On Friday Hurriyet Daily News published an article by Murat Yetkin devoted to the Kurdish issue in the present day Turkey. "If nothing bad happens, militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will start to leave Turkey on May 8 as declared by the organization’s acting chief, Murat Karayılan, last week; that is in less than a week’s time," the article reads.
"Among the steps that the Turkish government has taken following the Karayılan statement on April 25, there are two worth mentioning most. The first is the Arbil visit of Hüseyin Çelik, the spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti). The other is an extensive tour of inspection by Gen. Necdet Özel, the chief of the Turkish General Staff, to border troops along the Iraqi border," the author writes.
"Right after Çelik’s return to Ankara on the evening of May 1, Erdoğan convened a security meeting after which no statement was made. Erdoğan will get the report from Gen. Özel regarding the situation along the Iraqi border and the evacuation routes of the PKK militants; after all, he had publicly promised that no harm would be given to withdrawing militants provided that they not attack any target from now on. That is why Çelik warned everyone against “provocations” yesterday; a very critical stage of the whole Turkey’s Kurdish peace project is ahead," the article reads.
