In 1997, the PKK was responsible for gross abuses against civilians in northern Iraq.  In once case, five individuals were reportedly kidnaped from the village of Gunda Jour by a PKK band in August of that year.  In October of that year, Iraqi Kurds said that a PKK unit murdered 14 civilians  --  the vast majority of whom were children --  and wounded nine others in attacks on the villages of Korka, Chema, Dizo, and Selki.  In December, seven Assyrian civilians were reported to have been brutally attacked  and killed near the village of Mangeesh.  As well, villagers in the isolated areas of Dohuk and Irbil provinces fled their homes and temporarily ought refuge in cities and towns to escape PKK attacks.

Meanwhile, in May of the same year (1997), Turkish forces numbering more than 50,000 again moved into northern Iraq, destroying many PKK bases by September. Over the course of 1998, the Turkish government increased its offensive against the PKK. In late April 1998, 40,000 troops were dispatched to the southeastern region of Turkey backed by heavy artillery and helicopters.

In October 1998, tensions increased between Turkey and Syria when Turkey demanded that Syria cease harboring Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK. Shortly thereafter, Ocalan fled to Moscow. On Nov. 12, Ocalan, was detained in Rome, Italy for traveling with a false passport. In addition to being Turkey's "most wanted man," warrants for his arrest had also been issued by Germany. Italy refused Turkey's request for Ocalan's extradition, since Italian law forbids extradition to countries with capital punishment. Fearing domestic conflict between its significant ethnic Kurdish and Turkish populations, Germany refused Italy's offer of extradition. Having been released from Italy, Ocalan disappeared until surfacing at the Greek embassy in Kenya. He left the Greek embassy bound for the Netherlands but was abducted from the Kenyan airport by Turkish agents in mid-February and taken into Turkish custody.

On May 31, 1999, the trial of Ocalan for treason and separatism began with the Turkish authorities seeking the death penalty. Since the Kurdish insurgency began, more than 30,000 people, including civilians, had been killed. Both the Turkish government and a large segment of the non-Kurdish Turkish populace held Ocalan directly accountable for these events. Despite the irregular trial proceedings and Ocalan's offer to obtain the PKK's agreement to lay down arms in return for his life, the court handed down the death penalty on June 29, 1999. The death sentence sparked pro-Ocalan demonstrations across Turkey and Europe. In addition, Ocalan supporters carried out a number of attacks, including suicide and fire bombings. However, Ocalan called for a cessation of violence. 

By November 1999, Ocalan and his attorneys had exhausted the appeals process in Turkey. With Ocalan's conviction upheld by the Turkish judiciary, the Turkish parliament and president are expected to have the last say in whether or not Ocalan was put to death. (In order for the death sentence to be carried out, it must be upheld by both parliament and the president). Ocalan's lawyers, however, have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR; that court asked Turkey to delay carrying out the sentence until it completed its review of the case. At the time, both President Demirel and Prime Minister Ecevit (who was opposed to the death penalty and wanted Turkey abolish it), favored waiting for the ECHR's decision - a process that could take years.

In addition to his personal convictions, Prime Minister Ecevit opposed putting Ocalan to death for both domestic political and foreign policy reasons. There were fear that not only might the death sentence engender renewed Kurdish separatist violence, especially in the heavily Kurdish southeast, it would also severely damage Turkey's chances of accession to the European Union. In the first instance, there was the emergence of a fragile truce at stake in 1999.  In the second instance, the European Union Convention on Human Rights banned the death penalty; a fact the European body has reminded Turkey of repeatedly in talks regarding the possibility of Turkey's membership in the European Union.

Meanwhile, the year 1999 was marked by the start of some degree of a cease-fire, although sporadic violence persisted between the Turkish military and PKK factions, most of which were now functioning in a cross-border fashion from Iraq.

On Jan. 12, 2000, after rather tense discussions, the governing coalition decided to delay sending the matter of Ocalan's fate to parliament -- at least for the time being. Prime Minister Ecevit faced strong opposition within his ruling coalition. The National Action Party, led by Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, favored sending the matter to parliament without delay, where it was likely that a majority of members would have supported carrying out the death sentence. Had the members of the coalition not reached an agreement, it has been suggested that Ecevit's government could have fallen.

In March 2003, the ECRH determined that Ocalan had not received a fair trial in his 1999 case, which ultimately ended in his conviction.  The ECRH concluded that because the case was tried in a court presided over by a three-judge panel, including one military judge, it was not an impartial or independent tribunal.   The government and Ocalan's defense team respectively issued appeals on the ruling.

In 2004, the Turkish state began television broadcasts in the Kurdish language.  Also noteworthy was the fact that  four Kurdish activists were freed from imprisonment and given the chance to face new trials. 

But 2004 also marked the decision by the PKK to end the ongoing  cease-fire with the Turkish authorities.  The PKK said that its decision was made to protest operations against its own forces. Soon thereafter, a bomb attack, attributed to the PKK, resulted in the deaths of three people in the southeastern town of Van. 
 
In early 2005, media reports suggested that a clash between Turkish government forces and PKK rebels resulted in the deaths of several people.  It was reported to have been the most significant altercation between the two sides since some semblance of a truce had emerged earlier in 1999.

In  mid-2005, a bomb blast at a seaside resort of Cesme in western Turkey left at least 20 people injured.  The casualties included two foreign tourists. The bomb had apparently been placed inside a bin close to a bank.  The Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK) -- a militant faction of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), claimed responsibility for the attack. In a call to the European-based Mezopotamya News Agency, the group said it had orchestrated the attack.  The group warned that further such attacks would be forthcoming.

In mid-April 2006, an explosion in the Bakirkoy district of the Turkish city of Istanbul left at least 31 people injured.  Authorities reported that the blast may have been due to a bomb that had been deposited into a garbage can. An earlier report that the explosion was due to a gas leak was dismissed by Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah.  The police chief asserted that a bomb had, indeed, exploded.  No immediate claims of responsibility for the explosion in Istanbul were made.   However, because most of these types of attacks have been associated with unrest in the Kurdish regions of the country, there was speculation that  the attack was carried out by the PKK, TAK or some other terrorist enclave.

Months later, another spate of bombs  plagued Turkey.  In this case, the blame was placed on an organization called the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), which, as noted just above, has been regarded as an offshoot of the PKK. 

In October  2006, the PKK announced a unilateral cease-fire.  A senior PKK leader, Murat Karayilan, said that he hoped the announcment would pave the way toward  fresh dialogue with the Turkish government.  But that cease-fire was soundly rejected by the Turkish government.  Indeed, Turkey's top general and chief of military staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, promised to continue the battle against the PKK  "until not a single armed terrorist is left." 

In April 2007, Turkish troops were ensconced in violent clashes with Kurdish separatist rebels.  Turkish media reported that eight soldiers and one government-sponsored Kurdish "village guard" had died as a result of the violence.   Three of the eight soldiers were killed during clashes with the Kurdish extremists in the province of Bingol in the eastern part of the country.  Two soldiers and the lone village guard died during clashes with the rebels in the province of Sirnak in the mountain region bordering Iraq.  Meanwhile, three soldiers were reported to have been killed as a result of landmine incidences.

On May 22, 2007, an explosion in the Turkish capital of  Ankara left six people dead and more than 100 others injured.  The blast ensued in the vicinity of a shopping center in Ulus district of the capital. Reports suggested that it had been caused by a bomb that had been left at a bus stop, rather than being an accidental explosion as had  been suggested earlier by  Governor Kemal Onal.  A day later, Governor Onal said confirmed that the explosion had, indeed, been a deleberate act, which was carried out by a suicide bomber.  To this end, he said, "The suicide bomber was identified as Guven Akkus, who was born in Zara town of central city of Sivas in 1979. He detonated the plastic bomb on him."  

Meanwhile, the  Turkish Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukanit blamed the bombing on an organized terrorist organization.  Because of the use of  A-4 plastic explosives in the bomb has been typically used by the PKK in attacks before, there was a high level of speculation that the outlawed group might be responsible. 

Attacks by radical Kurdish separatists in early June 2007 left at least seven Turkish soldiers dead in the eastern part of the country.  The violence began when the Kurdish extremists drove a vehicle into a military base and detonated a grenade. The attack was attributed to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey and many Western countries of the wider international community.  The situation was complicated by rising speculation that Turkey might carry out an incursion into Iraq to deal with PKK operatives in that country, who often move across the border to carry out their attacks.

Also in June 2007, Turkish troops were reported to have crossed the border into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish militants.  For some time, Kurdish separatist extremists have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from the operations bases across the border.  While Turkish security officials gave differing accounts of the possible incursion into Iraq, the Turkish Foreign Ministry denied that Turkish troops had entered Iraq.  Two security officials, speaking on conditions of anonymity, noted that the military activities accounted for a limited operation -- essentially chasing Kurdish extremists just two miles inside Iraq.  However, a third official characterized the operation as a raid of militant bases within Iraqi territory, just across from the Turkish town of Cukurca.   Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that reports of cross-border military operations were false.

In the third week of June 2007, a suicide attack allegedly carried out by the PKK, left two people dead.  The apparent act of terrorism targeted a Turkish paramilitary police post in the eastern province of Tunceli, and was carried out when a fuel truck headed toward soldiers and exploded.  Turkey has blamed the recent increase in such terror attacks on PKK rebels operating across the border from northern Iraq.  The issue has evoked concern ever since the Turkish military said that a military operation in northern Iraq should be advanced to flush out PKK.

In September 2007,  at least a dozen people were killed as a result of an ambush in the Sirnak province of Turkey, located  close to the border with Iraq.  Kurdish separatists apparently ordered the victims off a bus and then shot them to death.  Both  civilians and government security forces were among the victims.  The incident came on the heels of the killing of a leader within the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been deemed a terrorist group by both Turkish and foreign governments.  The ambush was followed by the killing of two  Kurdish rebels on the Iraqi border.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the  attacks and promised a strong reaction saying, "Our determination to fight the terrorists will continue... They will definitely get a response."  Still, the Turkish leader also observed that the resurgence in attacks by the PKK signified that the group was feeling the effects of an army crackdown.

In October 2007, an attack by the extremist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) left 13 Turkish soliders dead close to the Turkish border with Iraq.  It was regarded as one of the most significant losses for the military of Turkey in its conflict with militant Kurdish fighters.  The Turkish military shelled the area in order to stop the PKK from escaping across the border into Iraq.   The Turkish leadership also announced the deaths of at least 30 PKK fighters in clashes with the military.   Meanwhile, 10 civilians were injured when a minibus was caught in a landmine explosion, seemingly orchestrated by the PKK.

Those incidences evoked renewed accusations from the Turkish government that thousands of PKK fighters were operating from across the border in Iraq.  As such, Turkey warned that it would cross into Iraqi territory, if necessary, in order to pursue the Kurdish rebels.  It was a position that was strenuously rejected by the Iraqi government on the grounds of sovereignty.  Indeed, on September 28, 2007, Iraq denied a Turkish request to do so, agreeing instead to a broader security agreement. 

But by October 2007, following an emergency meeting of the country's leadership, a statement was released noting the following: "Although it respects Iraq's territorial integrity, Turkey will not tolerate that terrorism be aided and abetted and will not be afraid to pay, whatever the price may be, to protect its rights, its indivisible unity and its citizens."  The statement also asserted, "The fight against the separatist terrorist organization will be waged with determination until the very end."  This position appeared to be popular among the general Turkish population given the mass rally of support by Turks calling for action against the PKK.

In the background of these developments had been the decision on October 17, 2007 by Turkey's parliament to sanction incursions into Iraqi terrain to pursue PKK rebels, who had been operating from across the border.   Iraq, backed by the U.S., strongly rejected such action by Turkey.   Indeed, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged that United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had asked Turkey to exercise restrains and refrain from military action for a few days.  The Turkish leadership later gave assurances that it would not go the military route until all diplomatic means to resolve the situation were exhausted.

On December 16, 2007, Turkey carried out air strikes against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.  Around 50 Turkish jets pummeled 10 villages inside Iraqi terrain but close to the border with Turkey.  The move was apparently sanctioned by the United States (U.S.), according to Turkey's top general, Yasa Buyukanit, who said that the U.S. opened air space in northern Iraq in order for the operation to be carried out.  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan characterized the air offensive as a "success." For its part, Iraq has condemned the air strikes as "unacceptable."  Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari  said in an interview with the British media,  "There has been previous understanding that any such action should be coordinated with the Iraqi government or with the multinational forces.  From what we've learned, they gave a very late notice for their operation, and those targeted villages... were not PKK infrastructure."


Latest Developments

In September 2009, the  Turkish government was set to address the contentious Kurdish issue. On Sept. 7, 2009, the interior ministry was scheduled to offer an address dealing with the government's proposals to settle the 25-year conflict between the Turkish authorities and the Kurds that has claimed 40,000 lives.  A day later on Sept. 8, 2009, a mass rally was scheduled to take place in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to acknowledge the government's recent efforts to end the conflict with the Kurds. The rally was  planned by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party  In a third development, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was expected to advance his own proposals to end the conflict.

These moves coincided with the climate of rising political tension over the Kurdish issue in Turkey, fueled somewhat by opposition criticism on the matter. Specifically, the country's two major opposition parties -- the Republican People's Party and the Nationalist Movement Party --  have accused the ruling Justice and Development Party of treason by effectively joining forces with the PKK to solve the Kurdish problem.  They have pointed to the fact the PKK has been viewed as a terrorist organization, and the planned rally, which was backed by the government, could be a venue for the dissemination of terrorist propaganda.

But on the other side of the equation, the government has noted that its moves to restore political and cultural rights to Turkey's minority  Kurdish population has been in response to pressure from the European Union. To that end, it planned to advance a package of extended democratic rights and freedoms to Kurds.  The government has also argued that its plans are intended to try to bring Kurdish people into the fold while also eroding support for the extremist PKK.


The Main Players in the Conflict

Turkey

As Turkey’s largest minority group, the Kurds are perceived as the only group that could pose a threat to Turkish national unity.  Turkey declined to participate in the U.S. invasion of Iraq partly because of concerns that Iraqi Kurds would seek to establish an independent state, which would provoke separatist sentiments among Turkish Kurds. In particular, Turkey worries that an independent, economically dynamic Iraqi Kurdistan in control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk would provide even more incentive for Turkish Kurds to secede given the poor economic conditions of southeastern Turkey. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Turkey received assurances from the U.S. that Iraq would remain a unified country. Turkey hopes that its accession talks with the European Union will diminish any desire that its Kurdish population has for secession. Turkey has bilateral agreements with Syria and Iran to come to one another’s defense against a Kurdish threat. Turkey contends that its counterterrorism efforts against the PKK will not jeopardize the democratic reforms it is undertaking to join the European Union.  As noted above, the Turkish government was trying to address the Kurdish issue as of 2009.

Turkish Kurds

Turkish Kurds have long attempted to achieve to obtain greater political and cultural rights. The economic underdevelopment of southeastern Turkey has also fueled Kurdish discontent. Kurds allege that the Turkish government has withheld resources from Kurdish regions. Unemployment in Kurdish provinces remains high. The PKK does not represent the majority of Kurds, who have had little desire to establish a Marxist state. Furthermore, the PKK frequently targeted Kurdish civilians. Some Kurdish activists have worked within the political system to advance the cause of cultural rights. The Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) has been the most sympathetic Turkish political party toward the issue of Kurdish rights, though the Turkish government frequently criticizes it for not labeling the PKK a terrorist organization. Turkish Kurds, though pleased with the government’s recent cultural reforms as it seeks to join the European Union, still want more reforms to address their grievances. They especially want the government to make Kurdish a second official language and want public schools to offer Kurdish language instruction. Despite decades of efforts by the Turkish government, the Kurdish language continues to be the main language by Kurdish citizens, though most speak Turkish as well.

Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK)

The PKK has abandoned its aspirations to establish an independent Kurdish state.  It now seeks regional autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan, an amnesty for PKK militants that allows them to openly participate in politics, and the release of Abdullah Ocalan from prison. The PKK had 10,000-15,000 guerillas in 1997. By 2002, however, only 4,000-5,000 remained active in the group. Aside from operating as a terrorist organization, Turkey alleges that the PKK is involved in drug trafficking. In The PKK has accused the Turkish government of double standards because it has engaged in talks with Hamas after its victory in the January 2006 Palestinian elections. According to the U.S. State Department, over the course of the ceasefire, the PKK has split into two factions – one, politically minded reformists and the other hardliners who want a return to violence. Hardliners took control of the group in February 2004.

European Union

Turkey currently aspires to join the European Union (E.U.).  The prospect of joining the E.U. has greatly affected Turkish policy towards its Kurdish minority.  E.U. member states cannot discriminate against their linguistic minorities, meaning that Turkey must reassess many of its policies governing the use of the Kurdish language. The E.U. also has insisted that Turkey grant its Kurds greater rights to protest and participate in the political process. The E.U. has also been critical of a recent Turkish antiterrorism law that the E.U. claims sets back democratic reform in the Kurdish provinces. The E.U. has urged Kurdish separatists to renounce violence and has condemned the actions of the PKK. The E.U. also urged Turkey to repatriate Kurdish citizens displaced by its campaign against the PKK.

United States

The U.S considers the PKK a terrorist organization. Some believe that the U.S. has been reluctant to deal with the problem of the PKK in northern Iraq because it is too busy with security problems in the rest of the country and does not want to risk upsetting the relative stability of the region of northern Iraq and alienating its generally pro-American Kurdish population. . Some military analysts believe it would take 10,000 American troops to defeat the PKK. Balancing Turkish and Iraqi geopolitical priorities in the region is becoming an increasingly delicate balancing act, especially as Turkey threatens to intervene against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan. During a visit to Turkey in 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged that the U.S. would redouble its efforts to stop the PKK. In July 2006, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey warned that any unilateral decision to enter Iraqi Kurdistan would be “unwise.” The U.S. has also reportedly asked the autonomous regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan to crack down on the PKK.  As noted above, in 2007, there were indeed targeted incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraq

Some observers claim that Iraqi Kurdistan views the PKK as a possible trump against Turkey should the Turkish government seek to prevent broader Kurdish autonomy in the region. Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government, warned that if Turkey tries "to stop our people from profiting or progressing," then Turkey's own "stability and security" would suffer. Turkish officials interpreted Barzani’s remarks as a veiled threat to support an insurgency in Turkey should it seek to intervene in the Kurds’ aspirations.  In May 2006, however, Iraqi Kurdish officials warned the PKK against launching a guerilla war against Turkey from Iraqi territory.   As noted above, in 2007, Iraqi Kurdistan saw some incursions by Turkey.

Iran

Iran used to support to the PKK as proxy to annoy the West. However, now that a moderate Islamic-based party controls the Turkish parliament, Iran increases views the PKK as an impediment to establishing closer ties to Turkey. In April 2006, 10,000 Iranian troops attacked PKK-affiliated rebels operating in its territory.

Syria

Syria, like Iran, used to arm and host PKK militants. Syria signed an antiterrorism agreement with Turkey in 2001, in which it pledged to no longer support the PKK.


Editor's Note: 

For decades, the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has been waging an armed independence campaign in the southeastern part of the country.  Antagonism between the Turkish government in Ankara and the now-outlawed PKK has intensified since 2004 when a cease-fire was called off.  A cease-fire called by the PKK in October 2006 was soundly rejected by the Turkish government.  The PKK is regarded as a terrorist group by the Turkish government, as well as the European Union (EU) and the United States (U.S.).