AKP no longer a party of Kurdish peace process, KCK says

ANKARA

The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) said it is no longer recognizing Turkish government as an addressee for Abdullah Öcalan in a recent statement on the ongoing peace process.

KCK, the urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of not taking “the necessary steps toward democratization.” The statement said it was “understood that AKP, a government with ambitions of a hegemony,” will not be able to take the radical democratic steps.

The resolution process, also dubbed the peace process, refers to an ongoing government-led initiative aimed at ending the long-running Kurdish issue by ending the three-decade-old conflict between security forces and the PKK. The process involves jailed PKK leader Öcalan’s talks with Turkish officials.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) leader Nechirvan Barzani, in Ankara on March 15.

The meeting, which was closed to the press, took place at the Turkish Prime Minister’s official residence and lasted for nearly two hours.

Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, KRG’s Natural Resources Minister Asti Havrami and KRG’s Minister of Housing and Reconstruction Kamuran Ahmed Abdullah also attended the meeting.