit, which as presented by Nalbandyan, was
quite a surprise for the Turkish president. He did not even try to
hide it. After handing over the letter, the latter for a long time was
trying to read the Armenian text of the invitation but no
success. Edward Nalbandyan hinted that the English text is on the
opposite side. After reading, ErdoÄ?an has stretched his hand to
Edward Nalbandyan. During the handshake, the Turkish president,
turning to the foreign minister of Armenia, has said, you see that we
are friends, and you are saying¦ Edward Nalbandyan has noticed that
Mr. ErdoÄ?an has had various occasions for shaking hands with
the President of Armenia, but it had not stopped his in his future
statements.

After Nalbandyan-ErdoÄ?an one-on-one meeting for about half an
hour, the President of Turkey had asked Nalbandyan to convey his
greetings to the President of Armenia. Edward Nalbandyan had presented
details of the scandal at the Eurasian Economic Union’s founding
session in Astana. Note that at this meeting, the President of
Kazakhstan recited the Azerbaijani President’s letter and put a
precondition that Armenia should be a member of the Eurasian Economic
Union by the UN recognized borders, which do not include
Nagorno-Karabakh. Edward Nalbandyan told the MPs that when the
journalists left the hall, the President of Armenia had a tough
conversation with Nursultan Nazarbayev. As a result, according to the
foreign minister of Armenia, Nazarbayev had even asked Serzh
Sargsyan’s forgiveness and stated that he will not do such moves in
the future.

In fact, Nalbandyan also told that Nursultan Nazarbayev, on the
occasion of ErdoÄ?an’s inauguration in Turkey, was constantly
trying to have a separate meeting with ErdoÄ?an and to express
his loyalty to Turkey and Azerbaijan, to explain that being in the
membership of the CU, his country would push the interest of these
brotherly states forward, alas his efforts were in
vain. ErdoÄ?an did not accept Nazarbayev. There was even a
scandal during ErdoÄ?an’s inauguration ceremony. Nazarbayev was
sitting in the chair intended for ErdoÄ?an’s wife. Referring to
the Customs Union-related issues, Nalbandyan had said that if Armenia
had not chosen this path, it would appear in a similar situation as
Ukraine. Edward Nalbandyan has also said that Armenia is in constant
communication, even quite good relations with European officials, and
that the latter treat Armenia’s choice with a full understanding, as
they clearly realize that economically, our country had no other
option at this point.

Nelly GRIGORYAN
Read more at:

Iran Will Replace Turkey In NATO

Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments – 06 September 2014, 15:30

BBC informed that Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini has
authorized Iranian officials to interact with Pentagon, which is
determined by the recent activities of the Islamic State and the
common interest of counteracting it.

Turkey is said to support the terrorist group of Islamic State. In the
NATO summit in Wales the issue of Islamic terrorists was one of the
key issues aside from Russia’s aggression.

Turkey did not get a warm welcome in the NATO summit though such
attitude to Turkey had been observed before the summit. The summit has
made a key decision on Georgia. The Georgian minister of defense has
announced that NATO will set up a joint military base in Georgia.

The Wales summit marks a breakthrough in the region and the
information received from Tehran is the reaction to these changes.

Turkey stops being a partner to Turkey, instead Iran comes forth.
Tehran expected such tendencies and regional and global challenges and
responds with reserve but adequately to signals coming from the North
Atlantic community.

Turkey has run out of partner potential for the North Atlantic
alliance and now replacing Turkey with Iran is topical.

Armenia is obtaining a key importance. It is the only state in the
region which does not have any political issues with Iran. The
maintenance of the status quo remains the key issue for Iran. By the
way, the United States took an important step, organizing the
Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting and announcing that escalation is
unacceptable, which is the same as reiterating the status quo.

In fact, in Wales the United States took a step that stems from the
interests of not only Armenia but also Iran and is indirect
cooperation in the security sphere with Iran which is trying to
counteract Moscow’s attempts to station Russian peacekeepers in
Artsakh.

In this situation Armenia has two ways: doze on the laurels of the
situation that occurred through Wales Summit resolution and Iran’s
adequate reaction and attitude and enjoy the status quo without
angering Russia until Moscow brings about new dangers or change the
situation essentially and set up serious political relations with Iran
instead of playing April 24 invitation games with Turkey.

If the NATO military base in Georgia comes into being, the
responsibility of Armenia for ensuring regional political
communication in the region will grow, increasing opportunities for
improvement of the level of security of Armenia.

People in Armenia have so far believed that it is necessary to get
maximum economic and financial use from different projects with Iran,
and if an opportunity arises, become a transit area. These are false
dreams. To act as an outlet to the West for Iran, Armenia has a chance
to provide or become a means of military political communication at
best. Economic issues are tentacles in this context that are needed to
find common grounds.

No Armenian-Iranian economic project interests the North Atlantic
community globally. These are time consuming and unfeasible processes
while challenges are intensifying in a wink and require essential
military-political discussions and research.

Will Armenia be able to act autonomously and initiate at least, for
example, three-party military political consultations with Iran and
Georgia?

Armenian-French relations have received new impetus (PHOTOS)

16:38, 06.09.2014

YEREVAN. – On Saturday, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received a
French National Assembly (NA) delegation led by Bruno Le Roux, Head of
the NA Socialist Party Group.

Sargsyan underscored such mutual visits and interactions. The
President stated that relations between the Armenian and French
peoples have received new impetus ever since the establishment of
diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his words, this is
proved by the growing development of Armenian-French ties.

In interlocutors shared the view that French President François
Hollande’s state visit to Armenia in May has given new impetus to
Armenian-French relations.

Bruno Le Roux, for his part, stressed that his delegation’s current
visit is a good opportunity to further deepen friendship with Armenia
and the Armenian people. In addition, he highlighted
interparliamentary cooperation in the strengthening of bilateral
interstate ties.

Highly appreciating the French parliament’s formal recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, President Sargsyan noted that Armenia is closely
following the processes with regard to the passing of a French bill
that will criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide. In this
connection, Le Roux assured that they will spare no effort to continue
and complete their respective work because, in his view, what France
does is directed to all humanity.

The parties also draw attention to the French lawmakers’ visits to the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and the forming of a France-Karabakh
friendship circle.

EREVAN
2,2 millions de fleurs et 20 000 rosiers plantés à Erévan depuis le
début de l’année

Depuis le début de l’année les services de la ville d’Erévan ont
procédé à la plantation de 2,2 millions de fleurs et 20 000 rosiers
dans les rues et places de la capitale arménienne. Dans la deuxième
quinzaine de septembre 20 000 rosiers supplémentaires seront plantés
dans les espaces verts, parcs et jardins publics d’Erévan. De nouveaux
espaces seront conquis pour cette plantation. La municipalité d’Erévan
redouble ses efforts pour donner à la ville des couleurs pour le grand
plaisir de ses habitants et des touristes qui sont très nombreux.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 6 septembre 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Children’s park buried in trash (video)

15:46 | September 5,2014 | Social

Children’s park named after Kirov has been buried in trash for two weeks now.

Thinking that garbage trucks have lost their way to the park, the park
administration turned to the authorities of Yerevan’s Kentron
district. “The truck has broken down and cannot get to the park,” was
the reply.

While we were shooting the area, a garbage truck arrived to collect
the waste. However, the truck still had problems and was already full,
therefore it could only empty several waste containers.

Citizen Petros, who is known to be residing in the park, picked up a
spade and began piling up the uncollected trash.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 5 2014

Erdogan reminds NATO of its promises to Azerbaijan

5 September 2014 – 6:59pm

NATO is obliged to fulfil the promises it has given to Azerbaijan, the
president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today at a NATO meeting
in Wales. “The resolution of the Karabakh conflict within the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is of great importance, and this
conflict should be resolved,” Erdogan said.

Turkish experts told VK that peace in the South Caucasus is very
important to the new leadership of Turkey.

An expert on war and terrorism, Khaldun Yalcin Kaya, said that Turkey
intends to participate actively in the conflict, taking into account
the fact that Azerbaijan is its strategic partner.

Erdogan’s statement served as a reminder to NATO about the ongoing
conflict and as a note to the OSCE Minsk Group about the interest of
Turkey in the conflict, the expert believes.

A senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations,
University of Economics and Technology TOBB (Ankara), Togrul Ismail,
said that the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh would
contribute to the development of Turkey.

ShockYa
Sept 5 2014

Fatih Akin Talks ‘The Cut’

Fatih Akin’s Armenian genocide epic undoubtably draws blood. ‘The Cut’
is the story about Nazaret Manoogian (brilliantly interpreted by Tahar
Rahim), a blacksmith, father of twins who is conscripted into the
army at the start of World War I. After a near-death experience , that
injures his vocal chords, he remains mute and embarks in an eight year
journey that starts in Mardin, (in what is present day Turkey, near
the Syrian border, and includes stops in Lebanon, Havana, Florida and
North Dakota), searching for his children, in the aftermath of a
conflict cinema has tended to neglect.

Director Fatih Akin, talks about the making of ‘The Cut’:

Do you feel ‘The Cut’ has a pedagogic goal on the Armenian genocide in Turkey?

I believe in that. Certain people may not need it. But other people
need another rhetoric to understand this, I don’t want to be preachy
or act as a teacher but I want to create empathy. I made the film so
that the Turkish audience could identify with an Armenian hero, which
isn’t easy. To do this you have to keep it simple and not challenge
the audience with too much intellectual attitudes, but challenge them
emotionally.

How do you feel about the fact that some countries deny the Armenian genocide?

It’s alright as long as there is freedom of speech. If someone is free
to deny it others, like myself, should be just as free to say the
contrary. Only this way there is justice. Just as freedom of the
press. Everybody has their own truth, that is what the film is about.

The main character embodies this metaphor in a way…

Indeed and it also represents my personal quest with religion. I come
from a religious family, with strict dogmas and it took a while to get
rid of them. I now have my own definition of what is right and wrong,
good and evil. You can say I’m a spiritual person. The film is about
that: someone losing his religion but getting the sense of
spirituality.

Was there any film that inspired you for the making of ‘The Cut’?

Elia Kazan’s ‘America, America’, certain aesthetics of the
cinematography, as well as shooting the film in English and naturally
the long voyage of the young man through the impoverished towns and
villages on the way to Constantinople.

So do you feel that your movie could also be an archetype of each
person’s personal Odyssey?

I had Westerns in my mind to inspire me, ‘The Searchers’ by John Ford,
and also Homer’s Odyssey certainly was a reference for me: the
journey of the hero who tries to return to his family.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 5 2014

Azerbaijan, Armenia, U.S. discuss Nagorno-Karabakh peace process at NATO summit

5 September 2014 – 9:16am

Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan
and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the prospects of
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the NATO summit in Newport
(Wales) yesterday. Kerry emphasized that there was no alternative to a
peaceful resolution of the conflict and urged the presidents to
strengthen trust and de-escalate the situation on the contact line of
Armenian-Azerbaijani forces.

Kerry corroborated U.S. support for the OSCE Minsk Group as a platform
for negotiations, adding that he would join the process himself if
necessary. He emphasized that the political willingness of the sides
of the conflict was the main component to end the dispute.

French President Francois Hollande had a meeting with Aliyev and
Sargsyan. The sides expressed satisfaction with the development of
contacts and emphasized prospects for strengthening of cooperation in
the economic, political and cultural sectors. Hollande plans to meet
the presidents in France soon.

Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan made speeches at the summit. The
speech of the Azerbaijani leader has not been published yet. His
Armenian counterpart warned attendees of the NATO summit against
putting the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in the final declaration. He urged
members of the Alliance to follow the common sense and rhetoric of the
OSCE Minsk Group when passing a document on the Karabakh problem.

September 5, 2014
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

HISHOLINESS ARAM I TOPARTICIPATE IN HISTORIC SUMMIT OF RELIGIOUSLEADERS
IN WASHINGTON D.C.

-PRELATE TO TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON D.C. TO JOIN HIS HOLINESS

OnSaturday, September 6, 2014, His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great Houseof Cilicia, will arrive in Washington, DC,
for a historic summit that will beheld next week titled `Protecting
and Preserving Christianity, Where It AllBegan’, sponsored by the In
Defense of Christians (IDC) organization. The IDCInaugural Summit will
be the first occasion in history where six ChristianPatriarchs from the
Middle East will gather together in the United States.
JoiningHis Holiness will be H.E. Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan,Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy, Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, Rev.Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian, Pastor of Soorp
Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church ofBethesda, Maryland, and Dr. Dertad
Manguikian, Holy See Central ExecutiveCouncil member.
OnMonday evening, His Holiness will attend a dinner in honor
of the participatingPatriarchs, hosted by Ambassador of Lebanon to the
United States, H.E. AmbassadorAntoine Chedid. The Summit will take
place from Tuesday toThursday. On Friday, His Holiness will visit the
Embassy of the Republic of Armeniato meet with recently appointed
Ambassador H.E. Tigran Sargsyan, and will bethe guest of honor at a
reception hosted by the Armenian National Committee ofAmerica.

***

PRELATETO CELEBRATE DIVINE LITURGY
AT THECRESCENTA VALLEY PARISH

– REQUIEM FOR IRAQI-ARMENIAN CLERGY &CHURCH BENEFACTORS

On Sunday, September7, the Prelate will celebrate Divine
Liturgy and deliver the sermon at the Crescenta Valleyparish. At the
conclusion of the service, the Prelate will preside over aspecial
requiem se
of Iraqi-Armenian clergy and church
andbenefactors.
Following theservice, a presentation on the `History of
Armenian Churches in Iraq’will take place, organized by the parish
Education Committee.
The Prelate willpreside over the event and will deliver the
closing message.

***

ARCHPRIEST FR. NAREG PEHLIVANIANAPPOINTED PASTOR
OF NORTH HOLLYWOD PARISH

Wehereby announce to our faithful that Archpriest Fr. Nareg
Pehlivanian has beenappointed Pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
North Hollywood.
Fr.Nareg has served within the Western Prelacy for two
decades, as Pastor of St.Sarkis Church in Pasadena,Holy Cross Cathedral
in Montebello,and FortyMartyrsChurchin Orange County.For the past year
he has served as the Prelate’s assistant at the Prelacy, fromwhere he
will continue his service in his new mission.
Onthis occasion, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, and theReligious and Executive Councils commend Very Rev. Fr.
Muron Aznikian,currently Dean of Holy Cross Cathedral, for his service
and contributions tothe North Hollywoodparish since its inception, and
wish Fr. Nareg success in his new duties.

***

PRELATE TO PRESIDE OVER GRAND OPENING OFNEW COURTYARD/PLAZA AT
HOLYTRINITYCHURCHIN FRESNO

Thisafternoon the Prelate traveled to Fresno to preside over
the grand openingof the newly constructed courtyard/plaza of Holy
Trinity Church.The new site is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the
sanctuary,which will be celebrated later this year. The Prelate was
accompanied by Rev.Fr. Boghos Tinkjian. Executive Council member Deacon
Mark Shirin will also bein attendance.
Theevent will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony and the
unveiling and blessing ofa khachkar by the Prelate, followed by a
dedication organ concert inside therecently renovated sanctuary and a
reception.

***

PRELATEENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION IN ARMENIAFUND SPECIAL TELETHON THIS
SUNDAY

On Sunday, September7, in collaboration with A
rmenia Fund will be hosting a specialtelethon in support of 20 families
in Gyumri who have been living in the direstof conditions since the
Spitak Earthquake in 1988. Many families in the areacontinue to live in
metal containers called “domiks”, which weremeant to be a temporary
housing solution. Proceedsfrom the Telethon will provide renovated
and furnished apartments, financialassistance, and future college
tuition for 20 families in most urgent need ofassistance.
The Telethon will airon ARTN/Shant TV from 5:00 to 10:00
p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The Prelatewill appear live at 5:30 p.m. to
make a live appeal for support to thiscritical cause. We encourage our
faithful to offer their generous support andhelp end the cycle of
poverty plaguing these families.

Is PKK becoming a new Middle East power?

– POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2014POSTED IN: NEWS

People wave Kurdish flags and hold up a picture of jailed Kurdish
militant leader Abdullah Ocalan (C) of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) in Diyarbakir, March 21, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Umit Bektas)

The world is apprehensively watching the dramatic rise and expansion
of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. The jihadists becoming
the No. 1 threat to global security is no doubt a grave development
and an appropriate focus of international attention. Yet, the jihadist
threat should not overshadow the interrelated rise of another power in
the region: Turkey’s Kurdish movement, theKurdistan Workers Party
(PKK).

Created in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan and his comrades, the PKK started
out as an armed, leftist, separatist organization. Since then, it has
evolved into a movement that today enjoys political and military might
and a popular base across all the Kurdish-populated regions in the
Middle East. The PKK’s armed insurgency in Turkey that began in 1984
has gone through ups and downs marked by periods of serious bloodshed.
The PKK is currently in a “state of non-conflict” as part of its
engagement in the “peace and settlement process” the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government initiated in 2012.

The rise of the Kurdish movement is underway on two tracks
simultaneously, manifesting itself in different forms on each. The
first is Turkey, and the second is Iraq and Syria.

A major landmark on the Turkey track was the Aug. 10 presidential
election, in whichSelahattin Demirtas, the candidate of the People’s
Democracy Party (HDP), an offshoot of the Kurdish movement, scored a
major success. Demirtas, the HDP’s co-chair, mustered 9.8% of the
vote, boosting by half the 6.44% his party won in the March 30 local
elections — an outcome that has the potential to change existing
equations and calculations in Turkish politics.

On the Syria-Iraq track, the PKK has emerged as the sole power capable
of confronting and stopping the jihadist expansion in the past two
years. In Rojava, the Kurdish-populated region in northern Syria, the
PKK has fought the jihadists since the summer of 2012. In Iraq, it has
only recently arrived on the scene following IS’ capture of Mosul and
its ensuing thrust into Kurdish areas. With Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga
forces retreating without a fight, the PKK became the force to stop
IS, putting up a particularly notable resistance inSinjar.

The PKK’s military showing in Syria and Iraq has made it a power to be
reckoned with in the Middle East, while Demirtas’ political success in
Turkey has paved the way for the HDP to grow into a nationwide party.
Both achievements were made possible thanks to the same resources.
Hence, an understanding of one track gives a better understanding of
the other.

The HDP is a legacy but not a successor of the Peace and Democracy
Party (BDP), which continues to legally exist. The BDP is a Kurdish
regional party, while the HDP claims to be an all-Turkey party.
Demirtas fleshed out that claim with an election campaign based on a
vision of a pluralist, inclusive, libertarian and egalitarian Turkey.
He ran as a candidate of Kurdish ethnicity, but what he demanded for
the Kurds he demanded for everyone in a united Turkey, linking the
solution of the Kurdish issue to the solution of Turkey’s democracy
crisis. By doing so, he managed to build a leftist opposition front
that opened up the HDP to voters beyond the party’s traditional
Kurdish constituency. The opening was also helped by the HDP
leadership’s makeup already representing an alliance between Kurds and
the Turkish left in a nucleus form.

As a result, Demirtas managed to add 1 million votes to the 2.8
million his party had garnered in the municipal polls, demonstrating
that the HDP has begun to build bonds with the country’s ethnically
Turkish west.

Demirtas’ votes elevated the HDP to a notch below the 10% threshold
that parties are required to pass to win parliamentary seats in the
general elections. Support for him was no doubt also partially boosted
by disenchanted Alevi and leftist supporters of the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP), who voted for the HDP in protest of
the CHP’s decision to align with the Nationalist Action Party (MHP)
and field a joint candidate, the conservative Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

Kurdish parties in Turkey have traditionally mustered about 5% or 6%
of the vote, which leaves them below the parliamentary threshold. To
circumvent the 10% barrier, they have contested the general elections
with independent candidates, who, once in parliament, regroup under
the party banner. Now, for the first time, HDP representatives are
raising the possibility of entering the 2015 elections as a party.

If the HDP does run as a party and succeeds in passing the vote
requirement, the political balance in Turkey can change to the AKP’s
detriment. An eligible HDP is expected to mean at least 20 additional
parliamentary seats for the party from the Kurdish-majority southeast.
Due to the twists of the electoral system, those seats have so far
ended up in the hands of the AKP, the only party that rivals the
Kurdish movement in the southeast. Twenty seats fewer for the AKP in
the next parliament could strip the ruling party from the majority it
requires to unilaterally draw up a new constitution introducing
thepresidential system Recep Tayyip Erdogan craves and take it to a
referendum.

To achieve all this, the HDP needs to make further strides toward
becoming a major party with a nationwide appeal. This will depend on
certain conditions:

First, the HDP will need time, which means the general elections
should be held on schedule, in June 2015, and not moved up. Second,
the “state of non-conflict” should continue. Third, the party’s
political line of anti-government opposition should be sustained and
strengthened. And last, the HDP base should transform itself to
embrace a new, inclusive political culture in which Kurdish demands
are seen and advocated as part of a shared vision for a democratic
Turkey.

With the PKK’s armed wing and its jailed leader Ocalan standing out as
the two major Kurdish actors, their legal political wing could
establish itself as a third one by luring support from western Turkey,
a prospect that could encourage more pluralist trends.

Sole force challenging Islamic State

The AKP government’s policies have catalyzed the Kurdish movement’s
growing influence in Turkey and the region. In Turkey, this happened
through the “peace and settlement process,” while in Syria, the
catalyst was Ankara’s hostility to the autonomy drive launched in the
summer of 2012 by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK’s Syrian
branch.

The PYD has long contended that Jabhat al-Nusra and IS jihadists, who
began attacking Syrian Kurds in the summer of 2012, receive support
from Ankara and are allowed to use Turkish territory to mount their
attacks.

Those claims are quite credible. It is hard to imagine how the
jihadists would have managed to put strong military pressure on the
People’s Protection Units (YPG), the PYD’s armed wing, in areas
neighboring Turkey — Ras al-Ain, Kobani and Afrin — without using
Turkish territory. Yet, the PYD has been able to hold on to these
three regions and resist the jihadists for more than two years. Hence,
long before IS’ capture of Mosul, the PKK already deserved to be
recognized as the Middle East’s only fighting force to defy and resist
IS for the struggle it has waged in Rojava.

The Kurdish forces in Syria have surprised the world not only with
their resolve against the jihadists but also with their female
fighters. Against a barbarian mindset that enslaves and sells women as
concubines, the PYD has displayed a secular mindset embracing gender
equality, which has enormously contributed to its international image.

In Iraq, on the other hand, the PKK has put aside disagreements with
the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to form a national military
alliance against the jihadist threat to Iraqi Kurdistan.

That the Western public is already discussing the prospect of the
PKK’s removal from the lists of terrorist organizations is a clear
indication of how much the PKK’s struggle against the jihadists has
contributed to its international standing.