Turkey's pro-Kurdish party will meet with President Erdogan
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party will meet President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, seeking to move along a peace process between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.
DEM, the country's third-biggest party and which has played a key role facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision in May, said it met PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in prison on Sunday.
"(Ocalan) he said he attaches great importance to our delegation's meeting with the president described it as historic," the party said in a statement.
The PKK, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided in May to disband and end its armed struggle. The PKK could start handing over its weapons in the coming days, officials and sources said.
President Erdogan will receive DEM Party leaders and delegation in Ankara at 1200 GMT. They are expected to discuss the recent developments in the PKK disarmament process.
Since Ocalan's public call to his PKK in February, DEM has held talks with Erdogan and other government officials seeking to propel the potential peace process.
Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Turkey in 1984 - originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state - the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fuelled social tensions.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Zeynep Berkem; Editing by Michael Perry)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
US appeals court temporarily upholds protected status for Afghans
FILE PHOTO: A Homeland Security vehicle stands in front of the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building, housing the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported from Maryland, U.S., to El Salvador by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, faces criminal charges, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Seth Herald/File photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court has blocked for now a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to strip temporary protected status from thousands of Afghans in the United States, court documents showed, allowing them more time to argue the case. Monday's order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted an administrative stay on the termination until July 21, following a request from immigration advocacy organization CASA. The group's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security challenged the termination of temporary protected status for Afghans and Cameroonians unveiled by the administration in April. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of the April announcement, it had said conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer merited the protected status. The TPS program provides protection against deportation and provides work permits for periods of six to 18 months to those from countries stricken by natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. The status can be renewed by the homeland security secretary. Trump's effort to end most TPS enrollment during his first term from 2017 to 2021 was thwarted by federal courts. CASA sought an emergency stay on Monday, when the protection of Afghans was set to be terminated, while that of Cameroonians was set to end on August 4, the court document showed. The group said the step was arbitrary and discriminatory and would cause "irreparable harm" to those affected, as it sought a stay while the appeals proceed. The administration has time until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0359 GMT on Thursday) to respond. The stay was not a final decision, but gave time for the legal challenge, said Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups that coordinates resettlements with the government. "AfghanEvac stands firmly behind the legal challenge and calls on DHS and the Trump administration to immediately reverse course and extend TPS protections," VanDiver said in an email. The United States evacuated more than 82,000 Afghans from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, of whom more than 70,000 entered the U.S. on temporary "parole," or legal entry for two years. Rights advocates have said many Afghans who helped the United States during its war in Afghanistan would be targets of the Taliban if they returned home. Particularly at risk would be women, whose rights the Taliban have curbed since their return to power after the U.S. withdrawal, rights groups say. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Malaysiakini
an hour ago
- Malaysiakini
Trump's polarising envoy to M'sia pick draws mounting pushback
Pushback continues to mount against US President Donald Trump's choice for the country's new 'alpha male' ambassador to Malaysia, Nick Adams, ahead of his confirmation hearing before the US Senate. The PKR youth wing pointed out that the pro-Zionist's extremist ideologies and divisive rhetoric were in stark contrast to Malaysian values of pluralism, tolerance, and humanitarian solidarity.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Oil edges down as market contemplates potential sanctions, tariffs
NEW YORK: Oil prices edged down on Tuesday as the market digested US President Donald Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia to end the Ukraine war and avoid sanctions on buyers of its oil, while worries continued to linger over Trump's trade tariffs. Brent crude futures fell 5 sen to US$69.16 a barrel by 0000 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell to US$66.89, down 9 sen. Both contracts settled more than US$1 lower in the previous session. Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal in 50 days. Oil prices had climbed at the news of potential sanctions, but later gave up these gains as the 50-day deadline raised hopes that sanctions could be avoided, and traders dwelled on whether the US would actually impose steep tariffs on countries continuing to trade with Russia. "The pause eased concerns that direct sanctions on Russia could disrupt crude oil flows. Sentiment was also weighed down by rising trade tensions," ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes wrote in a note to clients. Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 30 per cent tariff on most imports from the European Union and Mexico from August 1, adding to similar warnings for other countries and leaving them less than three weeks to hammer out framework deals that could lower the threatened tariff rates. Tariffs risk slowing down economic growth, which could sap global fuel demand and drag oil prices lower. Elsewhere, oil demand is set to stay "very strong" through the third quarter, keeping the market snugly balanced in the near term, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' secretary general said, according to a Russian media report. Goldman Sachs on Monday raised its oil price outlook for the second half of 2025, pointing to potential supply disruptions, shrinking oil inventories in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and production constraints in Russia.
