Erdo?an says period of negotiations with pro-Kurdish party over

TODAYSZAMAN.COM
Turkish prime minister has slammed a pro-Kurdish party for its close links with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and said the period of negotiations with the party to solve the perennial Kurdish problem is “over.”

“One should not negotiate with these people,” Erdo?an said in an interview aired in Kanaltürk TV, referring to the deputies of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), when asked if the period of peace talks with the pro-Kurdish party has ended.
 Erdo?an downplayed the significance of the pro-Kurdish party and said the period of negotiations is over with “such kind of people,” referring to deputies of the BDP who were filmed hugging PKK terrorists few weeks ago.

He said his government can negotiate with a party that believes in democracy and a parliamentary system. “They don’t have such a cause,” Erdo?an stressed.

The video which made its way into the Turkish media showed terrorists and nine BDP deputies led by the party’s co-chairwoman Gülten K??anak chatting and hugging each other along a highway in the ?emdinli district of the southeastern province of Hakkari.  The BDP says the “encounter” was not planned beforehand.

The Van Public Prosecutor’s Office announced last Saturday that an investigation had been launched into the video in accordance with Turley’s Counterterrorism Law (TMK).

The office said the meeting appears to be a pre-scheduled one in contrary to BDP’s claims that it happened spontaneously when the terrorists blocked a road along their route.

The BDP deputies in the group were Ertu?rul Kürkçü, Sebahat Tuncel, Esat Canan, Adil Kurt, Nazmi Gür, Halil Aksu and Hüsamettin Zenderlio?lu as well as independent deputy Aysel Tu?luk, who was elected to Parliament with the support of the BDP.

The government accuses the BDP of not sufficiently distancing itself from the PKK and failing to contribute to the resolution of the Kurdish issue by peaceful means.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and US, has been waging a bloody campaign in Turkey’s Southeast since 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed to date in the decades-long conflict.

---