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Debbie Bookchin in The Nation on Turkey’s repression of the Kurdish liberation movement

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Debbie Bookchin has penned a powerful new article for The Nation on Erdogan’s current war against the Kurdish movement in Southeastern Turkey, and why the US and EU must act now to stop the bloodshed.  Kurds_Turkey_PKK_AP

 

“Why would Erdogan resume the peace process when his NATO allies give him tacit permission to brutalize his own people in the name of combating terrorism? As long as the West supports the PKK’s terrorist designation, Erdogan is cynically betting that Washington and the EU will remain silent while he doubles down on his longstanding goal: to obliterate the Kurdish freedom movement altogether and mop up every last political opponent. So far, he has been right. But it is time for Obama and his European counterparts to call Erdogan’s bluff.

Western diplomats should insist on the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from the towns of southeastern Turkey, before a complete slaughter of political opponents and Kurdish youth is committed in the name of “protecting” the people from the PKK. And if American and European officials truly believe in human rights and the need to foster democratic values in the Middle East, they should revisit Öcalan’s social vision, clearly spelled out in Rojava’s constitution, the “Social Contract” —which reads like a modern-day Bill of Rights”

The full article is available here.