Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — The Kurdish Workers Party is said to be preparing to withdraw from
Turkey.

A Kurdish parliamentarian said the PKK, particularly the urban wing of
the organization, could begin the pullout from Turkey by May. Siri
Sireya Onder, member of the Peace and Democracy Party, said all factions of the PKK were ready to begin the withdrawal, ordered by jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

“All the factions constituting the Kurdistan Communities Union [the
urban wing] are very determined to put into practice Ocalan’s proposition
and consolidate it,” Sireya said.

In an interview with the Turkish daily Hurriyet on April 20, Onder, who
carried messages between Ocalan to PKK military headquarters in Iraq, said a priority was to ensure that Turkey would not attack the withdrawing Kurdish fighters. He said PKK leaders were drafting plans to prepare the fighters for civilian life.

“What the public can’t see about the matter is this: They are not only
fighters,” Onder said. “They are insightful enough to almost build a life
from zero and have hope in humanity.”

On April 18, the PKK’s executive council convened to prepare for an
imminent withdrawal. Turkish media reported that the council ordered
fighters to leave “in the shortest possible time.”

  Abdullah Ocalan, Jailed Kurdish rebel leader orders withdrawal from Turkey, Kurdish Workers Party, Kurdistan Communities Union, Peace and Democracy Party