Brussels, 07/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - During a debate on 6 February, MEPs and also European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lucinda Creighton (on behalf of the Council) supported the process of dialogue between the Turkish government and the Kurdish minority, and called for progress.
On behalf of the EPP Group, Riia Oomen Ruitjen (Netherlands) said: “We must begin very clear negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan and the government in order to reach a broad-based solution”. In the view of her ALDE Group colleague, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (Germany), the European Parliament debate is “a signal to the Turkish government (…) We are pushing it to start the dialogue.” “We are speaking about the challenge which is doubtless the most difficult and complex in the context of the modernisation of Turkey”, added his colleague, Raimon Obiols (S&D, Spain), who went on to say that “all the Turkish problems have a Kurdish link”. In the opinion of Jürgen Klute (GUE/NGL, Germany), this discussion is “a first step towards a peaceful solution but a lot remains to be done. The partners need to trust each other and to decide what must be negotiated”.
For the Greens/EFA Group, Hélène Flautre (France) stressed that Ocalan should be given the means to lead this “historic task” so that he can engage in dialogue with the different Kurdish groups. She said that an open process is “of the utmost importance (…) There are considerable regional stakes that motivate the government to make progress.” Charles Tannock (ECR, United Kingdom) called on the PKK to renounce violence and to begin negotiations without pre-conditions and minority rights in Turkey to be respected. Bastiaan Belder (EFD, Netherlands) warned against the constitution of two parallel states, which is neither in the interest of the Kurds nor the Turks.
In Creighton's opinion, “we urgently need to settle the Kurdish problem”. She added that this also has repercussions on the accession negotiations. Füle said that the process, which is supported by the stakeholders and a large part of the population “gives us more reasons to be optimistic and to believe that the process is truly results oriented”. “If we achieve success, it will put an end to the questions that are pending in Turkey”, he added (our translation throughout).
Condemning the murder of three Kurds. The MEPs, together with Creighton and Füle, also condemned the murder of three Kurdish activists in Paris on 9 January. They said that these murders must not distance stakeholders from moving forward in the negotiations and promoting peace. (CG/transl.fl)