Legal steps on Kurdish peace bid 'a must' to disarm, PKK tells Turkish gov’t

Eyes are now on the Turkish government’s moves in the Kurdish issue, after a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) team revealed remarks by the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in which he said further steps in the peace process "must be subject to a legal framework."

PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan shared on Nov. 29 a “Peace and Democratic Negotiations Process Draft” with the HDP team at the İmralı Island prison, where he is being held.

“They should not expect further steps from us under justifications such as ‘public order’ before this draft I hand to you comes into life," HDP officials quoted Öcalan as saying.

Öcalan reportedly met with a state team headed by intelligence chief Hakan Fidan on Nov. 27.

The state team told Öcalan that the framework was “arguable,” adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu would give the final response.  

However, Ankara is wary of some items, particularly in terms of the order of the actions, according to sources.

This sits at the heart of the debate, as Öcalan insists on a legal warranty before items of “sustaining public order, the withdrawal of the PKK militants from Turkey and the PKK laying down arms against Turkey.”

Sources also claimed Fidan would ask Öcalan to revise the plan.

The framework consists of three main titles: “Proposals for a solution, negotiation chapters and action plan,” the HDP stated on Nov. 30, adding that it will soon be introduced to the public for their views and contributions and will then be returned to Öcalan for his considerations.

An indirect reaction to the statement came from Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan, who...