Will Turkey’s Kurds ever disarm? That is the question that most Turks will be asking in response to the call by the jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan for the group to prepare for peace. Kurds in Turkey, on the other hand, will have a different question: can the Turkish government be trusted? In both cases, the other side will have to trust a bit, move a bit and hope for the best. Otherwise the 30-year conflict between the Turkish state and separatist Kurds will never end.
The latest – and most promising – stage of this conflict came in the past two years, after then-prime minister, and now president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved official talks between his government and Ocalan, who is currently serving a life sentence in Turkey for treason.
In response, Ocalan declared a ceasefire in a struggle that has claimed more than 40,000 lives. That ceasefire still holds, just, but the end game for both sides remains opaque.
From the Turkish perspective, the Kurds must disarm. This is what Ocalan is proposing, an end to the military war and a move to, as he put it this week, “a democratic solution”. What the Kurds will ask in return is unclear. A 10-point proposal released earlier this year was vague.
Distrust, even hatred, of the PKK runs deep in Turkey; many Turkish families have lost members to terrorist attacks. Many Turks do not believe that the Kurds will ever give up their idea of creating the nation-state of Kurdistan, which would incorporate some land from Turkey’s south-east. The newly-emboldened Syrian and Iraqi Kurds across the border have only encouraged this perception.
There are those in Turkey’s government who would happily sabotage any deal with Ocalan. But Mr Erdogan must rein them in. The proposals for Kurdish disarmament remain the best option to end the conflict; there are, currently, no others. Thus both sides must grasp the moment. Solving one part of the Kurdish question will be a step forward, especially at a time of so much regional conflict.
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Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
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Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
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Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Score
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