"10-Point Declaration Is Not Precondition, But Indentation For Disarmament"

- Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has insistently argued that the latest call by the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) does not outline a precondition and is an explicit declaration of intent for the PKK’s disarmament.

“This is call for laying down arms; it is a declaration of intention, a declaration of will. Presenting it as if it is a precondition of laying down arms amounts to distorting the substance and content of the statement and the point on which it is focused” Davutoğlu said late March 2, in an apparent bid to defy arguments that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s February 28 call to his followers to hold a disarmament congress actually presents reciprocity involving the government side.

All articles of the declaration are issues that were discussed at the time of debate for a new constitution, Davutoğlu said. Davutoğlu expressed the government’s expectation for “convening a congress and laying down arms as soon as possible.” “We’ll do what is necessary when we see serious steps [for disarmament]” Davutoğlu added.

As the call has been made, the government expects “the matter to be completed on Nevruz” he added.

The government would not make any “concessions on public order if they begin stalling and take arms onto the agenda following the call to lay down arms, as was done in 2013” Davutoğlu stated.

The prime minister refuted media reports that PKK members coming from Kandil Mountain or journalists would meet Öcalan on İmralı Island.

Davutoğlu also dismissed claims that a security package was suspended over the will of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

“The package would be evaluated one way or another due to internal regulations. We’ll do everything to pass the package in this legislation term,” he said.

In a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan, HDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder relayed a message from Öcalan calling on the Kurdish rebels to hold a congress on disarmament in the spring.

The statement also listed 10 measures that the government must agree upon to ensure peace, including drafting a new constitution.