21.8.2014 Turkey accelarates peace process with Kurds The Turkish government is expected to unveil the Turkey Model, the new road map which has been envisaged to end the countrys three-decade terror problem, on September 1, the day observed as International Day of Peace in Turkey. Turkish authorities will soon activate the new road map, which has been inspired from solutions and experiences of 18 countries who have been coping with terrorism since 1920, to get former militants, linked with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, back home. The first pattern, submitted on July 7, for arrival of the first group from Mahmur camp, has been renewed in Ankara on Aug. 3, due to the unrelenting advance of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, which proports increasing risk to the region. The new arrivals are expected to include 21 families. The government, aiming to offer the most proper solution which suits Turkeys psych-dynamic, social and financial realities, has conducted a shuttle diplomacy mission with officials from Arbil, Qandil and the PKKs leader, jailed in Imrali island, for nearly 16 years. The initiative has also included security measures to ensure a safe return home for Kurdish families. Turkish officials have reportedly tried to fix a new date for the first arrival two weeks earlier than previously suggested, in order to relieve families in Mahmur, forced to move in Ranya town, 134 kilometers northwest of Suleymaniyah, in the face of mounting ISIL threat. For security reason, talks have been focused on the date for the first arrival. We have been trying to set a date in the middle of September, said, a source, who refused to be named. The 291-page road map, titled Turkey Model over the Settlement Process, covers an in-depth look at legal, social, psychological and economic steps in the settlement process. As balances in the region have rapidly changed and the al-Qaeda-inspired has posed a serious security risk for the region, the plan has been revised three times over the recent sixteen months. We hope the road map will create a new perception of Turkey in the eyes of Kurds, because the plan has been designed in order to embrace all Kurds in the Mideast, the source said. Turkey has worked on an alternative initiative, a B plan, to cope with unexpected challenges which could create difficulties for secure and safe arrivals. The plan B has provided more flexible dates, because it takes the latest developments in Iraq and Syria into consideration. We actually do not expect any suspension of arrivals from Kurdish provinces, Europe and Qandil, but we could activate the plan B for the return home from Qandil, depending on the ISIL threat and security circumstances in Rojawa, the source said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans winning the countrys first presidential election, has raised expectations over the complete accomplishment of the peace process, as the initiative seems to be directly governed and controlled by the highest-state authority, who is also the architect of the peace process with Kurds. The process is also highly expected to run safely as the new council of ministers will give a chance to key officials, who have contributed to the ongoing efforts, after the outgoing PMs rise to the highest power position within the state. Monthly consultation meetings to review the course of the return home already have been placed in the governments peace agenda, said another official in Ankara, speaking on condition of anonymity. The PKK leadership, based in Qandil, said they have suspended the withdrawal of PKK militants from Turkey into their safe haven in northern Iraq. Qandil apparently wants to see the step ahead that Turkey will take. The PKK leaders have picked up their ears to any statement from Ankara. They first want to see a road map before resuming the withdrawal, the source said. We expect they will make a decision accordingly when Turkeys shuttle diplomacy mission achieves its aim. The talks have so far failed to narrow the gap over the region, where the PKK militants are supposed to be sent to. The PKK leaders sent 820 out of 1,155 militants stationed in Qandil to the Shengal and Mahmur regions to support Kurdish peshmerga fighters in clashes against ISIL militants. While the Turkish government has insisted that PKK members move in north Iraq, the PKK leaders want to deploy its 1465 militants into Rojawa and Shengal to gear up its struggle with ISIL militants. The disagreement on the withdrawal region is expected to be removed through negotiations with the jailed PKKs leader. yenisafak.tr/news/turkey-accelarates-peace-process-with-kurds-21.8.2014%20-3949
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:33:32 +0000
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