Gül rejects outlawed PKK leader’s 'road map'

President Abdullah Gül has rejected the idea of the “road map” being prepared by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a life sentence in a prison on İmrali island.

The president sought instead to focus attention on the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, steps to solve Turkey’s Kurdish issue and end the 25 years of PKK attacks.

Replying to journalists’ questions about Öcalan’s yet-to-be-announced road map for a solution to the Kurdish issue at a farewell reception for Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertuğrul Apakan in the Ankara Sheraton Hotel, Gül said that the jailed PKK leader would not be a part of the government’s Kurdish move, an effort to address issues of human rights and democracy on the path toward EU membership.

“Forget about İmrali,” Gül said. “You should ask this question in other ways. They are not our interlocutor.”

Gül said that the Kurdish issue was an internal problem and any solution must uphold the country’s unitary structure. “There is an issue in Turkey. Everybody should solve their own problems,” he said. “If a country does not overcome its own problems, others will misuse the issue on any given day. I think it is right to bravely work on all these issues in order to strengthen the unity of our people, as well as everyone’s sense of belonging in Turkey.”

Unitary structure is top priority

“As a result of these efforts, Turkey’s unitary structure must be strengthened and no threat must arise in the future because our unity is the top priority,” the president added.

Gül said Turkey needs to act with the self-confidence of a modern and powerful country, adding that all debates should be seen in this light and that any speculations on who said what should be avoided.

“These efforts are based on Turkey’s own initiative. That’s how it must be,” he said. “I repeat again that each country should solve its problems by its own means and power. Otherwise, someone may come along and misuse it, as they did in the past.”

Asked if he would meet with opposition leaders to convince them to join the process, Gül said: “I had meetings, as you know. I discussed these issues at that time. However, you cannot make public each matter. If one day they need to be repeated, why not?”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has assigned Interior Minister Beşir Atalay to coordinate the government’s initiative to solve the Kurdish issue. Atalay briefly informed the public of the government’s Kurdish move in a press conference and then kicked off a series of meetings with nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, intellectuals and politicians.

AKP assesses outcomes

As part of this process, Atalay has assessed the recent developments in the Kurdish initiative with a working group within the party. The group discussed the news published in the media regarding the Kurdish initiative, the approach of other political parties and the families of martyrs toward the government’s move and Atalay’s consultation meetings with members of different segments of society.

In the meeting, it was determined that a collective language on the issue should be developed within the AKP. The government will also continue its relations with the media concerning the Kurdish issue, the private channel NTV reported Wednesday.

Atalay, who will continue to hold talks with NGO representatives on Friday, said no new appointment had been requested from the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, or the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP.

“We want to talk to them. Our request is still valid,” Atalay said, adding that the government has also been in contact with the military on the issue.