Written evidence from the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in London (KUR0027)

Since the inception of the Republic, Turkey envisioned and strived for a Middle East where security, political stability and prosperity reigned.

In line with this approach, Turkey’s policy towards its neighbors has been based on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, protection of territorial integrity and political stability.

It is a fact that the Turkish citizens of Kurdish, Arab, Turkoman and Assyrian ethnic origin have historical, tribal, social and economic ties with their kin in neighboring countries. As such, Turkey has allowed and supported development of these cross-border relations with the vision that these interactions would benefit regional cooperation and dialogue.

Turkey’s policy towards Iraq has always been based on the principles of political unity and territorial integrity of the country where Iraqi Kurds are represented as one of the equal and prosperous founding communities.

Within this framework, Turkey has always extended a helping hand to the Iraqi Kurds in times of need. This was particularly the case in the aftermath of the Halabja massacre, as a result of which more than 50 thousand Iraqi Kurds took shelter in Turkey. Similarly, almost 500 thousand Iraqi Kurds fled to Turkey during the First Gulf War. Forces of the Operation Provide Comfort were deployed in Turkey to ensure the no-fly-zone in northern Iraq. To prevent the armed conflict between KDP and PUK, Turkey, together with the US and the UK, initiated Ceasefire Monitoring Task Force, which operated from 1997 to 2004. In the recent past, Turkey trained more than 2,300 peshmergas who actively participated in the fight against DEASH.

Similarly, after the expulsion of the leadership cadres of the PKK terrorist organization from Syria in 1998, Turkey has also supported provision of fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kurds in Syria.  Turkey has also been actively working for restoration of peace, security and stability in Syria where different groups should co-exist with their diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. Indeed, back in 2014, Turkey admitted more than 200,000 Kurdish people in three days fleeing persecution at the hands of DEASH in Ayn El-Arab/Kobane in Syria.

The PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê – Kurdistan Workers’ Party) terrorist organization poses the primary threat against Turkey’s vision of a stable Iraq and Syria, hence a stable Middle East.  

The security threat emanating from terrorist activities of the PKK has no bearing on how Turkey formulates its policy towards its citizens with Kurdish background or Kurdish population in neighboring countries. Turkey’s fight against the PKK or its Syrian arm PYD and YPG, or its presence in Iraq is neither a conflict nor can be described as “Kurdish question”.   

The PKK is a product of the Cold War era and has been established as a Marxist-Leninist group in early 1980s, which evolved into an ethnic-separatist organization. Since then, it claimed the lives of more than 41,000 individuals from all walks of life. The PKK’s first victims were the Kurdish population and villagers who denied support and who confronted the ideology it imposed. The PKK continues to attack indiscriminately. Benefiting from vacuum of power in Northern Iraq in 1990s, it has established a presence there where it used these uncontrolled territories as a safe haven to plot terrorist attacks against Turkey. A proscribed terrorist organization by the UK, the US and the EU, the PKK operates under different names in different countries, including but not limited to, PCDK in Iraq; PYD and YPG in Syria; PJAK in Iran; all operating under the transnational umbrella KCK. With this strategy, it aims to diffuse attention to its activities and atrocities across the region. Other countries that proscribed the PKK include Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Abdullah Öcalan was captured in Kenya with a Greek-Cypriot passport in 1999 and was sentenced to life in prison after his trial in Turkey.

The Government of Turkey initiated a process in 2009 to end PKK terrorism in parallel with wholesome reforms for enhancing democracy and fundamental individual rights and freedoms. Within this context, certain reforms were introduced to address perceived or real grievances of the Turkish citizens with Kurdish background.

This process which aimed to end PKK terrorism continued till 2015, and it ended with the threats and attacks of the PKK.     

PYD has been established in 2003 in order to create a country composed of ethnic Kurds in Syria. PKK and PYD (Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party) are two offshoots of the umbrella structure of KCK (Koma Civakên Kurdistan - Union of Communities in Kurdistan).   PKK and PYD share the same leadership cadres organizational and military structure, modus operandi, strategies and tactics. They both use the same propaganda tools and financial resources and conduct trainings in the same camps. The perpetrators of PKK terrorist attacks in Ankara of 17 February 2016 and of 13 March 2016; in Bursa of 27 April 2016; in Adana of 24 November 2016 and in İstanbul of 10 December 2016 were trained in YPG camps in Syria.      

The undeniable links between the PKK and PYD, hence YPG, have been well established by the publications of independent academic and international institutions, including but not limited to, the UK-based the Henry Jackson Society; Institute for the Study of War; NATO’s Defence Against Terrorism Review and the USA National Counter Terrorism Center. EUROPOL’s annual report of 2016, TESAT, pointed out this tie by highlighting the fact that the funds raised by the PKK-affiliated organizations in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands have been used for financing the activities of PYD, YPG and HPG. Austria’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism elaborated on this link in a report published on 13 June 2017. Most recently, PKK’s official website confirmed that YPG terrorist Zozan Temir was among the terrorists killed in an operation in Şırnak, Turkey.      

The TV broadcasts by the PKK-affiliated media organs, such as Ronahi TV, Sterk TV and Newroz TV in Europe provide ample evidence on a daily basis as to how PKK, PYD, YPG and others cooperate and coordinate their activities. These media organs act as the propaganda arms of the terrorist organization despite the fact that the PKK has been listed as a terrorist organization by the EU. Through these media organs, besides making terrorism propaganda with impunity in violation of all international obligations, the PKK’s leadership cadres explicitly expose how different representations of the PKK are fully integrated. (Annex-I). Please also refer to the list at the end of this report providing an overview regarding PKK and other affiliated groups.        

As another blunt manifestation of the PKK’s organic link with PYD-YPG, most recently, following the end of the Raqqa operation against DEASH in Syria, PYD/YPG displayed the symbols of the PKK and carried posters of Öcalan, the convicted leader of the PKK (Please see Annex-II). This event clearly indicated the fact that, with the support of one of our allies, DEASH was replaced with another terrorist organization in Raqqa. The evacuation of Raqqa early this month with the help of “Syrian Democratic Forces”, that is controlled by PYD/YPG, has demonstrated how two different terrorist organizations were allowed to cooperate and coordinate their actions under the sight of an international Coalition fighting terrorism. Unfortunately, the US Department of Defense expressed that the US “respected” this arrangement. PYD-YPG’s role in this operation was also acknowledged by the International Coalition against DEASH. This kind of short-sighted approach is undoubtedly critically putting the future of Syria at critical risk and jeopardizing the stability of whole region.    

Unfortunately, YPG has been emboldened by shortsighted tactical ambitions of international actors who promoted and misdeemed it as a “benign force fighting DEASH” in Syria. With outside public, logistical, tactical and arms support, it consolidated its presence in Syria. In the meantime, it is targeting Turkey with plots aided by the Syrian intelligence. As YPG terrorists can not cross the land border between Turkey and Syria due to effective border controls on the side of Turkey, they try to reach Turkey through the Mediterranean. These attempts are being effectively countered by the Turkish security authorities.        

The scope and nature of crimes perpetrated by the PYD-YPG have been well documented by reports of independent institutions. PYD/YPG engaged in ethnic cleansing against Arabs, Turkomans and Assyrians and forcefully displaced local communities to gain new territories and consolidate its influence in Northern Syria. It planted Kurdish populations from Northern Iraq to upset the delicate demographic balance in the areas under its control[1]. In addition to systematic ethnic cleansing, some of these crimes include rape, forcing children to engage in military conflicts, looting, hindering the humanitarian aid to locals and providing them in exchange for money. Since the eruption of the conflict in Syria, Turkey has become the second home for Kurdish people fleeing the persecution of both, DEASH and PYD/YPG.  

PYD/YPG’s intimation is not limited to non-Kurdish populations. It directs its oppressive force to the Kurdish communities through obstruction of the political activities of Syria Kurdish National Coalition, an umbrella group representing 14 Syrian Kurdish political parties; raiding their offices and kidnapping its members.  

Undoubtedly, these crimes paved the way for new grievances among the local communities in Syria, which will have serious ramifications in the years to come.     

The arms delivery to PYD-YPG with the excuse of combatting another terrorist organization further exacerbates the security and stability of region. The weapons that are transferred to PYD/YPG naturally end up with the PKK. This reckless course of action poses a direct threat to the Turkish people and Turkey’s security. These weapons include American-Swedish AT-4 anti-tanks; German MILAN anti-tanks, Russian KONKURS-5; SA-16 and METIS M1 guided missiles. In the period of 1 July 2015-10 November 2017, the number of foreign-origined weapons seized during operations against the PKK exceeds 7,300.  With these weapons, the PKK is launching attacks against the Turkish border posts on the border of Iraq and Syria. More information regarding the foreign-origined weapons seized by the Turkish security forces can be found in Annex-III (Turkish). 

PKK/PYD/YPG, like DEASH, has been recruiting foreign terrorist fighters from Europe and North America. According to the official Turkish estimates, about 400 FTFs from 33 countries joined YPG in 2015-2017, 13 of whom are British citizens. This phenomenon has also been well documented by various independent scholars and researchers.[2]

The threat posed by the emboldened presence of the PKK and its affiliates in the region is a national security threat to Turkey. However in the past 40 years, Turkey has never defined or framed this threat as a “Kurdish terrorism”. Because the PKK represents neither Kurds from Turkey not the Kurdish communities in Iraq or Syria. The PKK is a terrorist group because it resorts to terrorism. The dark web of its relations, it sources of income from transnational organized crime, its recruitment tactics pose a threat to the security of all countries where its networks are present. More importantly, its presence in Iraq and Syria will continue to be an important obstacle in front of the restoration of peace, stability and rehabilitation in these countries. 

PKK
Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê – Kurdistan Workers’ Party Abdullah Öcalan co-founded the PKK in 1978. The PKK started an armed insurgency in 1984 and currently maintains a fighting force of insurgents based in the Qandil mountain range of northern Iraq, as well as in southeastern Turkey. The PKK is considered a terrorist and drug smuggling organization by Turkey, the US, and a number of other countries. In Turkey, the administration is divided into four provincial regions: Çukurova, Diyarbakır (Amed), Erzurum (Serhat), and the Aegean.

PÇDK
Partiya Çaresera Demokratik Kurdistan - Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party
The PÇDK is a party active in Iraqi Kurdistan, founded in 2002. It is the Iraqi Kurdish branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Although it has been banned by the Kurdistan Regional Government and its headquarters closed, the party continues to operate. The PÇDK did not win a single seat in the 2009 or 2013 KRG parliamentary elections.

PYD
Partiya Yekiti a Demokratik - Democratic Union Party
The PYD is a Kurdish political party established in 2003 and is now the dominant political force in northern Syria. The group advocates for Kurdish autonomy or a decentralized federal model in Syria, rather than an independent Syrian Kurdistan. The PYD has poor relations with Turkey, owing to its links to the PKK.

PJAK
Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê - The Free Life Party of Kurdistan
PJAK is a Kurdish political and militant organization that has waged an intermittent insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran for political autonomy. PJAK is an offshoot of the PKK. 

HPG
Hêzên Parastina Gel - People’s Defense Forces
The People's Defense Forces (HPG) is the militant wing of the KCK.

TAK
Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan – Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
TAK is a militant group seeking an independent Kurdish state in eastern and southeastern Turkey. TAK first presented itself in 2004 as a breakaway faction of the PKK, although there is speculation that it takes orders from the HPG. TAK follows a strategy of escalation with the Turkish government, primarily through attacks in large Turkish cities in Anatolia and along the country’s west coast.

YDG-H
Yurtsever Devrimci Genclik Hareket - Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement
The PKK’s leadership created the urban youth group, YDG-H, in February 2013. The YDG-H founded armed branches in Turkey in 2013/2014.

YPS
Yekîneyên Parastina Sivîl‎ - Civil Protection Units
The YPS is a self-described defense force in southeastern Turkey. The PKK and the YDG-H founded the YPS on December 20, 2015. The YPS is fighting an urban insurgency against the Turkish military in Turkey’s southeast.

YPS Jin
Yekîneyên Parastina Sivîl a Jin - The Civil Protection Units-Women
YPS Jin is the YPS's female brigade, which was set up on January 8, 2016.

YJA-Star
Yekîneyên Jinên Azad ên Star
YJA-Star is the PKK’s female military wing.

HDP
Partiya Demokratîk a Gelan – People’s Democratic Party
The HDP is the main legal party representing the Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey. While the HDP maintains that the party looks beyond the traditional “Turkish or Kurdish” dichotomy, it has openly participated in talks with imprisoned PKK organization leader Abdullah Öcalan. The party has a co-presidential system of leadership, with one chairman and one chairwoman, who are Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ respectively.

DBP
Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi – Democratic Regions Party
The DBP is a social democratic Kurdish political party in the Republic of Turkey. The group changed its name from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in June of 2014 in accordance with changes in the KCK. Party deputies were transferred to the People’s Democracy Party (HDP), revising the stated purpose of the group to become a “cadre party” focused on implementation of party policies on a local level. 

DBK
Desteya Bilind a Kurd – Kurdish Supreme Committee
The DBK is a self-proclaimed governing body of the Kurdish region in Syria, known as Rojava. The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) founded the DBK on June 11, 2012 under the auspices of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani. A supplementary agreement on July 1 committed to the establishment of security committees as well as unarmed civilian defense forces to protect Kurdish areas. The KNC and PYD are represented equally in board membership.

Tev-Dem
Tevgera Civaka Demokratîk – Movement for a Democratic Society
In November 2013, the PYD announced an interim government divided into the three non-contiguous autonomous areas or cantons of Afrin, Jazira, and Kobani, collectively known as Rojava (Western Kurdistan). The organization is the primary ruling body in these cantons. In January 2014, Tev-Dem elected a Democratic Self Administration (DSA) body to control administration work in local authorities, municipalities, education and health departments, etc. In March 2015, the group released a manifesto calling for a democratic solution in Syria, in line with Abdullah Öcalan’s idea of democratic confederalism. 

YPG
Yekîneyên Parastina Gel – People’s Protection Units
The YPG is the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). The group was reportedly founded in 2004, after the Syrian government ended a rebellion in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli. The YPG did not disclose its existence until the Syrian revolt began in 2011. The YPG claimed it had 50,000 fighters as of mid-2014, though independent estimates place the number at around 30,000.

Asayish
Asayish is the official security organization of the Kurdish populated region of Syria, known as Rojava. It was formed during the Syrian Civil War to police areas controlled by the Kurdish Supreme Committee.

YPJ
Yekîneyên Parastina Jin‎ - Women’s Protection Units
The YPJ is the People’s Protection Units’ (YPG) female brigade, which established in 2012. Kurdish media have said that YPJ troops became vital during the Siege of Kobani.

Kodar
Free and Democratic Society of Eastern Kurdistan
The PKK formed Kodar in 2014. Kodar is the Leaders of the Free Life of Kurdistan’s (PJAK) political wing.

YRK
Yekîneyên Parastina Rojhilatê Kurdistan - East Kurdistan Defense Forces
The YRK is the military wing of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). It was founded in June of 2014 along with its political counterpart, the Community of Democracy and Freedom of East Kurdistan (KODAR).

HPJ
Hêzên Parastina Jinê – Women’s Defense Forces
The HPJ is Party of Free Life of Kurdistan’s (PJAK) women’s branch.

December 2017

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