Barzani calls for PKK to end armed conflict

ANKARA

Daily News Photo by Selahattin Sönmez

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani called for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to cease armed conflict saying it can get nothing out of it in this age, while the Turkish government pressed Barzani to do more to end its presence in northern Iraq.

“We were saddened very much by yesterday’s attack. I condemn it. Wars and weapons no longer have a place in this age,” Barzani said Wednesday, speaking to TRT from Selahhadin, as it began broadcasts in Sorani, a dialect of Kurdish spoken in parts of northern Iraq and western Iran. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç attended the ceremony from Ankara underlining that this move will further connect Turkey and Iraqi Kurds, whose ties have strengthened recently.

As the launch came only a day after the deadly Dağlıca attack that claimed the lives of eight Turkish troops by PKK terrorists who infiltrated Turkey from northern Iraq, the conversation between Arınç and Barzani focused more on cooperation against terror. “These attacks harm the Kurdish people. We are very much concerned about these incidents,” he said, adding that Kurds in Turkey should continue their struggle in Parliament.