“We are not the relevant party here, nor are our nation or our state. The relevant party here is entirely the terrorist organization established by the terrorist leader,” Yilmaz Tunc told Turkish outlet HaberTurk, referring to the PKK and Ocalan.
Tunc said that there will be no negotiations with the PKK and that they will only accept a “terrorism-free Turkey.”
Amid renewed efforts to end four decades of conflict, Turkish officials and politicians have intensified their demands on the PKK to lay down arms.
On Tuesday, Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish political party said that Ocalan is expected to make a “historic call” in the coming days to bring a “permanent solution” to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.
The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) is mediating talks between the Turkish state and the PKK in a bid to end hostilities. Details of the process have not been revealed, but party officials have said the goal is peace.
A DEM Party delegation has visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan twice in recent weeks. They have also held meetings with all political parties that have representatives in the parliament.
Regarding another possible visit to Ocalan at Imrali island prison where he is held, Tunc said that there is no pending request, “but if one arises, it could be reconsidered.”
On Friday, top PKK commander Murat Karayilan said that the group will not heed a disarmament call from Ocalan without a physical meeting with him and a guarantee that Kurdish rights in Turkey will be safeguarded.
While expectations for peace are high, regular clashes continue. Turkey carries out frequent attacks on alleged positions of the PKK in the Kurdistan Region and Karayilan said that a peace process cannot begin until the fighting ceases.
