PKK leader’s letter on way to Kandil

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş. AA photo

A letter penned by the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, is on its way to Kandil, the mountains in northern Iraq where the PKK’s current armed leadership is located, CNN Türk reported.

The letter reached deputies of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) first, two of whom, Sırrı Süreyya Önder and party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, are currently taking the letter to Kandil, according to CNN Türk.

Öcalan has not given clear messages about the withdrawal of the PKK from Turkish territory, but has written a new letter on the peace process, Demirtaş had previously said, according to Fırat news agency, known to have close links to the PKK.

Earlier reports quoted Öcalan as saying that the PKK militants could withdraw from Turkey without “legislative insurance and arms,” in his meeting with BDP deputies during their fourth visit to İmralı island, late on April 3. BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, BDP group deputy head Pervin Buldan and BDP Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder had visited Öcalan for the fourth time at the İmrali island prison where he is serving a sentence of life imprisonment.