Representatives of 120 Kurdish tribes from Turkey's eastern and southeastern regions have called on members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, to leave the country at a joint news conference in Şırnak.
Alihan Babat said that there is no reasonable explanation for weapons to engage after the June 7 general elections. “We want armed members of the organization to end violence and leave our country immediately so that the struggle can stop and peace can be ensured once again,” he urged.
Babat was speaking at a joint news conference held in Uludere district on Sep. 1, which marks the Day of International Peace.
Babat said the June elections played a key role in paving the way for the policy. “It is possible in our country to defend and voice every kind of individual and social demand democratically onto legitimate political ground,” he explained.
He also said that their region needs peace, tranquility and common sense rather than weapons. “Our priority is to remove the threat of arms on our democracy and preserve legitimate political ground. Shedding blood cannot be a way we can use to solve a problem,” he explained.
“Our past experiences of 30 years have already proved that we cannot reach anywhere using weapons and violence,” he said, adding that the reconciliation process will raise hopes that peace will be ensured.
His call was supported by tribal members from provinces of Mardin, Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Batman, Bitlis, Van, Bingöl, Hakkari, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Muş and Siirt who were present at the press conference.
The government insists on a full PKK withdrawal for reconciliation talks to progress, while PKK leaders in Qandil accuse Turkish authorities of failing to take steps for solving the Kurdish questions in the country. If a permanent agreement is reached with Kurds, it will bring an end to a 30-year-old struggle, which has claimed over 40,000 lives.
Turkey's campaign on the PKK resumed in late July, after two officers were killed in an attack in the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa two days after a suicide blast was blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack and said they killed the officers to avenge the suicide bombing on Monday blamed on ISIL.
