Turkish deputies carry PKK leader’s letter to Kandil Mountains

ARBIL – Anatolia News Agency

Senior PKK militant leader Murat Karayılan(L), Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder(C) and BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş.

A group of Turkish deputies have conveyed a letter written by Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, before also delivering it to the PKK chiefs in the Kandil Mountains.

The subject of the letter is the future withdrawal of PKK militants from Turkish soil, according to former remarks by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) officials.

BDP co-chair Gültan Kışanak and Parliamentary Group Chair Pervin Buldan arrived in Arbil via plane early in the morning, while Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder went by road because of his fear of flying. The group left Arbil as of 9 a.m.

The sealed envelope that contains the letter is expected to be responded to by Arbil, either today or tomorrow.