PKK accuses Turkey of undermining disarmament process
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) believes that parts of the Turkish government are trying to undermine the organization's disarmament process.
Mustafa Karasu, one of the organization's founders and leading members, said this on Wednesday in an interview with a Kurdish-affiliated television station.
The PKK announced six weeks ago that the organization had decided to dissolve itself and cease its armed struggle against Turkey.
On Monday, the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported that the PKK would begin destroying its weapons in ceremonies in northern Iraq within a few weeks.
- We are ready, but the government has not taken the necessary steps, says Karasu.
The Turkish military continues to attack PKK militants in northern Iraq, and the conditions for the organization's leader Abdullah Öcalan have not improved, says Karasu.
The 76-year-old Öcalan has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali since 1999. As early as February, he called on the PKK to lay down its arms.
An anonymous source from Turkish President Recep Erdogan's AKP party - the Justice and Development Party - has previously said that after the agreement to dissolve the PKK, Öcalan will probably be able to serve his sentence under more lenient conditions.
- Some friends have been allowed to go to Imrali, but that is not enough. Despite some adjustments, the isolation has lasted for 26 years, says Karasu, adding:
- The situation of our leader affects the process (for disarmament, ed.) and slows it down.
Karasu would not tell the Kurdish-affiliated television station whether the so-called disarmament ceremonies would continue to be held.
- We want the process to continue and flourish. But the situation makes us see an obstacle. The government's stance is the reason, he says.
The PKK has been leading an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. Its original goal was to create a homeland for the Kurds.
The decision to disband could have major political and security consequences in the region.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the decades-long conflict between the PKK and Turkey.
The Turkish government, NATO, the EU and the United States consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization.
Erdogan has previously said that Turkey will resume operations against the PKK if the group's disarmament process stalls or promises are not kept.
/ritzau/AFP
