The PKK Is Here, Where Is The EU?

Nobody seems to remember it, but Turkey is still an official candidate to join the European Union. Neither EU countries nor Turkey pay any attention to this fact, but this is still true.
Turkey, a candidate for full membership of the EU, is fighting against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The latter is blocking roads in east Turkey, kidnapping people, has shot police officers in their houses, has lain land mines, burned down businesses and attacked military outposts. According to official declarations, Turkey is cooperating with the US in this fight and enjoys solidarity from Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and from a number of Syrian Kurds. So, who is backing the PKK? How is this organization still able to purchase heavy weapons and, most importantly, where does all the money come from?
One can ask many questions about this, and we know that some of the answers will finally lead us to different countries' intelligence agencies. It is necessary, however, to understand why these agencies act in this way. What are they hoping to get out of it?
Because Turkey is an EU candidate country, one would expect EU countries to show strong and efficient solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism. Nevertheless, it appears that Turkey is not a candidate country that is being treated normally. Except for a few official declarations condemning the PKK's terrorist attacks, one cannot observe any kind of concrete assistance. That is why Turkey has preferred to ask NATO for help, and not the EU. In fact, no one in the EU has any intention of calling Turkey and organizing a meeting with the EU institutions to discuss the matter and finding ways to support Turkey.
The EU must bear some of the responsibility for Turkey's current situation. That is why the PKK's leaders are probably confident that the EU will leave Turkey by itself in this fight. Besides, without the EU's “democratic anchor,” it was indeed difficult for Turkey to pursue its democratization reforms, while everyone knows democracy is a must to find a comprehensive solution to the Kurdish issue.
One may say the EU had to insist on democratization and it is pointless to blame the EU when one doesn't do one's homework. Anyway, what has happened has happened; now people are getting killed in Turkey and the road ahead is quite risky. Are there people in Europe who hope Turkey will make fatal mistakes so they will have an excuse to stop the accession process? Maybe there are, but if this is the case, they should also explain how they think the EU will play a role in the Middle East in the future.
If the EU insists on rejecting Turkey, the latter will, with time, lose its ability to be the buffer zone between the European continent and the Middle East, and finally Europe will become a direct neighbor of the most troubled region of the world.
EU leaders are probably aware of that, but they still don't seem to be disturbed by the PKK's actions. Maybe they have something different in mind: As long as the PKK keeps killing, the army will respond and civilian politics will weaken, which will mean the multiplication of anti-democratic practices. Kurds will suffer from that, so they will step up their resistance. Finally, Turkey will remain a semi-democratic country, but it will never leave the Western world totally, because it is a NATO member after all.
We don't know if the PKK is aware of these calculations but they definitely serve the EU's strategic aims. Turkey either doesn't notice this game plan or is unable to change it. It is getting provoked by the PKK all the time and is distancing itself from the EU. Isn't there anyone in Europe who can lend Turkey a helping hand?

BERİL DEDEOĞLU (Cihan/Today's Zaman)