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PKK ready to end war if Kurdish parliament established

Türkiye Materials 27 May 2009 13:03 (UTC +04:00)

The acting head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has declared the Kurdish rebels' condition for ending the 25-year-long conflict with Turkey, Press TV reported.

The unilateral gesture by the PKK could prompt Ankara, Baghdad, and Washington to rethink their strategy for ending the conflict that has cost over 30,000 lives.

Murat Karayilan has said the Kurdish militants are prepared to drop their call for an independent state in return for being allowed to establish a "parliament of their own."

"Kurds do not want to continue the war. We believe we can solve the Kurdish question without spilling more blood. We are ready for a peaceful and democratic solution in Turkey - to be solved within Turkey's borders." Karayilan said in an interview with The Times of London.

"Britain accepted the will of the Scots by giving them a parliament of their own, and that's what the Turks have to do with us," he said.

"I've studied Irish history and talked with people who participated in it. I know the development and stages of that struggle. Turkey needs to solve our problem in the way that the British solved that problem," Karayilan added.

The PKK took up arms against Turkey in 1984 under former leader Abdullah Ocalan, who was captured in 1999.

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