UK MPs call for review of PKK terror listing

Excerpt

The British parliament on Tuesday debated the UK’s listing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization and called for action on Ankara’s policies towards its Kurdish population and opposition voices.

Quotes

Highlights

• The PKK, founded in 1978, entered peace talks with Ankara in 2013, but they broke down two years later, after which Turkey began intense military operations against the PKK both within Turkey and across the border in the Kurdistan Region where the PKK has its headquarters. Its most recent offensives began in April in the northern border areas of the Kurdistan Region. The conflict in the Kurdistan Region has led to the deaths and injuries of scores of civilians and the abandonment of hundreds of villages.

• “Turkey is plainly not trying to find a route to peace with the PKK. They are designated because Turkey asked for them to be. This is not proper,” said Conservative MP Crispin blunt, adding it is time for the UK to review its relationship with Turkey.

Sources

• https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/1e0bb48b-ad68-4600-a0dd-a5985138ace5#player-tabs