Cautious Turkish PM welcomes Öcalan’s call for end to armed struggle

AMSTERDAM

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. AA photo

The call to lay down arms and end the armed struggle by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in a letter read earlier today during the Nevruz celebrations in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır is positive, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

 “I find the call, the invitation, as a positive development. But the essential thing is the practice,” Erdoğan said at a televised joint press meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte.

“We would like to see the reflections of Öcalan’s remarks in the shortest period of time,” Erodğan said. “Once this comes to practice, the atmosphere in Turkey and the region will change.”

Still, Erdoğan criticized the absence of a Turkish flag during the celebrations in Diyarbakır. “I would have liked to see our flag there,” he said. “I believe that this is not only my wish but the nation’s. This was a serious lack.”