PKK ‘abductions’ heat up Kurdish bid debate
Tension grows between the AKP and the opposition over the PMâs âordersâ to bring back children who have reportedly been kidnapped by the PKK
Parliamentâs pro-Kurdish bloc has moved to work for the release of children who joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workerâs Party (PKK) following threats of an operation by the prime minister, increasing the pressure on Turkeyâs slow-moving peace process.
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin DemirtaÅ held a meeting yesterday with the families of children who were âabductedâ by the PKK, eight days after the families began a sit-in protest in front of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality. The number of families had risen to 16 as of May 28.
âDemirtaÅ told us he would speak with Kandil [the mountain range in northern Iraq where the PKK has its military headquarters],â said Mahfuze Eren, in a statement on behalf of the missing childrenâs mothers following their meeting with the BDP co-chair.
In Ankara, speaking at a press conference at the Parliament, Kemal AktaÅ, a lawmaker for the Peoplesâ Democracy Party (HDP), the BDPâs sister party, said they had been closely involved in looking for a resolution to the issue.
âAt the moment, BDP leader Selahattin DemirtaÅ is holding talks with the families; the families have not been abandoned,â AktaÅ said.
In response to repeated questions on the issue, DemirtaÅ said the children went to the mountains of their own will. âGoing to the mountains,â is a phrase used in Turkey to refer to those who join the PKKâs armed fight in mountainous areas.
DemirtaÅâs action comes amid growing...
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