, has ruled out the involvement of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria in the fresh efforts at peace.){kind=link}
Respected politician Ahmet Türk, 82, who is among a group of Kurdish politicians conducting talks as part of a new process aimed at resolving the armed conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has ruled out the involvement of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria in the fresh efforts at peace.
Türk, who was among a group of pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) politicians that met with Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Thursday, spoke to Halk TV about his impressions of Thursday’s meetings and how the new peace process will proceed.
When asked whether any talks will be held with the PYD, the leading political party among Kurds in northern Syria, as part of efforts to resolve the conflict with the PKK, Türk said there is currently no such plan under consideration.
“… but we would very much like that Turkey establish friendly relations with the PYD. This is very clear. Kurds are the most secular people of the Middle East. Turkey’s embrace of the Kurds will help it become an influential actor in the region,” said Türk.
The PYD is also the political arm of the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey views both as terrorist groups and offshoots of the outlawed PKK, which has been waging a bloody war in the country’s southeast since 1984 and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkey has stepped up its rhetoric against Syria’s Kurds following the ouster of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by an alliance of rebel groups on December 8 following an 11-day-long offensive.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it will maintain “preventive and destructive measures” against Kurdish militants in Syria, citing threats to national security and regional stability.
The aim of Thursday’s talks with Kurtulmuş and Bahçeli was to brief them on a rare weekend meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed founder of the PKK who is serving a sentence of life without parole in a high-security prison on İmralı Island near İstanbul.
It was Öcalan’s first visit with politicians in almost a decade and comes with an easing of tensions between Ankara and the PKK.
The visit took place two months after Bahçeli extended a surprise olive branch to Öcalan, inviting him to visit parliament and to disband the PKK, saying he should be given the “right to hope” in remarks widely understood to imply a possible release.
His outreach was backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Shocked by Bahçeli’s stance
Türk said he was “shocked” to see how warmly Bahçeli received the DEM Party delegation on Thursday given the fact that he used strong language against them in the past, accusing them of having ties to terrorism.
“When you see Mr. Bahçeli’s attitude, you are really shocked, and you realize that he is sincere. It is time for Kurds and Turks to sit down and solve their own problems,” said Türk.
The DEM Party delegation is expected to meet with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Monday after which they will offer a full briefing.
Kurds in Turkey have been demanding equal rights and struggle for recognition for decades. The new peace process comes after an almost 10-year freeze in peace efforts.