Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) confirmed to media outlets that talks were initiated on Imrali Island with Abdullah Ocalan to bring an end to the 30-year long conflict that has taken 40,000 Turkish and Kurdish lives.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in December that his government was engaging in a means to bring the conflict to an end and the latest round of talks have produced a four-step plan to do just that.
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is considered a terrorist group by both the European Union and the United States. It is an organization devoted to the independence of Kurdish regions of Turkey from Ankara.
4-Step Process
The government of the Prime Minister and Abdullah Ocalan have agreed to the following four-step process for securing a peaceful future between Turkey and its Kurdish citizens:
- Ceasefire
- Judicial reforms that would release thousands of imprisoned Kurdish activists/politicians
- Democratisation
- Disarmament.
The detente was endangered by recent events like the killing of 14 Kurdistan Workers’ Party members by the Turkish army in the city of Hakkari.