Kurdish deputy Türk speaks on meeting with PKK leader

ISTANBUL

AA Photo

Independent Kurdish deputy Ahmet Türk is the first participant to comment on the Jan. 3 meeting with imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, describing the present situation "a bleeding wound."
 
"There is a bleeding wound here," Türk said. "One should try to heal it, not scratch it."

"We have been telling everyone from the start that we appreciate all kinds of contributions to peace on this matter," Türk said before leaving Diyarbakır for Ankara. "[The meeting] should not be exaggerated. But there is certainly a bleeding wound, and instead of poking at it and making it bleed, we should try to heal it. We are all going through sensitive times, and I hope we reach a positive result."
 
Two pro-Kurdish lawmakers were permitted to meet with Öcalan on İmralı island, where he is currently serving a life sentence. Öcalan reportedly stated that "important steps may be taken in the upcoming months, if the process is not sabotaged."
 
Ayla Akat Ata, a BDP deputy, and Ahmet Türk, an independent deputy and co-chair of umbrella group Democratic Society Congress (DTK), traveled to İmralı from Istanbul’s Ataköy marina at around 8 a.m. and returned to Istanbul at around 3 p.m on Jan. 3.