ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it had relocated its fighters from a mountain along the Kurdistan Region’s border with Turkey to deeper areas within the Region. The move is intended to avoid clashes with the Turkish army and to help protect the ongoing peace talks with Ankara.
“As of the evening of November 16, our forces that posed a risk of conflict in the Zap area have been withdrawn to different suitable areas. In its current state, the risk of conflict in the area in question has been completely eliminated,” said the PKK, which has been using the name the Kurdistan Freedom Movement since its dissolution in May, in a statement on Monday.
The group added that the move is part of its efforts to ensure the ongoing peace talks with Ankara proceed smoothly, noting that its October decision to withdraw all fighters from Turkey was also intended to support this goal.
“Following the withdrawal of our guerrilla forces that posed a risk of conflict within Turkey's borders, this withdrawal and correction we have made in the Zap area also constitutes an important practical contribution to the development and success of the Peace and Democratic Society Process developed by Leader Abdullah Ocalan,” it stated, referring to Ocalan’s February statement which called on his followers to disband the party and lay down arms in order to pave the way for a political solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.
“We believe that this new step of ours will serve the solution of the Kurdish issue and Turkey's peace and democratization.”
The Turkish parliament has established a commission to provide a legal framework to the peace process, which Turkish officials call terror-free Turkey. There have been calls from many parties, including Turkey’s far-right leader Devlet Bahceli, for the commission to visit Ocalan. The commission is set to meet on Tuesday and make a decision in this regard.
Updated at 10:04 am.