Ankara-PKK talks a chance to avoid past mistakes: DEM Party
Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits northwestern Turkey, no fatalities reported
Ankara-PKK peace process to finish by end of 2025: Bahceli
Turkey says tightening measures to battle forest fires
Turkey adopts confidentiality rule for PKK peace commission
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The renewed peace talks between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are a chance to correct past mistakes a redefine a 'thousand years of brotherhood,' Turkey's pro-Kurdish party said on Monday.
'At this historic juncture, where a 'thousand years of brotherhood is being redefined,' it is our shared responsibility to respect the pain and learn from the past,' Aysegul Dogan, spokesperson for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said on X.
The DEM Party is leading renewed efforts to end the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state, which has claimed over 40,000 lives, mainly PKK fighters. The party serves as a mediator and main communication channel between Ankara and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Dogan lamented that during the bloody conflict, 'many Kurdish and Turkish youths have lost their lives, whether Turkish or Kurdish, soldier or PKK member.'
'The salt of all our tears is the same!' she stated.
The PKK held a disarmament ceremony in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani province in mid-July, where 30 members and commanders burned their weapons. It followed Ocalan's historic February call to abandon the armed struggle and pursue a political solution to secure Kurdish rights in Turkey.
A Turkish parliamentary commission tasked with establishing a legal framework for the peace process has been established and on Friday had its second meeting. The sessions are being held under the confidentiality rule, keeping the record sealed for ten years.
The commission includes representatives from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the DEM Party, and several smaller parties.
The PKK, established in 1978, initially sought Kurdish independence before shifting its focus to securing political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
3 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Key Aleppo road sealed in Syrian-SDF standoff
Shafaq News – Aleppo On Monday, tensions escalated between Syrian government security forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), closing a strategic road in northern Aleppo, local sources told Shafaq News. The Castello Road, linking the Leramoun and Jandoul roundabouts, is a vital transport corridor for civilians and supplies. Officials have not clarified what triggered the closure or how long it will remain in place. Its shutdown, according to the sources, is disrupting traffic and supply deliveries, raising concerns over fresh displacement and restricted humanitarian access. Once the last supply route into opposition-held districts during the 2016 siege of Aleppo, the Castello Road's capture by government troops and Russian allies proved decisive in the city's fall. Relations between Damascus and the SDF remain tense despite a March agreement to integrate some SDF units into the Syrian army. The two sides have exchanged fire in Aleppo's countryside in recent weeks, alongside limited incursions, especially following the recent 'The Unity of Stance Conference.'
Rudaw Net
7 hours ago
- Rudaw Net
Erbil launches first stage of green belt project
Also in Kurdistan President Barzani welcomes new US consul, reaffirms partnership with Washington US-led coalition support for Peshmerga to continue: Peshmerga ministry official Halabja not its own constituency in Iraq's parliamentary elections PKK leader gives Makhmour camp residents hope of return A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The first phase of a major green belt project has been launched in Erbil, which includes the planting of millions of trees and the construction of artificial ponds, a local official said on Monday, in an effort to combat air pollution and climate change. 'Erbil's Green Belt Project has started around the 150-meter road. In the first phase, pistachio and olive trees will be planted … and more than ten artificial ponds will be created to irrigate the trees,' Sarwar Waysi, head of Erbil's parks engineering department, told Rudaw. Over seven million trees will be planted in the project's initial phase, according to Waisi. The project is being carried out in coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kurdistan Region's municipalities and tourism ministry. 'We want to protect Erbil from dust storms and reduce their efforts, and we also want to protect agricultural lands so they won't be turned into investment projects,' Waisi explained, adding that the project will also create job opportunities for the city's young people. The efforts come as Erbil struggles with one of the highest levels of air pollution in Iraq, driven by smoke from power generators, heavy car emissions using low-quality fuel, and frequent dust storms. Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with poor water resource management and dam construction in neighboring countries contributing to dwindling river flows.
Shafaq News
7 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Turkiye shells PKK positions in Duhok
Shafaq News – Duhok Turkish artillery pounded suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in the Gara mountain range north of Duhok, witnesses said on Monday. The bombardment, concentrated in the Zibar area, triggered fires that swept through farmland and forests, threatening crops and property as villagers worked to harvest their fields. Residents voiced concern to Shafaq News that the strikes, hitting during a critical agricultural season, could devastate their livelihoods. Ankara has intensified cross-border attacks on the PKK—designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union—despite the group's disarmament. In July, 12 Turkish soldiers were killed by methane gas exposure during a cave recovery mission in northern Iraq.
