SULTAN TAYYIP ERDOGAN : Turkey PM lashes out at Ocalan & BDP leader

Kurdpress 23-10.2013 – Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the recent remarks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan and Selahattin Demirtas, the co-leader of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

In response to recent critical remarks from Demirtas about not being allowed to be visit Ocalan as part of the ongoing settlement process and Ocalan’s remark who said the BDP delegation should decide who should meet him, Erdogan said at a party meeting on Tuesday: “It is the government that has the authority to decide on that. No one has the right to set a direction for the government or the Ministry of Justice.” “When [the government] deems it suitable, it will agree to send [a delegation to Imrali]. When it doesn’t deem it suitable, it won’t. Everyone needs to know his place,” Erdogan said in his speech at the party meeting. Because of his remarks about the democratization package that was recently announced by the government, the Ministry of Justice did not allow Demirtas to join the BDP delegation that met with Ocalan in the prison on Imrali Island he is being held in.