EU and US welcome Kurdish peace initiative

By Roni Alasor / Lorin Sarkisian

Brussels, 21 March 2013 – Ararat News (ANP) – EU and US welcomed the PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call for ending the military struggle and solve the Kurdish question in Turkey with peaceful means. EU said that it gives its full support to this process, including financially through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

In a joint Statement EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle said "We welcome today`s call on the PKK to lay down arms and withdraw beyond Turkey`s borders and the positive reactions to that call”.

EU also said that it gives its full support to this process, including financially through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

“This is a further important step forward in the on-going process aimed at ending a conflict which has claimed far too many victims. We look forward to concrete follow-up and implementation. The EU has repeatedly encouraged all parties to work unremittingly to bring peace and prosperity for all citizens of Turkey”, concluded Ashton and Fule.

In an official statement, US encouraged the positive developments towards peace in Turkey : 

"We welcome today`s announcement by the Kurdish Workers` Party (PKK) to halt the violence as a positive step toward ending more than three decades of tragic violence in Turkey. We applaud the courageous efforts of the government of Turkey and all parties concerned to achieve a peaceful resolution that will advance democracy in Turkey and improve the lives of all of Turkey`s citizens, " said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Hannes Swoboda, President of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D),  also welcome Ocalan`s call for a ceasefire. Swoboda said : "We welcome Abdullah Öcalan`s call for peace talks, which gives hope for an end to the 30-year struggle between the Turkish army and the Kurdish rebels. This positive development could and should open the way for a new period of co-operation and peace for all Turkish citizens. Negotiations are the only sustainable solution to avoid a further escalation of violence. The Turkish authorities must now create the conditions for a better relationship with Kurdish citizens, changing their approach and establishing genuine freedom of expression for all in Turkey. All political forces in Turkey must work to build a democratic state which fully respects human rights and freedoms. “It is now the time for peace and democracy for the people of Turkey.”

Swoboda underlined that “A just and lasting settlement of the Kurdish issue in Turkey will also have significant and positive implications for efforts towards bringing stability to the wider region”.

Ocalan’s message

In a message on the occasion of the Kurdish Spring and New Year Newroz, Abdullah Ocalan, PKK`s imprisoned leader, called for silencing of the military struggle and use of the democratic political instruments for the fundamental rights of Kurdish and other ethnic – religious minorities in Turkey : "It is time for our armed powers to withdraw from the borders. This is a new beginning, not an end. It is the beginning of a new struggle for ethnic minorities. We all bear great responsibilities for the democratization of all peoples and cultures on these lands. I call on all other peoples in this territory to lead a life on the basis of freedom and equality".

21 March, many hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the Kurdish biggest city Diyarbakır from early morning to celebrate Newroz and to show their support for peace call.