Kurds call for PKK ceasefire

Turkey's most influential Kurdish activists have called on Kurdish separatist rebels to end a campaign of violence that has killed hundreds in the past year.

The Democratic Society Movement, founded last year by Leyla Zana, a winner of the EU Sakharov peace prize, said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) should declare an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire".

"Without the creation of a non-violent political climate, the possibility of debating the [Kurdish] problem is unfortunately zero", it said. The declaration follows recent conciliatory remarks by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the government was ready to listen to all sides if violence ends.

Analysts say that the PKK, which recently intensified its attacks, may declare a new truce as early as tomorrow.

Related Content