Kurdistan Workers' Party

After a peaceful period of nearly two years following the Turkish government’s initiative to pursue a political solution to the chronic Kurdish problem, the tension has disproportionately increased in the last two weeks, reaching its top, when a Kurdish militant jumped into the garden of a major Air Force base in Diyarbakır despite warning shots, climbed the mast, pulled down the flag and ra

A group of families in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır have started a hunger strike to demand the return of their children who joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The families were holding a sit-in protest in front of the Diyarbakır Municipality amid demands that the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) mediate for the release of their children.

The number of the youth going to the mountains to join the PKK has not decreased, despite the peace process, says Professor Nükhet Sirman from the Women for Peace initiative.

Clashes erupted between the crowd and police June 8 during the funeral procession of one of the two Kurdish demonstrators killed by security forces during a raid on a roadblock in Diyarbakır’s Lice district, showing the dramatic escalation of tension in Turkey’s southeastern provinces.

Turkey’s main opposition leader has called on the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and its sister party, The Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), to provide support in the presidential elections against the ruling party candidate, marking a first concrete appeal to reach out to Kurdish voters.

At least two protesters died June 7 from gunshot wounds sustained during intense clashes with soldiers in Diyarbakır’s Lice district, where demonstrations against the construction of a gendarmerie posts have been continuing for nearly two weeks.

The southeast may seem to be a powder keg, but the government is intent on taking critical steps on the peace process, the deputy PM says The Turkish government is prepared to take a “courageous step” in the Kurdish peace process, including passing legal amendments for a new roadmap, Deputy PM Beşir Atalay told a workshop on the peace process held in Diyarbakır on June 6.

Regarding the course of the Kurdish issue, there is a truly perplexing situation. We are seeing two separate perspectives, which are exactly the opposite of each other.

The debate on children leaving their homes to join the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is still very much alive in Turkey.

Istanbul police detained a man on June 5 after he was outed by social media users as “the pink-shirted provocateur” who participated in a fiery Kurdish protest minutes before attending a Turkish nationalist demonstration in the same neighborhood.