Kurdish Militants Cast Doubt on Truce with Turkey
Kurdish rebels on Wednesday cast doubt on continuing a truce with the Turkish authorities, accusing the ruling party of fighting a "war" with Kurds amid the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants.
The statement by the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) -- considered the urban wing of the mountain-based and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- is the latest sign of the worsening climate between Turkish Kurds and the authorities.
The KCK said its executive council had decided the "state of no conflict" had been effectively ended by the actions of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
It said it resolved "to step up the fight in every sphere and by using any kind of measure to reciprocate the war waged by AKP against our people."
The statement accused the AKP government of exploiting the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan's efforts for peace, saying this made the truce "meaningless."
The truce has been in place since March 2013 as both sides seek to find peace after a 30-year insurgency by PKK militants in search of self-rule that claimed some 40,000 lives.
Battling an influx of refugees from Syria, Turkey has blocked attempts by Turkish Kurds to enter Syria to join the fight against IS, sparking protests at the border.
To the fury of Kurdish militants, Ankara appears to be deeply concerned that involvement in fighting IS could embolden and strengthen the PKK.
"In the face of the AKP's policies, our executive council has been tasked to take any kind of political and military step and invalidate the inauspicious and dirty policies pursued against Kurdish people," the KCK statement said.
It accused the government of "playing for time" and creating a perception a solution will be found by continuously talking about the peace process.
Ocalan this week issued a statement through his lawyer expressing impatience with the AKP's stance on the peace process and accusing the authorities of being more ready to negotiate with IS than Kurds.
The PKK's military chief Murat Karayilan, who leads the armed rebels at their Kandil Mountain base in northern Iraq, has gone even further, saying that the peace process has "ended".
"But Ocalan has the final say," Karayilan was quoted as saying.
Source: Agence France Presse
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