I find this laughable. The European Nations have clearly been on the take, profiting off of the heroin imported by the PKK, just as the Reagan's Contra effort did with cocain imports. The truth is, most European nations do not view the PKK as a problem, and now with the old Reagan drug cronies in the Bush administration overseeing the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, we see a flood of heroin making its way westward. This isn't a war for oil, but a war for opium. Same as it ever was.

PKK is funbded by drug traffiking,and EU must do its share to combat this trade,and help Turkey to eliminate PKK very quickly if they care about their children,
PKK has oparatives all over EU,

Turkey is blaming the kurds, their no1. problem, for the herion trade in their country. What a perfect way to receive help against the kurds, who want their own country, rather than live under turkish rule.

Perhaps the US will help the turks with their border crossing into Iraq and help finish off these kurdish rebels and drug dealing scum. I think if this happens, we can all expect herion prices to double.

Let's not forget, Turkey would not allow this country to send allied troops to their country , to invade Iraq on two fronts which would surly have saved American lives. "not that I'm for thw war"

Bottom line : Turkey is jumping on the band wagon, and why not the money is goooood !

kurdish, I disagree. The US government is clearly working with the PKK to import heroin, just as they did with cocaine during the Reagan years. Turkey is getting a mixed message from Europe which is also profiting from this.

If anything kurds and turks are both pawns in this American-Eurotrash game. The PKK doesn't represent Turkey's Kurds, and hasn't been truly political in over a decade. Remember, this is all smoke and mirrors. The Drug War is evil and stupid.

Back in 90ties the Europeans human rights discovered a lot about the Turkish elite.
The elite in turkey is the army.
First the human rights found out that many terror actions made against Kurds and Turks was made by the Turkish military. The military did that to blame the PKK of being terrorists.
The goal was to get big support from Turkish citizens to use more military power against Kurds.

The military reached their goals. They burnt down more than 3000 Kurdish villages with people in it. In several years the Turkish army had blamed the PKK for trafficking drugs to Europe through turkey.
The human rights found out that it was the Turkish elite that had contacts to the drug dialers.
The drug trafficking and the actions against civil people was some of the biggest reason that the Europe denied turkey an EU membership.
The Kurdish language, Kurdish clothes, Kurdish names and Kurdish culture had been illegal sins the founder of Turkey (Atta Turk) was the Turkish leader. Those who dared to break these laws had to deal with the Turkish army. Even the Kurdish cities name changed to Turkish names.
The PKK don’t ask to be separated from turkey. See this video, the PKK leader is talking about what he wants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkIYSSu21GM
The Turkish media keep saying that the PKK is asking for a free Kurdistan. That’s not what they are asking for.
Leyla Zana, a Kurdish woman was jailed in 10-11 years for using the Kurdish language.
The PKK fight and pressure from Europe have done a big progress. Since about 2004 or 2006 it was no longer illegal to use the Kurdish language in turkey.
That’s a big progress for the PKK to reach their goals.

Yes, whether or not it is the PKK that's causing problems is a very difficult issue to parse out. They may be an 'illegal' entity fighting against 'Turkey,' but what does that mean besides that they don't like the Turkish government and what it has done to them?
I have done a little research on the subject, but by no means am I even close to understanding the whole issue.
That said, the Turkish Army has done massive damage to the Kurds in general as well as the PKK. They also proclaim that the PKK really doesn't represent the greater Kurdish community, and that they actually terrorize their own people etc. etc. Of course, it's hard to take that sort of propaganda too seriously.
And yes, the situation the Kurds and the PKK are in is not a new one; just look at any minority that's been conquered and suppressed. Post-1745 Scotland, for instance. They may not be searching for independence; that was a gross generalization on my part. It's simply political recognition they seek. To be 'free,' essentially; unmolested. So the wisest course of action for the Turkish elite is to negotiate and cut their losses, but incentives to just keep on keeping on are just so strong...
Another issue is how powerful the army of Turkey is. It's more powerful than the government, realistically speaking; and if the most powerful institution of a state is its army, you're bound to have some serious problems.
So as far as the drug smuggling goes, I don't doubt that the PKK makes some money off of it, but yes the army probably makes just as much if not more. There have been a number of arrests of corrupt officials in the last few years, which is a good indication that sort of thing's been going on.
So honestly I don't know what could be done to alleviate the situation; but maybe I'm just too much of a deterministic pessimist.

The Islamic parties in Turkey have the upper hand. Westernization has slowed, stopped or gone backwards.

They once had strong ties with Israel (which has a vibrant drug culture and where gays from Palestine prefer to live). Those ties are weakening due to the Islamist government.

Dear Mr. Kalif Mathieu,
1. The statistics of drug trade you used represents the past decade. But you comment about the present decade relying on those data.
2. After 2001 or so, a lot of changes happened in drug trade. You did not mention about those changes. For example after succesful operations, the drug route partly switched to Northern Black Sea Route from Balkan Route.
3. Most of the opiates enters Turkey in the format of herione. Claiming clandestine laboratories in Turkey relies on which UN report, rather than a newspaper?
4. Actually, I was not going to write this criticism since it includes many mistakes and it is not scientific (no method, no specific approach, no scientific eport, no clear focus, full of claims rather than evidences; I could not help being silent such a big mistake.
Please, do not misguide people with the information not well-established.
Sincerly

I agree with your idea about TURKEY strategical position,we are kind of police of Europe not only about drug also we are strategical position about illegal migration to europe(also greece next to us but we are not so succesful as Greece about catch and put whole this people in one small boat then push them to turkey sea).How about Europe you keep call Pkk terrorist as Kurdish rebel,sympathy of Pkk. El Kaide is terrorist bu Pkk is rebel why? cause El Kaide bomb london ,bomb NY(still i am thinking this is usa plan ).
So how pkk can be call terrorist?
should bomb one EU members (not any accept if only France,England,Germany)
IRA is terrorist Eta is terrorist how about PKK?
Also in modena/ITALY pkk open one food company which serve famous brands and using this company for clean heroin moneys all that black moneys(Modene authority not disturb them cause Pkk make donation to Modena).First Europe then can talk ......

The Drug War ıs a complete sucess ın the USA ıf sucess means
jaılıng black people at a rate 7 tımes greater than so called whıtes.

The drug war ıs a complete faılure ıf you look at all the people
dyıng ın Mexıco from unecessary mılıtary repressıon.

Mexıco trıed to legalıze all drugs a couple years ago and the
good old USA saıd no you can not. I do not belıeve the
6 or 7 thousand people who dıed ın Mexıco last year from the
drug war would have happened ıf all drugs were legal.

Prohıbıtıon of alcolol was a faılure and so ıs the prohıbıtıon of drugs.

But the polıce and mılıtary exıst off the unnecessary drug war.