Turkish Parties Meet Spontaneously to Discuss Kurdish Problem
Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Türk met in the Yildiz district of Ankara, Turkey to discuss the Kurdish people and recent terrorist attacks on Turkey. Other deputies of both parties were also present. The most prominent issue discussed was the recent allegations against the ruling party that Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was being subjected to ill treatment in Imrali Prison in Turkey. The allegations recently led to protests and chaos in major Turkish cities, including Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Adana, Şanlıurfa and Hakkâri, where people demonstrated in favor of Öcalan.
The DTP, which is now demanding that this issue be clarified publicly by the ruling AKP before Kurdish people lead more uprisings, are asking that members of the PKK be granted amnesty. The DTP, which does not consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization, would like to have direct contact with them; however, the ruling party has disagreed. In light of the most recent accusative attitude towards Kurdish people in Turkey, the two parties agreed to stop the pressure being put on them, particularly in the western region.
The meeting was not planned and the leaders, who are former schoolmates, agreed to meet casually for dinner in a restaurant. This unplanned meeting could be the first in a series to address the democratic and cultural rights of the Kurdish people living in Turkey. While the ruling party may not see the situation in the same light as the DTP, the parties have most likely begun to realize that the lack of rights given to the Kurdish people and the terror problem are undoubtedly linked.
Adam Hazzout
