Primitive Rebels Or Revolutionary Modernizers?

Protests worldwide followed the capture and trial of the Kurdish nationalist leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. Millions of people are now aware of the long fight by his PKK guerillas in Turkey. But where does the PKK come from? What are its aims? Who supports it? What will its future be without Ocalan to guide it? And, most important of all, is there now a real prospect for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey? This critical examination of the Kurdish nationalist movement traces the OKK's evolution and its move towards becoming a mainstream mass political movement. The author reveals Ocalan's personality and much about contemporary Kurdish leadership, and makes clear the implications for the future of Kurdish nationalism generally.