Kobani And The Kurds

Kobani is the scene of an unrelenting battle, yet despite the desperate situation, the spirit of the Kurdish fighters -- principally the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- remains unbroken as they battle with everything they have in an unrelenting determination not to cede an inch of their town to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Today the Kurds are the only force on the ground that is effectively fighting ISIL, which represents a global security threat, and they deserve maximum support. While there are other towns and provinces of importance to the Kurds, such as Hasakah, losing Kobani would be a particularly big blow.
Kobani is NATO's underbelly, being an access route into Turkey, the second largest NATO member and regional hub. Whoever controls Kobani holds the key to a crucial gateway. Moreover, being right next to Turkey's border, Kobani has grabbed the attention of the world's media, being projected into millions of homes around the world. So too have the Kurds who are the heart of the battle and are increasingly viewed as brave heroes. Of course this flies in the face of Turkey's opinions on the PYD. Turkey views the PYD -- and its military wing that is fighting ISIL -- as an extension of the terrorist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently stated that he considers the PKK to be the same as ISIL. This comparison has angered Turkey's Kurds who see these Kurdish groups as a popular movement and who are already annoyed over what they believe is a total lack of sensitivity towards the plight of their Kobani kin. Although Ankara has tried to have the PYD listed as a terrorist group, this seems increasingly unlikely given the West now sees the PYD as an ally against ISIL. While Turkey is morally justified in having a hard line against the PKK, unfortunately it is infuriating Kurds around the region and jeopardizing the peace process, which is supposed to be taking place in Turkey. Turkey's approach seems to imply that Ankara would rather see the fall of Kobani and have the ISIL flag flying on its border and all the security ramifications that would entail. I find this mindboggling.
Still, after weeks of sitting and watching the battle unfold just a stone's throw away, rather like a movie in a cinema, Turkey has adjusted its policy, finally allowing the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Peshmerga forces cross into Syria through the Turkish border to assist Kurdish fighters already on the ground. Although, at the time of wiring this piece -- Monday night -- it was reported that not a single Peshmega had arrived. Still it was unprecedented for Turkey to promise to give Kurds passage. Turkey's change in policy seems to be the principally due to increased pressure from its own Kurdish population.
Still Turkey is unhappy about the US military's airdrop of weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish fighters in Kobani, who were running low on supplies, to beef up defense against ISIL forces. The arms were provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq. There is hope that rearming the Kurds, along with the ongoing airstrikes by the US, will be sufficient to beat back ISIL. This move seems to show that the US has shifted its position, because only a short time ago they were preparing for Kobani's fall.
Unfortunately, Turkey has shown itself to be a difficult partner. While there is an understanding for the delicate position that Ankara finds itself in, patience is beginning to wear thin as Turkey continues to set conditions for its involvement with an ever growing list: creating a buffer zone in Syrian territory next to the Turkish border for Syrian refugees and non-ISIL fighters from the region, a no-fly zone in Syrian airspace along the Turkish border and over the buffer zone, in order to protect refugees and others, training and equipping rebel forces which are not in any way connected or affiliated to ISIL and other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, the removal of al-Assad. With this growing list of demands Ankara is making itself increasingly unreliable and irrelevant in the fight against ISIL that Turkey risks eventually paying for with its own Kurds and the role it is able to play in the future related to this region.

AMANDA PAUL (Cihan/Today's Zaman)