CHP leader warns peace process with Öcalan as counterpart doomed to fail
Amid rising concerns over whether the stalled peace process was approaching an end, Turkeyâs main opposition leader has urged the government to put the process on a legitimate track that does not involve Abudllah Ãcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workersâ Party (PKK), as a counterpart.
âIf you hold discussions on a legitimate ground, but not behind closed doors, then you would be able to meet all of the citizensâ demands. The issue needs to be thoroughly handled and put on table. Who you will put the issue on the table and hold discussions with? If you do it with Ãcalan, then this is a deadlocked process,â said Kemal KılıçdaroÄlu, leader of the main opposition Republican Peopleâs Party (CHP), on Nov. 2.
âA state should gather and hold discussions with legitimate bodies. Nobody knows what they are discussing behind closed doors. Engaging with and agreeing with the Peoplesâ Democratic Party [HDP] is not a sine qua non for resolving this problem. The place for discussions here is the Parliament,â KılıçdaroÄlu added.
KılıçdaroÄluâs remarks came at a time when senior commanders of the PKK, as well as executives of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the urban wing of the PKK, argued the government-led process for ending the three-decade long conflict between Turkeyâs security forces and the PKK came to an end primarily because of the ruling Justice and Development Partyâs (AKP) policies.
Playing a central role in the process, Ãcalan has been in dialogue with both state officials and members of Parliament since at least late 2012.
Most recently, an article penned by a leading Kurdish politician, independent Van deputy Aysel TuÄluk, fueled debates over the fate of the process due...
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