The Kurdistan Workers Party claimed a bombing near government buildings in the Turkish capital Ankara. In response, Turkey has detained over 20 PKK members in the capital, including a political leader, and conducted airstrikes in northern Iraq. Iraq rejects any airstrikes on its soil and is seeking a diplomatic solution, which they are unlikely to get.
This battle between Turkey and the Kurdish population has been ongoing since 1984 when Kurdish people clashed with Turkish authorities. A ceasefire in 2013 temporarily stopped the conflict, until in 2015 a suicide bombing of self-proclaimed Islamic State militants killed Kurdish people on the border with Syria. The United States, the European Union, and Turkey deem the PKK as a terrorist organization.
The international community has done little to solve the ethnic conflict. There are over 30 million Kurds that live in this region in the Middle East. The Kurdistan region is also vast, with masses living in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The Kurdish people have also taken a huge role in the international community, taking in millions of Syrian refugees and working with the United States to fight ISIS.
The international community needs to create an active dialogue in every nation with a Kurdish population so that the people get the necessary food, housing, education, and representation. The EU needs to work directly with Turkey to help stop the terrorists attacking their country, but also provide their people with necessities. Without international help, the Kurds will always seem like adversaries to the Islamic States. The UN can help establish this dialogue and work with governments to create stability.
The lack of international help sends a clear message to the Kurdish people. The United States has counted on them for years to fight a war they did not want to be a part of in the first place. The Kurdish people are feeling abandoned. This cannot be another failure of the international community.
Author: Joshua Cheatham
