On Monday the Kurdistan Workers’ party, or the PKK, made a historic announcement that it would disband, ending its four-decade-long armed campaign against the Turkish state. The move comes amid a new push to end this conflict, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives and spilled over into Syria and Iraq. Alan Makovsky, a senior fellow for the Center for American Progress and a former senior staffer with responsibility for Turkey on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, joins Thanos Davelis as we break down whether this really marks a turning point for Turkey and the Kurds’ struggle for political and cultural rights.
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
PKK ends 40-year war against Turkey, vows to pursue Kurdish rights
Is Turkey’s four-decade Kurdish insurgency coming to an end?
German, Greek PMs stay tough on migration
Cyprus says Syria will take back citizens trying to reach the Mediterranean island by boat