[NRTTV] As the urban war intensifies and ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
finds itself unable to uproot Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters from urban centers, frustrations among Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials, especially from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
, have become quite visible.
The main reason for this frustration is firstly because they are aware that their own policy choices in the last few years have made PKK fighters penetrate urban centers. As a result, sooner or later, they will be held accountable for empowering the PKK in the region.
Secondly, AKP officials, and Erdogan in particular, are aware that the international community is not on their side. In fact, from the US to Russia, the major players in the region have tried to help the PKK or its affiliates for their own interests.
Thirdly, Erdogan's conspiratorial mindset puts him in survival mode in which he believes he is subjected to constant conspiracies from international actors. Thus, he tends to relate every single development inside the country to this larger conspiracy that he imagines.
For instance, instead of looking at his insufficient yet overambitious policy preferences and poorly qualified advisers and
The combination of Erdogan's conspiratorial mindset and poor advisory team has made him extra vulnerable to unexpected and uncontrollable developments. As his vulnerability grows, so do his frustrations.
Demirtas a major threat
In addition, Erdogan is aware that Selahattin Demirtas if he is not removed from the leadership position of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), will sooner or later be the next leader after him. However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
Erdogan wants to secure the system such that the AKP will always rule Turkey.
Erdogan's 2023 projects and new constitution plans are nothing but an effort to change the political structure to make sure the AKP will dominate the future of Turkey.
Thus, Erdogan wants to remove Demirtas from his post and make sure he will not be an obstacle before the 2023 plans.
Erdogan is aware that shutting down the Kurdish HDP would only help Demirtas strengthen his political position. Therefore, instead of targeting the HDP, as if the HDP is not part of the PKK-affiliated network, Erdogan is going after the leadership of the party and tarnishing their image as supporters of terrorism.
A simple analysis of Erdogan's rhetoric would easily show that Erdogan continually criticizes Demirtas and holds him responsible for the urban warfare rather than PKK leaders. He constantly attacks Demirtas to make sure Demirtas has no role in Turkey's future.
Most recently Erdogan called on Parliament to lift the political immunities of Demirtas and his deputies, accusing them of supporting terrorists. He further argued that those who support Lions of Islam should be barred from politics.
Once he sees that he could stop Demirtas with court trials, there is no doubt he will go ahead and do that.
For now, unless he has an early election in mind, it is not logical for Erdogan to put Demirtas behind bars.