Tuesday, January 15, 2013

"Does he have the resolve to see it through?"

"... “It is developments towards a Kurdistan in Syria and Iraq that are forcing Turkey to end its war with the PKK and beyond that, to find a solution to its Kurdish problem,” says Soli Ozel, international relations professor at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University....
For Erdogan, the Paris murders may have underscored the stakes. He is widely expected to run for president in 2014, and his search for a solution to the Kurdish conflict may well become a defining element of his political legacy. As a result, ironically, his success now depends in part on the cooperation of Ocalan, once Turkey’s most wanted man.
Still, several factors strengthen Erdogan’s hand ... But does he have the resolve to see it through? “It will be tough,” says Tanrikulu. “Turkey’s Kurds have expectations, the Turks are resistant, the process is vulnerable to international influences and then there are the PKK’s internal dynamics.”..."

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