Progress in Turkish-Kurdish PKK peace moves

Representatives of the legal Turkish Kurdish movement (BDP) with representatives in parliament arrived Thursday from Ankara to the Iraqi Kurdistan Republic capital of Sulaymaniyah. They carried a letter from the outlawed PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) leader Abdullah Ocalan to PKK military leaders holed up in their stronghold in the Iraqi Kurdish Kandil Mountains. DEBKAfile reports: For months, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Edrogan has been discussing with Ocalan in his island prison terms for ending the PKK uprising against Ankara. Erdogan is after the Kurdish vote to support his election as president.

According to the Turkish daily Milliyet, the jailed PKK leader has promised to declare a “road map for peace” on March 21, expressing confidence in the ongoing talks solving the Kurdish issue in a peaceful way.