by Bestoon Usman
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s prime minister said that his party’s peace process with the Kurds will not be derailed, but warned after deadly street violence in the southeast that his government would not “get pulled into chaos.”
Since March last year, the Turkish government has been lethargically engaged in a peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which says it is ready to lay down arms and fight politically for greater Kurdish rights.
“With regards to the reconciliation process, the government sees it as the assurance for securing national unity and brotherhood, but we will not make any concessions to appease anyone,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a televised speech to the nation.
"We will stand firm against whoever dares to undermine our unity through provocative actions," he added. He warned: “we will not let Turkey get pulled into chaos by provocateurs.”
Tuesday’s address, titled "On the Road to the New Turkey," followed recent street clashes in the Kurdish city of Cizre between rival supporters of the PKK and the Sunni Muslim Huda-Par group Sunday, in which three people were killed.
Selahattin Demirtas, a leading Kurdish parliamentarian in Turkey, told reporters Friday that he expected the “final negotiations” for Kurdish reconciliation to begin within 10 days.
Davutoglu said his government would do “its best to reach peace” with Turkey’s Kurds, who number an estimated 15 million and who have been struggling for decades for greater rights.
"God willing, we will lead the peace process to success under any circumstances," he added.
The Turkish premier said that Ankara would take “legal measures to ensure public order is not violated,” and that the government will continue “to raise social consciousness and awareness about the significance of respecting all ethnicities and religious minorities in Turkey.”
