"Kurds set to announce ceasefire with Turkey"

Source: Tanjug

ANKARA -- Kurdish militants will reportedly announce a cessation of hostilities with Turkey, in line with a fragile peace process aimed at ending their rebellion.

A Malian soldier (Beta/AP, file)

The first step in building trust between the Turkish state and the rebels will the disarming and withdrawal from Turkish territory of about 100 members of the guerrilla Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
This is according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

Turkish intelligence officials late last year began talks with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is in prison. The daily writes that negotiations were also held with the PKK in northern Iraq, where a majority of the organization's members are located.

More than 40,000 people have died in the clashes since the beginning of the rebellion in 1984, the goal of which is to establish a Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey. Turkey, the U.S. and the EU consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

The conflict is the main internal political problem faced by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after ten years in power.

"According to a timetable that is in circulation, the PKK will announce its decision on the cessation of hostilities in February, shortly after the official call by Abdullah Ocalan," the Turkish newspaper said.

As part of the peace plan that has been considered with Ocalan, "the PKK will definitely be disarmed after the withdrawal from Turkey, and the government will, in turn, introduce greater rights for the Kurdish minority", said the report.