Turkish opposition leader offers PKK amnesty for downing of arms

"An amnesty project could be implemented the moment they say 'I will no longer conduct politics through weapons and I will fully disarm'," Deniz Baykal, the chairman of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, told Hurriyet daily during a visit to the southeastern province of Adiyaman as part of his party's "Kurdish expansion".

 

His remarks came as Turkish officials signaled works are underway to end the terror activities of the PKK and solve the decades-long Kurdish issue in a democratic and peaceful way. CHP has traditionally been against offering any amnesty to terrorists.

 

He said an amnesty would be launched when the PKK makes it clear that it will assert its demands within boundaries democracy and the law.

 

However he remains skeptical disputes could be resolved despite the terrorists coming down from the mountains, Baykal added.

 

Turkey has long been struggling with the terror organization PKK, which launches cross-border attacks on Turkey from bases in northern Iraq and frequently uses remote-control landmines to target the country's security forces.

 

Baykal pledged to stop criticizing the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, if the pro-Kurdish party sidelines terrorist activities in its policies.

 

"There mustn't be guns on the table. There must be pens, paper and ideas on the table," he added.

 

Although it is a leftist party, the CHP has long been under fire over its nationalist policies and rhetoric. Baykal's party failed to win any major mayoral position in the country’s southeast and eastern regions in the local election held in late March.

 

FUSION AS SOLUTION

Some analysts say Baykal's remarks signal a shift in his party's policy regarding the mainly-Kurdish and terror-hit region. The DTP and the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, emerge as the strongest political parties in the region. Baykal is currently visiting Turkey’s southeastern provinces.

 

"Our fundamental understanding is different than the project which was submitted as a solution but foresees decomposition on the ethnic basis. We offer (the principle of) fusion as a solution. Our project anticipates all rights and freedoms but aims at making everybody, every ethnic group as parts of a wider nation," he said explaining his offer on the issue.

 

Earlier in the month President Abdullah Gul called on opposition parties to contribute to the solution of the Kurdish problem, mentioning he had a glimpse of hope.

 

The CHP replied to the call, offering a four-article solution package that foresees a change in public institutions’ mentalities, freedom to experience ethnic identity, economic expansion in the region and the creation of equal opportunity in the region in all spheres, including education, health, and development.

 

A statement from Gul, in which he said "there was a historic opportunity to solve the decades-old Kurdish issue," led to lively public debate, but drew harsh criticism from the opposition, especially the nationalist parties.