Turkey Analysis: Syria and Barzani Unsettle Ankara's Official Policy on Kurdistan

Prime Minister ErdoganThe Erdogan government will try to rely on a "security-first" agenda to challenge both the opposition parties and the PKK, at the same time promoting its synthesis of nationalism and Islam.

However, Ankara now has to review its calculation that playing the game with more players and more cards would turn the situation to its advantage. Both Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani's involvement and the changing Syrian situation pose a question: what will Erdogan do if an autonomous Kurdish region is declared not only in Syria but in southeastern Turkey?

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Turkey Live Coverage (20 June): 26 Die in Military Clashes with PKK

1700 GMT: During a recent speech at the Washington Institute, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said that Israel needs to come to terms with Turkey's superpower status in the Middle East.

1615 GMT: BDP's deputy Altan Tan underlined the equally important matter of halting military operations and responded to calls for PKK to lay down its arms. Altan said:

Every time, they ar calling on PKK lay down its arms. OK, let it do so but how, to whom and where shall it leave its arms? 

1520 GMT: Barzani spoke to Turkey's TRT: 

The period of armed struggle is over now. This gives harm to Kurdish people. Our position is clear and obvious. We are asking our brothers in Turkey to continue their activities in the Parliament. The recent steps taken are very important ones for Turkey. I am condemning this incident. 

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Turkey Analysis: An Opposition MP Gives Prime Minister Erdogan An Edge on the Kurdish Issue

Last week, Leyla Zana, an MP of the pro-Kurdish opposition Peace and Democracy Party, expressed hope in an interview that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would solve the Kurdish issue:

There is a solid fact here. Let’s say this openly and accept this fact. If he wanted, the strongest can solve this [Kurdish] issue. Who is the strongest one? It’s the government and its head, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The person who is the head of the strongest government in [our] history is able to show the willpower and has the power to sort out this issue. I believe that he will be able to solve this issue. I have never lost my faith in him solving this issue. And I don’t want to lose my faith in him. If I had lost [my faith], I wouldn’t be here.

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Turkey Live Coverage (13 June): Concern over Syrian Refugees

2200 GMT: The first reaction to Israel's recently declared report on the Mavi Marmara flotilla tragedy came from Turkey. According to Haaretz, one official from the Foreign Ministry underlined the importance of an official apology and added:

The State Comptroller [Micha Lindenstrauss]'s report regarding the decision making process is not in Turkey's interest. If the reports we received are correct, it shows that the attack on the Mavi Marmara and the killing of the Turkish nationals could have been prevented.

1930 GMT: The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu writes about the Kurdish problem on his Twitter account:

CHP aims at solving every problem in a legitimate platform. The legitimate platform of this problem is the Parliament. Politicians shall discuss problems with every dimensions. There are terror, psychologic, economic and social dimensions of this problem. 

If we do not solve this problem, external actors come into play. Without solution, emotional breaks emerge. If this problem can be discussed everywhere, why not under the roof of the Parliament? 

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Turkey Live Coverage (11 June): The Government's Carrot-and-Stick on the Kurdish Issue

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Regime on Its Last Legs?

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2000 GMT: It is claimed by Today's Zaman that the Obama administration will anoounce seven countries including Turkey that will be exempt from sanctions since they have significantly cut oil purchases from Iran. 

1835 GMT: Turkish deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc said that no revision is planned to abolish specially authorized prosecutors and courts as part of a government plan to overhaul the Turkish criminal code. 

1505 GMT: It is claimed that the arrestment of BDP members including Van Mayor Bekir Kaya had been known in advance. According to this assertion, some prison cells had been emptied and readied even before they were detained. 

1500 GMT: Firat News Agency known by its close ties with the outlawed PKK, says 'KCK Executive Council member Cemil Bayık' evaluated the meeting between AKP and CHP as 'the usual policy of “trying to strain Kurds and making them surrender”'.

Besides, in response to the government's new initiative, KCK political committee reportedly declared that "any discussion or decision taken on the struggle of freedom without the will of our movement and our people is void!"

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Turkey Live Coverage (4 June): No Kurdish Problem At All?

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: President Assad's "Real War"

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1800 GMT: According Turkish daily Today's Zaman, Ankara welcomes political efforts to unseat Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as politicians in the Iraqi Parliament have collected enough signatures to hold a non-confidence vote. 

1710 GMT: President Abdullah Gul met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul. Abbas is also expected to talk to Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu. Nothing specific regarding the content of the meetings has been revealed so far. 

1600 GMT: Syrian opposition activits declared the formation of a new military coalition named "the Syrian Rebels Front". Khaled al-Okla, a member of the new group, says it coordinates with the Free Syrian Army.

1440 GMT: The first Mavi Marmara court hearing is scheduled for 6 November. As known, the indictment charging four Israeli commanders for full life sentence was accepted last month.

1335 GMT: Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says that Turkey already has a semi-presidential system which needs to be upgraded to the presidential system.

1245 GMT: An air-supported operation against PKK is continuing in the Beytussebap district of the province of Sirnak. Sikorsky and Cobra helicopters are bombarding the Kato Mountain.

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Turkey Live Coverage (24 May): Erdogan Government Sidelining Its Minister of Interior?

1220 GMT: Following Minister of Interior İdris Naim Şahin's recent announcement that the order of the Uludere operation  --- which killed 34 civilians in January --- was given by top air force commanders, the opposition BDP's deputy Hasip Kaplan has responded in Parliament:

Let us ask this to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mehdi Eker, since the Defence Minister is not present here. He will give a better answer. Which beast gave that order?

1100 GMT: A deputy of the opposition Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Leyla Zana, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of spreading propaganda for PKK.

Zana was convicted in 1994 for having links to PKK and she was released in 2004.

1030 GMT: The Deputy Chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Hüseyin Çelik, criticised Minister of Interior İdris Naim Şahin for his recent remarks on the Uludere incident in January, which killed 34 civilians as they were smuggling goods from Iraq. Çelik disowned Şahin's claim that the slain were smuggling for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as “extras” of the militant group. Çelik said:

We think this approach and style by Mr. Minister is not humane. It is also clear that the style and approach of Mr. Minister does not belong to the AK Party. It is not possible to get something right from something wrong. If they had been captured alive, they would be put on trial on charges of smuggling, but this incident overshadowed the smuggling issue. 

Turkey Follow-Up: More Questions --- and No Answers --- About the Killing of 34 Civilians

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoganOn Wednesday, I asked about January's Uludere killings, in which 34 civilians died, who gave the order to jets to bomb? And, beyond the death, how does this incident --- and the claim that the "intelligence" behind the attack came from the US --- affect Turkey's relations within the context of its Kurdish problem? 

More questions....

Turkish Armed Forces said that the intelligence --- which apparently to smugglers being wrongly identified as Kurdish insurgents --- was given by "national sources", but when eyes turned to the National Intelligence Service (MIT), it denied that it provided information.

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Turkey Live Coverage (9 May): Kurds, Syria, Iraq, and the EU

1800 GMT: The Humanitarian Aid Association (İHH) says Iranian officials helped in determining the whereabouts of the two missing Turkish journalists in Syria.

1645 GMT: Speaking to reporters after the three-hour meeting, Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek said the drafting process would commence on Thursday. Political parties will create a catalogue of basic rights and freedoms on Thursday. He said: “The first step of this process is [to determine] basic rights and freedoms."

1625 GMT: In its the U.S.-Turkey Relations: A New Partnership report, the Independent Task Force of Council on Foreign Relations says that "Turkey may not yet have the status of one of Washington's traditional European allies but there is good strategic reason for the bilateral relationship to grow and mature into a mutually beneficial partnership that can manage a complex set of security, economic, humanitarian, and environmental problems." 

1600 GMT: Diyarbakir Dicle University's Rector Aysegul Jale Sarac complained about the insufficient number of academic personnel in the region and showed the 'label of terrorism' for professors' not choosing the eastern part of the country. 

1545 GMT: In response to speculations whether Tariq al-Hashemi will be returned to Iraq, deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said that they would not return someone they had given support to. 

1420 GMT: A specialist corporal was killed when he stepped on a land mine in a rural area of the province of Tunceli. An air-backed operation began immediately. 

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Turkey Live Coverage (7 May): Kurds and Syrians At The Top of The Agenda

1825 GMT: Two PKK members were killed by Turkish forces in the province of Siirt.

1700 GMT: According to some experts, the new election results in Armenia, Greece and France have pros and cons for Turkey. 

As Socialist leader François Hollande wins in France, Paris is expected to have a different approach than Sarkozy's on Turkey's EU accession process. However, as Galatasaray University's professor Beril Dedeoglu says, his expectations on democratization, human rights and transparency of Turkey will be higher. In case of strong opposition from Ankara, the bilateral relations are likely to be damaged.

In Greece, many experts do not expect another friction since the economic crisis is likely to be at the top of the agenda. And, in Armenia, the current status quo in relations is likely to be preserved since Sarkasyan won the elections again. 

1620 GMT: Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says the Presidential system shall be discussed during the new constitution making process.

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