Bombs away

OZGUR TEKE had high hopes after Turkey’s elections in June sent the moderate, pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) to parliament for the first time. Mr Teke, who owns a small window-blind factory in the largely Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in Turkey’s east, had watched talks between the government and the HDP over a Turkish-Kurdish peace deal make hesitant progress over the course of two years. The militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was observing a ceasefire. Negotiators reached a roadmap to an agreement. Then, last month, the war between the Turkish government and the PKK suddenly reignited. “Just when a solution was appearing, it’s like someone pressed a button,” says Mr Teke.