By Amberin Zaman Proponents of Ankara's new hawkish stance against Syria argue that Turkey has tried peaceful means to persuade Damascus to end its support for the PKK and hand over its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, long enough. Ankara insists Ocalan lives in Damascus, a charge strongly denied by Syria. Turkey also says it has concrete evidence of PKK presence in Syria and was expected to present it to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during his visit to Ankara on Tuesday. Turkey also wants Syria to renounce its territorial claims on the province of Hatay, known among Arabs as Al-Iskindarona region. Syria insists the former Ottoman empire annexed the province to Turkey although historically it belonged to Syria. Lastly, Ankara wants Damascus to stop accusing it of not releasing enough water downstream from the Euphrates River, on which Syrian agriculture depends heavily. If Damascus is not prepared to respond to diplomacy, then it is time to resort to force, Ankara's hawkish military generals say. The Turkish military spends an estimated $7 billion annually on its campaign against the PKK. Nearly 40,000 people, including many innocent civilians, have died in the conflict. Western military sources say Turkey has been largely successful in diminishing the PKK's military strength both within Turkey and Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Ankara, therefore, views Syria as the PKK's last military stronghold. Egged on by the Turkish press, most Turks profess themselves widely in favour of such moves. Critics of the recent bout of chest-pounding, however, point out that it will only reinforce Arab suspicions that despite official denials, Turkey is acting in concert with Israel. More importantly, they say, Turkey's Kurdish problem is largely self-inflicted. Had the Turkish state not denied the country's Kurds their identity (up until recently they were officially referred to as "mountain Turks"), and had it created jobs and prosperity in the mainly Kurdish southeastern provinces, separatist sentiment would never have assumed its current dimensions. Such sentiment has been exacerbated by the rough treatment meted out by Turkish security forces in their battle against the PKK. This includes the forced evacuation of more than 2,000 villages in the Kurdish southeast and the displacement of nearly three million Kurdish villagers. Such moves have played straight into the hands of the PKK, which has begun to shift its battle to the diplomatic platform in recent years. In this it enjoys the support of leftist political groups in Europe, notably Germany's Green Party which is widely expected to take power in a coalition government with the Social Democrats in the wake of the recent elections. In a further blow to Turkey, the so-called Kurdish Parliament in exile, which is affiliated with the PKK, held a two-day meeting last week in the Italian Parliament building, triggering a diplomatic crisis with Italy. Some analysts believe Turkey is picking on Syria to mask its impotence vis-à-vis the PKK's European backers. Related: Turkey's choice Turkish war fever
