While once again stressing that his party does not oppose talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) aimed at putting an end to terrorism, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu asked on Friday why violence and bloodshed have escalated since the Oslo talks, and called on the government to reveal the contents of its negotiations with the PKK.
“Turkey is still in the dark about the Oslo process. It will not be possible for us to understand why terrorism has flared unless the facts about this [Oslo] process are disclosed,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, speaking at a press conference at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport before departing for Istanbul, where he was to attend a CHP-organized rally called “Call for Peace.”
Prosecutor Murat Uzun was shot dead by a suspected member of the PKK in Tunceli’s Ovacık district on Sept. 19, Kılıçdaroğlu said, and a government that cannot protect its prosecutors becomes controversial in any democratic state.
“Look at [Uzun’s] friends’ heart-wrenching statements. They demanded police guards for their homes, but this demand was not fulfilled. … The Oslo process is the fundamental matter behind today’s dilemma. [The secret talks] encouraged the terrorist organization [the PKK],” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
CHP deputy chair Haluk Koç made a document public on Sept. 17 which he claimed was the agreement hammered out by the government and the outlawed PKK during talks between the two parties in Oslo, Norway between 2009 and 2011. Koç said that the CHP plans to file a criminal complaint against the government, arguing that government representatives discussed the formation of an autonomous region in southeast Turkey with the PKK. Koç’s move raised eyebrows within party circles, with some questioning whether the CHP, which proposed the establishment of a parliamentary commission to find a resolution to Kurdish issue just a couple of months ago, is shifting its policy on the issue.
Following Koç’s statement, Kılıçdaroğlu on Sept. 20 made it clear that he is actually not against talks with the PKK, if they lead to the laying down of arms. The government achieved a temporary cease-fire before the June 2011 elections in its talks with the PKK, Kılıçdaroğlu.
“They [government representatives] discussed [the new] constitution and state affairs [with PKK representatives]. This is unacceptable. They agreed on a cease-fire during election process. What kind of negotiation was this?” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
The CHP leader added that there is no conflict over the Oslo talks within his party, saying that he and his fellow party members have made similar statements on the issue from the very beginning. “If you look at our statements, they are like complementary pieces of a puzzle. Turkey has turned into a bloodbath at the moment, and someone should account for that. Therefore we are asking how [the government] has turned Turkeyinto a bloodbath.”
September/22/2012
