Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters in Istanbul on Friday that all members of the PKK terrorist group, including those in Syria who brand themselves as YPG, should lay down arms.
Çelik’s remarks followed a call by the PKK’s jailed leader to his group to dissolve itself on Thursday. Çelik ruled out any negotiation with the terrorist group in exchange for Öcalan’s call.
He reiterated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has always attached importance to resolving the PKK issue since his days as prime minister.
"He never saw it as an ethnic problem but an issue of democracy and he struggled to reinstate the rights of our Kurdish citizens," he said.
"Terror-free Türkiye has been his goal since his tenure as prime minister. The call by Mr. Bahçeli to strengthen the home front is a call to reinforce brotherhood across the region," he said, referring to the first step taken by the leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The MHP advocates further unity between Kurds and Turks and like the AK Party, sees the terrorist group as a hurdle to achieve it. "In this framework, all elements of the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria should lay down arms and dissolve themselves. The expression 'terrorist group' also covers the YPG in Syria," Çelik highlighted.
The YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, welcomed the call but said it wouldn't be "binding" for them, separating itself from the PKK.
Çelik also responded to reports about the process and said it was out of the question that the state would negotiate with terrorists.
"The state has a tough and soft approach in counterterrorism. The soft approach is the call to the terrorist groups to lay down arms and the tough approach is what the Turkish Armed Forces is doing now," he said, referring to cross-border operations in Iraq and airstrikes in Syria.
"All relevant institutions will monitor how this process will evolve," Çelik stated.
