PKK Will Begin Pull Out From Turkey

Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He has been held in prison since 1998. The US military is threatening to attack PKK supporters in northern Iraq., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

PKK says will begin to pull out from Turkey on Wednesday

Wed May 8, 2013 1:43AM GMT
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The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) says it will pull out its forces from Turkey and move them into bases in neighboring Iraq.

The PKK said in a statement on Tuesday that the withdrawal will begin on Wednesday but warned Ankara against "provocations and clashes" which it stated could hamper the retreat.

"Constant surveillance flights of the unmanned aerial vehicles are delaying the withdrawal process," the PKK claimed.

"This process will continue in a planned and organized way," it added.

The group also called on independent rights groups to take part in the process by observing the withdrawal, saying this could contribute to a safe operation.

The move is part of a peace initiative reached between Ankara and PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan earlier this year.

Ocalan, who was captured by Turkish security forces in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 1999, is serving a life sentence at Imrali Island prison on charges of leading the PKK in its armed campaign against Ankara.

In December 2012, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization started negotiations with the PKK with an ultimate goal of disarming the movement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser, Yalcin Akdogan, said in an interview on December 31, 2012 that the government had decided to begin the talks after coming to the conclusion that it is unlikely to defeat PKK fighters militarily.

"The main aim for the government is to disarm them. You cannot get results and abolish an organization only with armed struggle," Akdogan stated.

On January 9, reports said that the government and the PKK had reached an agreement on a peace roadmap to end the hostility.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.