ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday hailed get started of a disarmament procedure via militant Kurdish separatists as the top of a “painful bankruptcy” in Turkey’s bothered historical past.
Erdogan instructed a gathering of his ruling AKP birthday celebration in Ankara that the greater than 40-year-old “scourge of terrorism” for which the Kurdistan Staff’ Celebration – or PKK – used to be accountable is on its approach to finishing.
Erdogan’s remarks got here an afternoon after female and male contributors of the PKK in northern Iraq solid rifles and system weapons into a big cauldron the place they have been set on hearth. The symbolic transfer used to be observed as step one towards a promised disarmament as a part of a peace procedure geared toward finishing 4 many years of hostilities.
The transfer got here after PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island close to Istanbul since 1999, advised his workforce in February to convene a congress and officially disband and disarm. In Might the PKK introduced that it will achieve this.
The PKK had waged an armed insurgency in opposition to Turkey since 1984, first of all with the purpose of setting up a Kurdish state within the southeast of the rustic. Over the years, the target developed right into a marketing campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds inside Turkey.
The war, which unfold past Turkey’s borders into Iraq and Syria, killed tens of hundreds of other people. The PKK is regarded as to be a 15 may organization via Turkey, america and the Ecu Union.
Earlier peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have led to failure — maximum just lately in 2015.
“Lately the doorways of a perfect Turkey, a robust Turkey, a Turkish century had been opened vast,” Erdogan stated.
In a remark issued on Friday, the PKK stated the combatants who have been laying down their guns, pronouncing that that they had disarmed “as a gesture of goodwill and a dedication to the sensible good fortune” of the peace procedure.
“We will be able to henceforth proceed our fight for freedom, democracy, and socialism via democratic politics and felony way,” the remark stated.
However Erdogan insisted that there have been no bargaining with the PKK. “The phobia-free Turkey mission isn’t the results of negotiations, bargaining or transactions.” Turkish officers have no longer disclosed if any concessions had been given to the PKK in alternate for laying down their hands.
The Turkish president additionally stated {that a} parliamentary fee can be established to supervise the peace procedure.
