Turkey’s formerly separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, considered to be a terrorist group by the Bush administration, wants to open talks with the United States and work towards democracy, a leading member told the Financial Times Tuesday. “We said they should first give us freedom and them we would act as responsible Turkish citizens,” said Nizamettin Tas, a member of the PKK’s leadership council. “The Kurds can play a big role in favor of democracy, not only in Iraq but also in Syria, Turkey and Iran.” The 14-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish government cost the lives of more than 36,000 people between 1984 and 1999, when the PKK said they would seek a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question. The PKK changed its name last year Kadek, Congress for Freedom and Democracy. “We believe the U.S. cannot work on its own. It also needs us,” he said. Turkish officials, however, have brushed aside the PKK’s truce and continue to pursue some 10,000 fighters, many of whom are located in the mountains of northern Iraq. Full Story
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