Some people wonder why I condemn the PKK. Some seem to think this can only occur if someone is anti-Kurdish, co-opted by the Turkish government, or ignorant of Kurdish realities.
I have met many Kurds and enjoyed their hospitality and kindness. PKK does not represent them, and they deserve better than to be associated with this group in a lazy and off-hand way that ignores different linguistic, regional, historical, and political identities among Kurds.
To answer the question for those asking, I am including a little background here. To begin with, I believe communism, Stalinism, Maoism, and their derived ideologies to be evil and disastrous. Body count from the 20th century wherever they ruled confirms the point.
I also believe that the Kurdish peoples' struggles for democratic rights should take place through democratic means in existing nation-states. Hard road to progress, but a steady one. There is progress on that front over the past 30 years for sure.
As for the PKK...it is quixotic and anachronistic, and it is a terror group. Again, Kurds deserve better than a group that has perfected the car bomb attack in Syria and Turkey setav.org/en/assets/uplo…
Better than a group that murders teachers and civilians kurdistan24.net/en/story/12101… crisisgroup.org/europe-central… trtworld.com/magazine/a-tim…
A group that oppresses and attacks other Kurds, trying to seize control of the IKR: nationalreview.com/2004/08/pkk-fa… and middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-crack…
That conscripts children and oppresses local peoples where it has control straturka.com/kurdish-mother… and politicstoday.org/the-pkks-child… and hrw.org/news/2014/06/1…
That still endorses leftist extremist ideology rooted in Maoism: counterextremism.com/threat/kurdist… and theanarchistlibrary.org/library/abdull…
That operates a large, illicit drug and crime network: washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi… and washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi… and tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
That was a proxy of Moscow and Damascus by origin washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi…
And collaborates extensively with Iran english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indept… especially against KDP washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi…
I am not solely focused on PKK as a regional analyst, but this is a significant matter for U.S. policy. PKK is simply not a building block for any better future in the region. Pro-PKK Twitter trolls, rebut the facts if you can, but the critique is not from $ or hate or ignorance.
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