4 ms·

The fact that the PKK is a terrorist organization is not at all a given. It is propaganda pushed by the Turkish government. The US government follows and so NAT

by p4bl0 7y ago

The fact that the PKK is a terrorist organization is not at all a given. It is propaganda pushed by the Turkish government. The US government follows and so NATO too but without real ground for it (other than disliking communists a lot, I mean). The UN does not consider the PKK as a terrorist organization, and the EU Court ruled that it should be removed for the terrorist organizations list.

dmix 7y ago
I follow this stuff pretty closely. Any organization that suicide bombs civilian areas is a terrorist IMO. The EU, NATO, Japan, etc didn't start using that designation for nothing. PKK also had an estimated 3000 child soldiers which were also used for terror operations and in combat in Syria: https://hrwf.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Child-soldiers-in-ISIS-PKK-Boko-Haram….pdf https://hrwf.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Child-soldiers-in...
- lostlogin 7y ago
  Both sides are using terrorism on civilians but the label doesn’t stick when the explosives come from a plane or gun barrel. Both sides are US allies and this can be solved with pressure from other states too.
  - dmix 7y ago
    The "both sides" diversionary tactic doesn't help anyone in these debates. It's the favourite excuse of every dictator and bad guy. The radical Kurds aren't going to win anything by engaging in it nor will the more moderate Kurdish groups gain anything by quietly supporting them. Turkey has much to lose in the years to come by exposing their soldiers in Kurdish majority areas and they are only further alienating themselves from Europe and the world, especially if they get too zealous in the process. They haven't even faced any real resistance yet since they focused on Arab areas first. Their decision making won't be without cost. There's no way this will be easy ride for them. Nothing in the middle east is ever like that. This is just downtime between the next major conflict. There's only so much to gain for anyone involved.

by p4bl0 7y ago

dmix 7y ago

I follow this stuff pretty closely. Any organization that suicide bombs civilian areas is a terrorist IMO. The EU, NATO, Japan, etc didn't start using that designation for nothing. PKK also had an estimated 3000 child soldiers which were also used for terror operations and in combat in Syria: https://hrwf.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Child-soldiers-in-ISIS-PKK-Boko-Haram….pdf https://hrwf.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Child-soldiers-in...

lostlogin 7y ago
Both sides are using terrorism on civilians but the label doesn’t stick when the explosives come from a plane or gun barrel. Both sides are US allies and this can be solved with pressure from other states too.
- dmix 7y ago
  The "both sides" diversionary tactic doesn't help anyone in these debates. It's the favourite excuse of every dictator and bad guy. The radical Kurds aren't going to win anything by engaging in it nor will the more moderate Kurdish groups gain anything by quietly supporting them. Turkey has much to lose in the years to come by exposing their soldiers in Kurdish majority areas and they are only further alienating themselves from Europe and the world, especially if they get too zealous in the process. They haven't even faced any real resistance yet since they focused on Arab areas first. Their decision making won't be without cost. There's no way this will be easy ride for them. Nothing in the middle east is ever like that. This is just downtime between the next major conflict. There's only so much to gain for anyone involved.