Turkey to announce Kurdish plan to respond to PKK's demands

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Turkey to announce Kurdish plan to respond to PKK's demands

(Xinhua) 08:59, September 13, 2013

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ANKARA, Sept. 12 -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that a new Kurdish plan will be announced next week to respond to the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)'s demands.

Turkish officials held a meeting on Wednesday to draft a long- expected plan which would meet some of the demands of the PKK after the Kurdish militant groups announced to suspend its withdrawal from the Turkish territory to northern Iraq.

"It's a very comprehensive package and aims to meet the needs of different segments of our society. We are hoping to conclude our assessments on Friday," Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters after the three-hour meeting on Wednesday.

However, reports of local media outlets said that the plan does not fully respond to the Kurdish parties' demand, especially for getting access to education in their mother tongue.

The PKK militants began to withdraw from Turkish territory to northern Iraq in October following talks between the Ankara government and the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Last week, however, the PKK chief commander said that they have stopped retreating from the Turkish territory, blaming Ankara of not taking the "agreed" steps, Firat News Agency, affiliated with the group, reported.

The Kurds also ask for a complete overhaul of the country's Anti-Terror Law and legal arrangements for the release of its members in prison.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and part of the international community, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.

（Editor：LiangJun、Yao Chun）