Öcalan calls for progress in peace process

TT

Updated 12.14 | Published 12.09

 

Supporters of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan hold up a portrait of the imprisoned leader who is now calling for efforts in the peace process. Picture taken in Diyarbakir, Turkey in February. Photo: Metin Yoksu/AP/TT

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdish PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, is calling for genuine efforts from all parties in the peace process in Turkey.

The peace process between Turkey and the terrorist PKK got underway in the spring, when the PKK said it would end its armed struggle and instead seek peace through democratic means.

With the announcement, an armed conflict that had lasted for over four decades and had claimed more than 50,000 lives came to an end.

Now, Öcalan writes in a message from prison that “in order to move on to a positive phase, it is important that everyone acts with sensitivity, seriousness and a sense of responsibility.”

He continues that “the basis for this must be to integrate the Kurdish issue in all its dimensions into the country’s legal framework and to initiate a solid transition process.”

In October, the PKK announced that it was withdrawing its combat units from Turkey to northern Iraq, which meant that the first phase of the peace process was then completed.