Gülen's death, the prospect of a second Kurdish peace process

Hi folks,

There’s a lot going on, we can’t really hope to keep up.

Still, in this episode of the pod, Nick and I discussed two big issues in the news this week.

The first is the death of Fetullah Gülen. We talked about the Gülen movement after its founder, the way people talk about it today, and what I thought was especially interesting: the politics surrounding his potential extradition from the US. What, for example, would have happened if Gülen had been extradited?

(I was also on Amberin Zaman’s podcast soon after we recorded our episode. There we spoke more about public reactions and feelings in Turkey.)

The second thing Nick and I talked about is the Kurdish peace process. Note that this hit the news cycle after a scoop by - who else - Amberin Zaman. Here we discussed whether this can really be considered a “peace process” in the way that it existed in the late 2000s and early 2010s, a bit about Kurdish right vs. left politics, and how it all fits into the wider geopolitics surrounding the US election, Israel, Iran, and the regional conflict on the horizon.

Reminder: you can listen to this at x2 speed!

Below I’ve also shared some related bits from my electronic archive of cartoons.

Best,

Selim

A 2012 cover of the satirical magazine LeMan. Erdoğan and Gülen were on good terms at the time, and the then-prime minister called on Gülen to ‘come back to your country’. Gülen said that he had to remain away to ‘protect the things that are happening in my country.’

The cover of satirical magazine Gırgır on December 25, 2013, just as the alliance between Erdoğan and Gülen was breaking down. The caption quotes a police source saying that “the things coming to light now is merely the tip of the iceberg”

The cover of satirical magazine Uykusuz on December 26, 2013. Gülen and Erdoğan had been trading some very primitive fighting words at the time, and the cartoon makes a references to those. Gülen is saying “may [god] rain fire on their homes,” Erdoğan retorts “we will pursue them in their dens!” then Gülen: “gorillas live in dens” Erdoğan: gorillas? Gülen: gorillas and squirrels…

A LeMan cover some time after 2013.

pro-government cartoon site Misvak after Gülen’s death. Source: Misvak