Latest news with #DEM
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Turkey's Erdogan risks alienating voters as PKK peace advances
FILE PHOTO: Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing support among nationalist Turkish voters in making peace with Kurdistan Workers Party militants, whose burning of weapons last week was dismissed by some as a stunt. A backlash to Erdogan's call on Saturday for wide parliamentary support for the process underlines the challenge he faces in balancing nationalist and Kurdish demands, with a failure to do so potentially jeopardising the plan's success. Erdogan's own future is also at stake: his term runs out in 2028 unless parliament backs the idea of early elections or a change in the constitution to extend a 22-year rule in which he has raised NATO member Turkey's profile on the world stage. He insists that personal political considerations play no role. "The doors of a new powerful Turkey have been flung wide open," he said on Saturday of the symbolic initial handover of arms. While his AKP party's far-right nationalist coalition partner MHP drove the peace process, smaller nationalist parties have condemned it. They recalled his years condemning the pro-Kurdish DEM party as being tied to the 40-year PKK insurgency that the PKK now says is over. Erdogan's comments about "walking together" with DEM drew a cool response from the pro-Kurdish party itself, with DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan saying there was no broad political alliance between it and the AKP. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik reaffirmed the president's nationalist credentials in response to a request for comment on his statement, saying the process "is not give-and-take, negotiation, or bargaining." Parliament is convening a commission tasked with deciding how to address Kurdish demands for more autonomy and the reintegration of fighters complying with the February disarmament call of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The nationalist opposition IYI Party is refusing to take part, with its leader Musavat Dervisoglu describing the peace process at the weekend as a betrayal after a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. "We will not allow the Republic to be destroyed, we will not allow the Turkish homeland to be divided, we will not surrender to betrayal," he said. Umit Ozdag, head of the opposition Victory Party, also sought to stir nationalist passions, slamming the commission as a bid to legitimise the PKK and dismissing the event where 30 PKK members burned their guns as a "barbecue party". "You don't just burn 30 rifles and call it a day. Weapons are surrendered, and PKK members interrogated one-by-one." A senior Turkish official said the gun burning was an "irreversible turning point". It is part of a five-stage process culminating in legal reforms and social reconciliation by early 2026, according to another Turkish source. NUMBER CRUNCHING While those parties could not derail the peace process alone, Erdogan, a shrewed political operator, is likely to closely monitor public reaction as the commission starts its work. A private June survey by the Konda pollster seen by Reuters showed that only 12% of respondents believe the PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, has abandoned the insurgency that it launched in 1984. It also showed potential candidates for the opposition CHP, now subject to a wide-ranging legal crackdown, beating Erdogan in head-to-head votes in an election. Erdogan critics say the peace process is aimed at drawing Kurdish support for a new constitution that would both boost their rights and allow him to be a candidate in 2028. He says reform is needed because the constitution is outdated rather than for any personal reasons and he has not committed to running again. It is unclear whether the commission will propose constitutional change, but such changes require the support of 400 MPs in the 600-seat assembly with the potential for a referendum if more than 360 MPs vote in favour. The AKP-MHP alliance has 319 seats, while DEM have 56. Any move to hold early elections would also require 360 votes, but that - and the peace process itself - would depend on keeping DEM on board. After meeting the justice minister on Wednesday, DEM's Buldan said she had insisted that PKK disarmament proceed in lock-step with legal changes. "The minister expressed commitment to ensuring the process proceeds legally and constitutionally," she said, adding that there was no specific timeline for disarmament. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Writing by Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Philippa Fletcher)
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Turkey's Erdogan risks alienating voters as PKK peace advances
FILE PHOTO: Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo ANKARA - President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing support among nationalist Turkish voters in making peace with Kurdistan Workers Party militants, whose burning of weapons last week was dismissed by some as a stunt. A backlash to Erdogan's call on Saturday for wide parliamentary support for the process underlines the challenge he faces in balancing nationalist and Kurdish demands, with a failure to do so potentially jeopardising the plan's success. Erdogan's own future is also at stake: his term runs out in 2028 unless parliament backs the idea of early elections or a change in the constitution to extend a 22-year rule in which he has raised NATO member Turkey's profile on the world stage. He insists that personal political considerations play no role. "The doors of a new powerful Turkey have been flung wide open," he said on Saturday of the symbolic initial handover of arms. While his AKP party's far-right nationalist coalition partner MHP drove the peace process, smaller nationalist parties have condemned it. They recalled his years condemning the pro-Kurdish DEM party as being tied to the 40-year PKK insurgency that the PKK now says is over. Erdogan's comments about "walking together" with DEM drew a cool response from the pro-Kurdish party itself, with DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan saying there was no broad political alliance between it and the AKP. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik reaffirmed the president's nationalist credentials in response to a request for comment on his statement, saying the process "is not give-and-take, negotiation, or bargaining." Parliament is convening a commission tasked with deciding how to address Kurdish demands for more autonomy and the reintegration of fighters complying with the February disarmament call of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The nationalist opposition IYI Party is refusing to take part, with its leader Musavat Dervisoglu describing the peace process at the weekend as a betrayal after a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. "We will not allow the Republic to be destroyed, we will not allow the Turkish homeland to be divided, we will not surrender to betrayal," he said. Umit Ozdag, head of the opposition Victory Party, also sought to stir nationalist passions, slamming the commission as a bid to legitimise the PKK and dismissing the event where 30 PKK members burned their guns as a "barbecue party". "You don't just burn 30 rifles and call it a day. Weapons are surrendered, and PKK members interrogated one-by-one." A senior Turkish official said the gun burning was an "irreversible turning point". It is part of a five-stage process culminating in legal reforms and social reconciliation by early 2026, according to another Turkish source. NUMBER CRUNCHING While those parties could not derail the peace process alone, Erdogan, a shrewed political operator, is likely to closely monitor public reaction as the commission starts its work. A private June survey by the Konda pollster seen by Reuters showed that only 12% of respondents believe the PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, has abandoned the insurgency that it launched in 1984. It also showed potential candidates for the opposition CHP, now subject to a wide-ranging legal crackdown, beating Erdogan in head-to-head votes in an election. Erdogan critics say the peace process is aimed at drawing Kurdish support for a new constitution that would both boost their rights and allow him to be a candidate in 2028. He says reform is needed because the constitution is outdated rather than for any personal reasons and he has not committed to running again. It is unclear whether the commission will propose constitutional change, but such changes require the support of 400 MPs in the 600-seat assembly with the potential for a referendum if more than 360 MPs vote in favour. The AKP-MHP alliance has 319 seats, while DEM have 56. Any move to hold early elections would also require 360 votes, but that - and the peace process itself - would depend on keeping DEM on board. After meeting the justice minister on Wednesday, DEM's Buldan said she had insisted that PKK disarmament proceed in lock-step with legal changes. "The minister expressed commitment to ensuring the process proceeds legally and constitutionally," she said, adding that there was no specific timeline for disarmament. REUTERS
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Turkey's Erdogan risks alienating voters as PKK peace advances
ANKARA, July 17 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing support among nationalist Turkish voters in making peace with Kurdistan Workers Party militants, whose burning of weapons last week was dismissed by some as a stunt. A backlash to Erdogan's call on Saturday for wide parliamentary support for the process underlines the challenge he faces in balancing nationalist and Kurdish demands, with a failure to do so potentially jeopardising the plan's success. Erdogan's own future is also at stake: his term runs out in 2028 unless parliament backs the idea of early elections or a change in the constitution to extend a 22-year rule in which he has raised NATO member Turkey's profile on the world stage. He insists that personal political considerations play no role. "The doors of a new powerful Turkey have been flung wide open," he said on Saturday of the symbolic initial handover of arms. While his AKP party's far-right nationalist coalition partner MHP drove the peace process, smaller nationalist parties have condemned it. They recalled his years condemning the pro-Kurdish DEM party as being tied to the 40-year PKK insurgency that the PKK now says is over. Erdogan's comments about "walking together" with DEM drew a cool response from the pro-Kurdish party itself, with DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan saying there was no broad political alliance between it and the AKP. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik reaffirmed the president's nationalist credentials in response to a request for comment on his statement, saying the process "is not give-and-take, negotiation, or bargaining." Parliament is convening a commission tasked with deciding how to address Kurdish demands for more autonomy and the reintegration of fighters complying with the February disarmament call of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The nationalist opposition IYI Party is refusing to take part, with its leader Musavat Dervisoglu describing the peace process at the weekend as a betrayal after a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. "We will not allow the Republic to be destroyed, we will not allow the Turkish homeland to be divided, we will not surrender to betrayal," he said. Umit Ozdag, head of the opposition Victory Party, also sought to stir nationalist passions, slamming the commission as a bid to legitimise the PKK and dismissing the event where 30 PKK members burned their guns as a "barbecue party". "You don't just burn 30 rifles and call it a day. Weapons are surrendered, and PKK members interrogated one-by-one." A senior Turkish official said the gun burning was an "irreversible turning point". It is part of a five-stage process culminating in legal reforms and social reconciliation by early 2026, according to another Turkish source. While those parties could not derail the peace process alone, Erdogan, a shrewed political operator, is likely to closely monitor public reaction as the commission starts its work. A private June survey by the Konda pollster seen by Reuters showed that only 12% of respondents believe the PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, has abandoned the insurgency that it launched in 1984. It also showed potential candidates for the opposition CHP, now subject to a wide-ranging legal crackdown, beating Erdogan in head-to-head votes in an election. Erdogan critics say the peace process is aimed at drawing Kurdish support for a new constitution that would both boost their rights and allow him to be a candidate in 2028. He says reform is needed because the constitution is outdated rather than for any personal reasons and he has not committed to running again. It is unclear whether the commission will propose constitutional change, but such changes require the support of 400 MPs in the 600-seat assembly with the potential for a referendum if more than 360 MPs vote in favour. The AKP-MHP alliance has 319 seats, while DEM have 56. Any move to hold early elections would also require 360 votes, but that - and the peace process itself - would depend on keeping DEM on board. After meeting the justice minister on Wednesday, DEM's Buldan said she had insisted that PKK disarmament proceed in lock-step with legal changes. "The minister expressed commitment to ensuring the process proceeds legally and constitutionally," she said, adding that there was no specific timeline for disarmament.
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Deportation flights, lawsuits and expansion: What's next for Alligator Alcatraz?
The tents, beds and pens have been erected in the Florida Everglades, and hundreds of migrants have been shipped to the detention facility the state is calling Alligator Alcatraz. Now what? The site, built in eight days on a municipal airstrip located within the Big Cypress National Preserve, is part of a larger plan to expand detention space as President Donald Trump tries to deport millions of immigrants who the government says are in the country illegally. Eventually, Alligator Alcatraz is supposed to serve what the governor describes as a 'quick processing center,' where detainees are sent and then swiftly deported — directly from an airstrip on site. But while hundreds of people are already being held there, the state's pop-up detention center — criticized by attorneys and detainees for poor conditions and legal access — isn't yet fully operational. Here's the latest on what is happening at Alligator Alcatraz, and what is coming down the pike. Deportations flights Alligator Alcatraz detainees are already being deported, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis and a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the facility. 'Deportations of Alligator Alcatraz detainees have begun and remain ongoing,' DEM Spokeswoman Stephanie Hartman wrote Monday in an email to the Herald. But it's unclear whether that means deportation flights are taking off from the airway at the seized Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, or from elsewhere. Also unclear is how many detainees have been deported. Hartman did not respond to follow-up questions, and Gov. Ron DeSantis did not elaborate on Wednesday while discussing the latest at the site with reporters in Tampa. The Department of Homeland Security 'has started moving in a significant number of people and they're starting to deport people from there too,' DeSantis said. 'The reality is it's there to be a quick processing center … We have a runway right there. They can just be flown back to their home country.' Planes are landing daily at the facility, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. But neither the state or federal government have announced that deportation flights have departed from the runway, and FlightAware shows that the most recent flights that have taken off from Dade-Collier Training Airport have been private planes owned by an investment firm and a land surveyor. Those flights have been to and from the detention center and locations within Florida. Either way, state officials say the plan is for detainees to be quickly deported. On Saturday, Democratic lawmakers who received a tour of the facility said that Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told them detainees at the site are meant to be deported within two weeks of their arrival. The site opened exactly two weeks ago, on July 2. The Division of Emergency Management did not respond when asked about the two week timeline. Plans for expansion Plans for Alligator Alcatraz showed that the site is expected to be built to hold 3,000 detainees. For now, the number of detainees at the site appears to be below 1,000, based on reports from staff and lawmakers. Lawmakers were shown a 'new' dorm on Saturday without any detainees inside, implying the facility — consisting of trailers and tents — has additional capacity. This is the first of several state detention centers planned to house undocumented immigrants. Another detention facility is planned at Camp Blanding, a Clay County training site for the Florida National Guard. It could hold up to 3,000 people with more infrastructure, DeSantis said Wednesday. Similar to Alligator Alcatraz, Camp Blanding has an airstrip. The state has already sent out a request for contractors to submit proposals to establish a Camp Blanding detention center, DeSantis said. But he said he doesn't want to begin work until Alligator Alcatraz is 'filled.' 'Once there's a demand, then we'll be able to go for Camp Blanding,' DeSantis said. Legal hearings An important element of the DeSantis administration's plans for Alligator Alcatraz, and the state's role in housing immigrant detainees, is for Florida National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps officers to act as immigration judges, alleviating the crunch created in U.S. immigration courts by the crush of cases. According to the state's proposed immigration plan from earlier this year, there are nine officers who could be trained as immigration judges. Training would take six weeks, the plan stated. As of now, though, the Florida National Guard hasn't been given 'formal tasking' when it comes to officers serving as judges, spokeswoman Brittianie Funderbunk wrote Monday in an email to the Herald. In the meantime, attorneys have said they have been thwarted in their efforts to visit and contact their clients detained at the site. Some have said they have been unable to file legal briefs due to confusion about whether detainees are in the custody of the state or the federal government. But at least some Alligator Alcatraz detainees have had bond hearings, held at Krome Immigration Court this week, according to their attorneys. Krome's immigration court facilities, which exist on site, are the closest to Alligator Alcatraz. Lawsuits Critics frustrated with the creation and operation of Alligator Alcatraz have filed two lawsuits. One, filed by nonprofits Friends of the Everglades, Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice, focuses on the environmental impact of Alligator Alcatraz. The groups are accusing both the state of Florida and various federal agencies of dodging federal environmental regulations to build the facility, built hastily within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The Miccosukee Tribe filed a motion Monday to join the suit, which seeks to stop the continued operation of the detention center and further construction at the site until a full environmental review can be conducted. The federal lawsuit is pending before the Southern District of Florida. The other suit comes from a group of five Democratic state lawmakers who were denied access to the facility on July 3 when they made an unannounced visit. Sens. Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, and state Reps. Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner say denying them unannounced access to the facility is against the law, because members of the Florida legislature are supposed to have the ability to inspect state correctional institutions 'at their pleasure.' The state argues Alligator Alcatraz is not a correctional institution because it's not being run by the Department of Corrections. The case will eventually be heard by a Leon County circuit court.
Perth Now
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Kurdish militants burn weapons in Iraq disarmament
Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party militants have burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron. Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby. The rebels, known as the PKK, had been locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984 but decided in May to disband, disarm and end their separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Turkey to end an insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in the country and the wider region. President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. "May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation and the establishment of lasting peace in our region," he said on X. Friday's ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60km northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq's north. The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group's decision to disarm. "We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish. Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said. The ceremony was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision. It was unclear when further handovers would take place. A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an "irreversible turning point" in the peace process while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Turkey and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation. The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkey's southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkey's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there. The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan's government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Turkey's southeast where the insurgency was concentrated. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan - whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony - also urged Turkey's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process. Turkey has taken steps toward forming the commission while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics. Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a "terror-free Turkey," adding this must be completed "in a short time". Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Turkey's southeast. Turkey spent nearly $US1.8 trillion ($A2.7 trillion) over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.
