Emily Withers
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
It could potentially be very significant. It could mark the end of a 40-year conflict that the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, has waged with Turkey that has left tens of thousands of dead on both sides and has had major regional impacts. We've had a letter that was written inside jail from the leader of PKK, who's based on an island just off Istanbul.
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
And in that letter, the militant leader Abdullah Ocalan said that the PKK should lay down their arms and they should dissolve. But there's so much that's unclear right now. You don't wage a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state without there being any major concessions. And it's just not clear at the moment what those concessions are.
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
It's also not clear whether the fighters who are now based in northeastern Syria, they're based in the northern Iraqi mountains, are they going to listen to their jailed leader who has been in prison since 1999? Not really ever heard from. Meanwhile, Turkey has continued to fight the PKK in the northern Iraqi mountains, in Syria and within the country.
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
There are two reasons for why President Erdogan might want this to happen now. Firstly, if we look over the border into Syria, running the northeast is the Syrian Democratic Forces. They are a Kurdish-led group, which Turkey says has PKK fighters amongst them. And they do not want this group to be on their borders. The complicated thing here is the SDF forces are also American allies.
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
They armed and trained them to watch over Syria. Islamic State and their battle against Islamic State in that region. There's also a domestic reason here too. President Tayyip Erdogan is no longer able to run for office after 2028. And it's not clear whether he might want to extend his power. He can do that through two ways. He can rewrite the constitution, or he can call early elections.
Global News Podcast
Trump hosts UK's Keir Starmer at the White House
In order to do that, he's going to need the support from Parliament. And he doesn't have that without the Kurdish parties. So it could be that this deal has been struck in order to secure the support from Kurdish parties so he can remain in office beyond 2028. And he's going to need the Kurdish vote as well, potentially, if he wants to win.