Turkey has more to gain by talking to the PKK than by military aggression

Last month, Turkey launched Operation Claw, a large-scale air and ground assault on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in and around Hakurk, Iraq. This area is adjacent to the Qandil Mountains, for years the operational centre of the internationally proscribed terrorist group.

The operation is part of another attempt by the Turkish state to seek a military solution to the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, which has been fought intermittently for 35 years and claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Operation Claw’s stated aim is to “eradicate” the terror threat emanating from the area. If that sounds familiar, it is because it echoes that of last year’s operation, and others before it, against the PKK in the same region.

The timing of both this and last year's incursions are of note. Last year's manoeuvre took place as Turkey was about to run parliamentary and presidential elections. This year's operation comes just weeks ahead of the rerun of the Istanbul mayoral election, which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initially lost, cried foul and had overturned. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP know that exhibiting nationalist credentials by attacking the PKK is a vote-winning strategy. It also maintains their alliance with the anti-Kurdish, right-wing Nationalist Movement Party.

However, there are also strategic factors at play.

After the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which are linked to the PKK, retook the city of Kobani and its environs from ISIS back in March 2015, the Kurds were ascendant in the northern Syrian region they call Rojava. Around the same time, the PKK made gains in Iraq after ISIS was finally defeated at Sinjar, where the Yazidi people were massacred, displaced and enslaved.

But, before then, Turkey was in dialogue with the PKK and a ceasefire was in place. The 2014 siege of Kobani changed all of that. Many Kurds in Turkey could see the city and its surrounding villages from their side of the border. They were enraged that Ankara initially prevented Kurdish forces from crossing to help save them from imminent slaughter.

After the tide began to turn in the YPG’s favour, the PKK felt emboldened and started to make new demands. The nascent peace process and ceasefire buckled under the pressure. Activists in some Kurdish towns in Turkey sought to assert regional control, erecting barricades and digging trenches to prevent Turkish security forces from entering. Throughout 2015 and 2016, Turkey stepped up its military campaign against the Kurds in the south-east. There were hundreds of civilian deaths and mass displacement among the Kurdish population. Accordingly, PKK-affiliated groups resumed deadly attacks across Turkey.

To make matters worse for Ankara, the Democratic Union Party – the YPG's political wing – declared federal democratic autonomy in Rojava in March 2016, following further gains both east and west of the Euphrates.

The possibility of a 1,000km stretch of contiguous Kurdish autonomy is too much for Ankara to bear

The possibility of a 1,000km stretch of contiguous Kurdish autonomy, from the mountainous Iraqi-Iranian border to the environs of the Mediterranean Sea in Syria is just too much for Ankara to bear. It threatens Turkey’s regional dominance and would reduce the nation’s influence over the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. It would also weaken Ankara’s hand against the PKK and embolden Kurdish separatism inside Turkey.

This is why Turkey continually intervenes across its borders. In Syria, it launched two large-scale operations between 2016 and 2018, designed to capture YPG positions to the east of the Euphrates. In neighbouring Iraq, it frequently targets PKK infrastructure and reacted harshly to the KRG holding a referendum in favour of independence in 2017, virtually closing off the autonomous region from the outside world.

However, Ankara’s attempt to solve the Kurdish question by military means lacks vision. Instead, Turkey could reap the strategic benefits of pursuing dialogue with the PKK.

Turkey faces the threat of a resurgent ISIS, which launched a deadly wave of terrorist attacks inside its borders between 2013 and 2017. The nation is also facing the fact that, with Russian support, Bashar Al Assad is winning in Syria and looks set to stay. He will not be quick to forget Turkey’s hostility.

However, these serious threats could be mitigated if, as a stepping stone for increased dialogue, Ankara renews the ceasefire with the PKK.

This could lead to quiet along the border. If peaceful talks make progress, Turkish companies may even have the opportunity to win contracts and tenders for infrastructural and development projects inside the Kurdish regions of Syria. Turkey would also have a buffer to both Assad’s forces and ISIS.

What is more, it would place Turkey on the same page as the US, Ankara’s estranged Nato ally and a principal backer of the YPG.

Turkey's recent decision to allow the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan access to his lawyers could be a start. The next stage would be to release members of the liberal and Kurdish-oriented Peoples' Democratic Party, many of whom have been imprisoned on trumped up terrorism-related charges.

Instead of seeking a military solution, Turkey should restart talks with the Kurds. Dialogue offers it more in the long-term than any military option.

Dr Simon A Waldman is an associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and visiting research fellow at King’s College London

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri

Rating: 1/5

UAE squad

Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.

World Cup final

Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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RESULTS

Men – semi-finals

57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.

67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.

60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28

63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.

71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28

81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27

86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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