We recognise that the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has attempted to turn to peaceful means to secure rights for the Kurdish people[^pkk]. We also note the PKK's leadership in resisting the brutality of the ISIS forces in the Middle East. We therefore wish to delist the PKK as a terrorist organisation should it commit itself to disarming in Turkey and re-engaging in the peace process.
We recognise that the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has attempted to turn to peaceful means to secure rights for the Kurdish people[^pkk-terrorism-delisting]. We also note the PKK's leadership in resisting the brutality of the ISIS forces in the Middle East. We therefore wish to delist the PKK as a terrorist organisation. With a view to peace in the region, the PKK should it commit itself to disarming in Turkey and re-engaging in the peace process, and, in reciprocity, the Turkish government must ensure the protection of Kurdish people, implement initiatives combating discrimination against Kurdish people, enshrine the rights of the Kurdish people to the point of equality through any and all legal means in all government institutions, and similarly commit itself to disarming against the PKK providing no further attacks take place on either side. This would include the acceptance of the Kurdish language, especially in political power, where currently speaking Kurdish in the parliamentary body of Turkey can have you arrested.[^mp-arrested-speaking-kurdish]
[^pkk]: "The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization", Lawfare, February 11, 2016: https://www.lawfareblog.com/case-delisting-pkk-foreign-terrorist-organization
[^pkk-terrorism-delisting]: "The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization", Lawfare, February 11, 2016: https://www.lawfareblog.com/case-delisting-pkk-foreign-terrorist-organization
@philipjohn - about 7 years ago
This sentence has a couple of grammar quirks, probably just cause they were part of the original;
With a view to peace in the region, the PKK should it commit itself to disarming in Turkey and re-engaging in the peace process
Also I think there is a footnote missing, 'mp-arrested-speaking-kurdish'? But yes, good expansion.
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@Autumn-Leah - about 7 years ago
Whilst the acts committed by the PKK are not things I would attempt to justify, the systematic erasure of Kurdish culture and lifestyles is abhorrent, and as such I believe that the Turkish government must do a lot more to both compensate for previous actions and to advance the rights of Kurdish people before it can expect any form of peaceful resolution.