Turkish gov’t urges PKK to keep commitments in peace process

ANKARA

‘Those who sabotage this process will surely get trapped [under its wreckage],’ Interior Minister Muammer Güler tells reporters. AA photo

A senior government member has urged the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to fulfill its responsibility and complete the withdrawal process as part of the resolution process amid concerns that efforts could be nixed due to growing mistrust between the government and Kurdish political groups.

“Those who sabotage this process will surely get trapped [under its wreckage],” Interior Minister Muammer Güler told reporters Aug.29.

Güler criticized senior PKK and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) members for their threatening statements urging the government to reveal a much-anticipated democracy package to meet some of their demands.

“Turkey will stand tall against such threats,” he said, and urged the PKK to fulfill its commitments otherwise Turkey had enough power to provide the security of its soils.

The government believes only 20 percent of PKK militants have withdrawn from Turkey into northern Iraq although the outlawed group promised to accomplish this process in late June.

In return, PKK officials have criticized the government for delaying the opening of a democracy package that would involve substantial steps.