DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - The Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) landmark decision to dissolve itself and lay down arms has been widely welcomed. Discussions over the move continue in Turkey.
PKK held its much-anticipated congress last week, but its results were announced on Monday.
Salim Ensarioglu, a lawmaker for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), told Rudaw on Monday that he expects the role of the parliament to increase after the decision.
"Now everyone needs to speak comfortably, and the parliamentary seat should be used with the right purpose. It shouldn't be that a case is prepared against someone over a statement. We need to listen to each other and tolerate each other. Aside from separatism and violence, there should be respect for every opinion," he said.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has mediated the peace talks between the PKK and Ankara.
"We are at the beginning of an era where greater steps will be taken to build society. Now weapons and violence are completely ending. We are at the beginning of a new era of an extensive democratic struggle," Ozturk Turkdogan, a senior DEM Party official, told Rudaw on Monday.