October
19, 2009
SILOP, Kurdish Southeastern region of Turkey,
— 26 refugees from the UN Mahmur Camp and 8 PKK
members from Qandil maonutain will come to Turkey to
talk to DTP delegations today (19 October).
According to one of the leading PKK members Kalkan,
the aim of the groups is to create a dialogue and
open the way for negotiations. President Gül
appreciates the initiative.
"Peace groups" enter Turkey today at the city of
Başverimli (Tılqebin) in the Silop district of
Şırnak in the southeast of the country. The idea of
installing peace groups was brought up by imprisoned
Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Turkey's militant
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
According to Fırat News Agency (ANF), 8 members of
the PKK will come from the city of Qandil and 26
refugees from the United Nations Mahmur Camp will
join.
As reported by ANF, the Mahmur group will deliver
letters to the president, the prime ministry and the
parliament. The group is going to move on to Ankara
to talk to MPs in the parliament. This group
consists of refugees that had to migrate to Iraq
after their dislocation between 1992-1995.
Öcalan suggested that one group should also come
from Europe.
DTP meets peace groups
Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) co-chairs
Ahmet Türk and Emine Ayna are going to meet the
groups this morning in Silopi.
Ayna and Türk declared:
"We should not exploit the PKK's good intentions and
we should not approach this process with a reasoning
of elimination. Peace groups were sent to Turkey
before in 1999, but the state did not cease that
opportunity properly. It was turned into the
opposite when the peace delegates were imprisoned.
After 10 years Turkey has another important
opportunity now. This opportunity must not be
wasted; Turkey should not repeat the mistakes made
in 1999. Our expectations,www.ekurd.nethopes
and wishes lay on this matter. We call the state and
the government for approaching this step responsibly
and ceasing this opportunity for peace and finding a
solution".
Kalkan: groups come for
dialogue and negotiation
According to information from ANF, Duran Kalkan, one
of the leading PKK members, said that the groups'
purpose is to create dialogue and the start of
negotiations. He explains the aims of the visit as
follows:
- Stopping military operations, mutual end of
conflicts and ceasefire
- Announcement of Öcalan's road map and it's
delivery to the addressees
- Start discussions on the constitution
- Recognizing the Kurdish identity guaranteed on the
base of the constitution; speaking and developing
the Kurdish language freely everywhere; giving
Kurdish names to children from the Kurdish society,
education in their Kurdish mother tongue, living the
Kurdish culture, history and arts freely
According to an article of Murat Yetkin from Radikal
newspaper based on the evaluation of a high-rank
officer whose name and position remain undisclosed,
the government expects an acceleration of the
"homecomings" (PKK members dropping their guns and
'go home') if the process is not "sabotaged".
Different news agencies and TRT declared the arrival
of the "peace groups" as a start for PKK members to
give in. When President Abdullah Gül was asked to
comment the issue, he said, "Very well, it's nice".
PKK
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms
for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of
Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around
45,000 lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish
community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK
rebels. Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish
population as a distinct minority.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded an end to ethnic
discrimination in Turkish laws and constitution
against Kurds, ranting them full political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
Ankara is currently working on a package of fresh
reforms to expand the freedoms of the Kurdish
community, but has rejected calls to halt military
action against the PKK.
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
bianet org | Agencies
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