PKK’s withdrawal to start as of April 25, following statement from senior figures in Kandil: BDP deputy

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency/Hürriyet

Sırrı Süreyya Önder had joined most of the parliamentary delegations carrying letters between PKK's jailed leader Öcalan and the organization's military headquarters at the Kandil Mountains. DHA photo

The withdrawal of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants from Turkish soil will start April 25, following a public statement by the PKK's leaders at the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq, Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder said April 23. "An international public statement will be made at the Kandil Mountains on April 24 or April 25. It may be postponed to April 25. On April 25 the withdrawal will be about to start,” Önder said. 

Responding to questions from reporters at the public reception organized for National Sovereignty and Children’s Day celebrations, Önder said that the process was proceeding without any trouble. The correspondence between the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan and the headquarters at the Kandil Mountains was over, Önder added. “Now the talks will continue through BDP [deputies],” he said. Önder had joined most of the parliamentary delegations carrying letters between Öcalan and the organization's military headquarters.
 
Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gül called on every party involved in the talks to be constructive. “The process should absolutely be successful. What’s important is the laying down of arms inside and outside Turkey. Everybody has to be patient,” Gül said. 

Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek noted that the withdrawal was only one part of the process. “It is an important milestone. It has an important psychological effect. But this process doesn’t only consist of the withdrawal. We need to move forward after that. The developments should be considered with calm,” Çiçek told reporters.