5. Syria and the Kurdish Peace

1 Zilan’s real name and the name of the news outlet he worked for have been changed to protect his family.

2 Interview with Zilan, June 2016, unpublished.

3 Ezgi Başaran, ‘Muhatap “Kürt Akil Adamlar” olabilir mi?’, Radikal, 2 September 2012. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/muhatap-kurt-akil-adamlar-olabilir-mi-1098942/.

4 Ezgi Başaran, ‘“Öcalan’ın Gezi konusunda bize eleştirisi oldu”’, interview with Ahmet Türk, Radikal, 29 July 2013. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/ocalanin-gezi-konusunda-bize-elestirisi-oldu-1143839/.

5 Fehim Taştekin, Rojava: Kürtlerin Zamanı (Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2016), p. 129.

6 Ibid., p. 130.

7 The Adana Agreement was signed on 20 October 1998 between the Syrian and Turkish governments. Its goal was to establish cooperation in opposing the PKK.

8 Ezgi Başaran, ‘Çözüm sürecinden sonra Suriye muhalefetiyle iletişim arttı’, interview with Salih Müslim, Radikal, 15 April 2013. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/cozum-surecinden-sonra-suriye-muhalefetiyle-iletisim-artti-1129519/.

9 Ibid.

10 Ezgi Başaran, ‘Çözüm olsun ben iş bulurum’, interview with Murat Karayılan on Qandil Mountain, Radikal, 27 April 2013. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/cozum-olsun-ben-is-bulurum-1131279/.

11 Ibid.

12 Arwa Ibrahim, ‘Analysis: Turkey’s regional policy and the Kurdish peace process’, Middle East Eye, 1 September 2015. Available at http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/analysis-turkeys-regional-policy-and-kurdish-peace-process-675325380.

13 ‘Kurdish fighters aren’t terrorists’, Bloomberg, 20 August 2014. Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-08-20/kurdish-fighters-aren-t-terrorists.

14 Cale Salih and Mutlu Civiroglu, ‘Analysis: Could support for the “other” Kurds stall Islamic State?’, BBC, 25 August 2014. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28925179.

15 Elizabeth Griffin, ‘These remarkable women are fighting ISIS. It is time you know who they are’, Marie Claire, 30 September 2014. Available at http://www.marieclaire.com/culture/news/a6643/these-are-the-women-battling-isis/.

16 Ahmet Topal, ‘“PYD, DAEŞ’ten çok daha tehlikeli”’, Sabah, 19 June 2015. Available at http://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2015/06/19/pyd-daesten-cok-daha-tehlikeli-1434663598.

17 Yüksel Temel, ‘PYD ’nin kaos planı son anda önlendi’, Sabah, 20 June 2015. Available at http://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2015/06/20/pydnin-kaos-plani-son-anda-onlendi.

18 ‘DAEŞ destekli Kobani oyunu – ISIS-backed Kobani game’, Akşam, 26 June 2015.

19 ‘Hedef Türkiye’ (‘Turkey is the target’), Yeni Şafak, 26 June 2015.

20 ‘PYD-DAEŞ elele, hedef Türkiye’ (‘PYD-ISIS hand in hand, Turkey is the target’), Star, 26 June 2015.

21 Taştekin, Rojava, p. 226.

22 Chase Winter, ‘Turkey’s strained Kurdish peace process’, EKurd Daily, 12 December 2013. Available at http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2013/12/turkey4876.htm.

23 ‘Erdoğan: Kobani düştü düşecek!’, Habertürk, 7 October 2014. Available at http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/997321-erdogan-kobani-dustu-dusecek.

24 İmralı Notları – Demokratik Kurtuluş ve Özgür Yaşamı İnşa (Neuss: Mezopotamya Yayınları, 2015), p. 179.

25 Galip Dalay, ‘What is next for Turkey’s Kurdish peace process?’, Al Jazeera, 29 July 2015. Available at http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/07/turkey-kurdish-peace-process-150729074358423.html.

26 Robert Fisk, ‘Syria’s road from jihad to prison’, The Independent, 1 September 2012. Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-syrias-road-from-jihad-to-prison-8100749.html.

27 Ezgi Başaran, ‘Esad sonrası topraktan yeni silahlar çıkarılacak’, interview with Robert Fisk, Radikal, 5 September 2012. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/esad-sonrasi-topraktan-yeni-silahlar-cikarilacak-1099255/. During the publishing of this book, Fisk mentioned another possibility regarding these explosives. He had travelled to Sweden and visited the explosives factory where the items came from. It turned out to be a fireworks factory which manufactured illuminations for Volvo trucks. The Swedish company had told Fisk that the items were fitted to all Volvo trucks, including vehicles for export – and had thus made their way to Syria over several years. According to Fisk, when al-Nusra and others discovered the firework ‘safety’ packs in new Volvo lorries, they used them to blast their way through the walls of houses in urban fighting. Fisk also told me that ‘this doesn’t in any way diminish Turkey’s real involvement in armed groups in Syria, the evidence of the gendarmerie raids, and of the prisoner I spoke to in the Damascus jail’.

28 ‘Paralel Savcı MİT TIR’larını elleriyle aradı’, Yeni Şafak, 24 January 2015. Available at http://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/paralel-savci-mit-tirlarini-elleriyle-aradi-2068827.

29 The radical Salafist group has ties to al-Qaeda, since it had commanders such as Abu Khaled al-Soury, who fought alongside al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and was close to its current chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

30 Fehim Taştekin, ‘Turkish military says MIT shipped weapons to al-Qaeda’, Al-Monitor, 15 January 2015. Available at http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/turkey-syria-intelligence-service-shipping-weapons.html.

31 Ibid.

32 Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall, ‘Exclusive: Turkish intelligence helped ship arms to Syrian Islamist rebel areas’, Reuters, 21 May 2015. Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-turkey-arms-idUSKBN0O61L220150521.

33 ‘Turkey sends weapons to Daesh terrorists in Syria under the disguise of “humanitarian aid convoys”’, Global Research, 2 April 2016. Available at http://www.globalresearch.ca/turkey-sends-weapons-to-daesh-terrorist-in-syria-under-the-disguise-of-humanitarian-aid-convoys/5518065.

34 Adam Lidgett, ‘Russia–Turkey crisis: Moscow says US drone footage shows ISIS tankers crossing into Turkey’, International Business Times, 12 May 2015. Available at http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-turkey-crisis-moscow-says-us-drone-footage-shows-isis-tankers-crossing-turkey-2212946.

35 ‘Kilis’te taksi durakları artıyor’, Kilis Postası, 26 November 2014. Available at http://www.kilispostasi.com/kilis-te-taksi-duraklari-artiyor/1207690/.

36 ‘Canlı bomba listesindeki Tatar: Sınırdan IŞİD için açılan yoldan gittik’, Evrensel, 21 October 2015. Available at https://www.evrensel.net/haber/263279/canli-bomba-listesindeki-tatar-sinirdan-isid-icin-acilan-yoldan-suriyeye-gectik.

37 ‘Bir cihatçının itirafları: IŞİD, Türkiye sınırında çok rahat biçimde hareket ediyor’, Birgün, 8 July 2015. Available at http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/bir-cihatcinin-itiraflari-isid-turkiye-sinirinda-cok-rahat-bicimde-hareket-ediyor-84332.html.

38 ‘“Demirtaş’a suikast için IŞİD ekip gönderdi”’, Birgün, 14 October 2014. Available at http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/demirtas-a-suikast-icin-isid-ekip-gonderdi-92276.html.

39 İdris Emen, ‘Adıyaman – Suriye cihat hattı’, Radikal, 29 September 2013. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/adiyaman-suriye-cihat-hatti-1152993/.

40 Ezgi Başaran, ‘Yeni bombalı saldırı tahmin ettiğimizden yakın’, Radikal, 23 July 2015. Available at http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/ezgi-basaran/yeni-bombali-saldiri-tahmin-ettigimizden-yakin-1401811/.