MESOP FOCUS : PKK remains in US terror list

1. 5. 2014 – MESOP  – The United States Department of State released its annual terror report where the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has remained in the list as a terror organization but it hailed peace talks between the PKK and Ankara and the cease fire between the two sides.

The report said the PKK has some 4000 to 5000 forces and most of them live in the northern Kurdish region in Iraq, adding that the organization was established to carve out a Kurdish state in Turkey southeast but now has changed policy and is asking for more cultural rights and an autonomic administration inside Turkey soil. It further points to peace negotiations between the party and Ankara and said since the outset of the talks in 2012 there has been no clashes between the PKK and Turkey armed forces. The report further points to terror attempts in Turkey in 2013 and said terror attempts have dwindled in the country compared to the year before. The report warns about Islamic extremist groups fighting Syria President Bashar al-Assad government and the troubles the groups have created for Turkey, especially in its borders with Syria. Some other groups including DHKP, Turkey Hezbollah and TIKKO have also been dubbed as terrorist in the report.