The leader of the
military wing of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Murat
Karayılan, has said the PKK is ready to fight again, threatening to
withdraw from a settlement process launched by the Turkish government
last year to resolve the long-standing terrorism problem in the country.
Turkish authorities and the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, have held a series of talks to end the decades-old conflict that has resulted in the deaths of at least 40,000 people. At least five groups of deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have visited İmralı Island, off the İstanbul coast, where Öcalan is imprisoned, trying to work out the details of the settlement talks.
On March 21, BDP deputies read aloud a letter by Öcalan calling on members of the PKK to leave the country as the first step of the settlement process. However, the PKK leadership and the Turkish authorities are at odds over the method of withdrawal, with the latter saying the terrorist group must lay down arms before leaving.
“The Kurdish movement should be let free now that a new period for a democratic solution has started. It has been decided [during the settlement process] that violence should be put aside and the conflicts should be solved through democratic means. It has been said [by Öcalan], ‘Let guns be silenced and politics dominate.' Although we kept our end of the bargain during the process, the Turkish side has been engaged in violent acts, which makes us anxious,” Karayılan said and suggested the abolishment of the controversial village guard system as part of the settlement efforts.
Karayılan further criticized Turkey for carrying out reconnaissance missions over the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq, where the PKK is based. He said he can order PKK forces any time to prepare for attack, adding that they are always ready for a war.
Commenting on a declaration that came out of a recent Kurdish conference, the PKK leader said it was “positive.”
A two-day conference, titled the “North Kurdistan Unity and Solution Conference,” was held June 15-16 in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. It has ended with a declaration listing the demands of Turkey's Kurds, including freedom for Öcalan and special autonomous status for Turkey's Kurdish-dominated regions.
Meanwhile BDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş told reporters on Wednesday that the settlement process is not stuck and it has come to a phase when the government should open democratic and peaceful political channels. He argued that the attitude of the government hints that the ruling body is driving the settlement process towards deadlock. “If the government does not fulfill its duties and meet the expectations of the public opinion, there will be trouble,” he added.
