Turkey's Pro-Kurdish Leader Supports Solution Process

The leader of the main pro-Kurdish party in Turkey has pledged Wednesday his support for the country's Kurdish solution process.  



The leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtas, affirmed his backing of Turkey's solution process, aimed at ending a more than 30 year-old conflict between Turkish armed forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.



"We will keep on putting our support behind the solution process both at the parliament and other platforms, to carry it through to success," Demirtas told the press following a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara.



Following Tuesday's Council of Ministers' meeting chaired by Davutoglu, Deputy PM Bulent Arinc announced a new 'solution process council' to be established in order to see the proceedings  through as soon as possible and root out "terror" in the eastern Turkish region -- one of the priorities of Davutoglu-led new AK Party government.



Demirtas welcomed the formation of the solution process council, noting that "immediate practical steps in conformity with this perspective [were] essential to realize permanent peace in the region at the earliest."



Demirtas also touched on the threat posed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militants in Syria, as well as on the recent refugee influx from Syria's Kurdish town of Kobani into Turkey. 



"It is not only a concern for Kurds in Turkey and in Kobani, but a concern for all of Turkey," he said.



As for a new government motion on Iraq and Syria submitted Tuesday for parliamentary approval, Demirtas said they would oppose the motion during the voting, citing concerns over accepting international armed forces into Turkey and over the launching of a military land operation.



He noted that his party would rather see direct support to opposition groups fighting against the Syrian regime forces.



The inclusive motion on Iraq and Syria seeks to expand authorization for the Turkish government and the armed forces to act against recent security threats from Turkey's two southern neighbors.



Scheduled to be discussed at the parliament Thursday, it also includes a mandate for the government to send Turkish troops into foreign countries, for instance Iraq or Syria, if necessary, and accept troops from foreign countries on Turkish soil. The motion is to last for a period of one year.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara