The one-week extension of a unilateral cease-fire by an outlawed terrorist group has created an opportunity for dialogue that the ruling party should seize, pro-Kurdish politicians say. The government, however, seems cool to the idea as a high-level security summit draws a new road map for anti-terror efforts and a top official seeks US help

An outlawed terrorist group’s one-week extension of its “period of non-action” has left the ball in the ruling party’s court, pro-Kurdish politicians have said, calling on the government to seize the opportunity to work for peace.

“The ball is in the government’s court. The government should be able to take political responsibility and launch a process of dialogue,” Gültan Kışanak, the co-chairwoman of the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Monday.

Kışanak implied that the pro-Kurdish party is waiting for an invitation from the government to meet to discuss a variety of political issues, including developments related to the extension of the unilateral cease-fire declared Monday by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Senior BDP officials had planned to meet Thursday with a government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, but the meeting was canceled due to the land-mine blast in Hakarri’s Geçitli village, an attack that killed nine people.

The meeting is unlikely to be rescheduled for this week due to a new rift between the BDP and the government over the pro-Kurdish party’s call for its supporters to boycott the country’s schools for one week as part of a campaign demanding education in mother tongues.

President Abdullah Gül criticized the BDP’s boycott move, calling it an exploitation of children for political purposes and very wrong, in a press conference he held in New York, where he is attending a United Nations summit. Gül acknowledged that he had heard about the BDP officials’ intention to talk to him but said he had not received a request for a meeting.

“There are strange things happening,” he said. “They [the BDP] are trying to reach me through the media, I guess.”

Despite the discouraging messages from the government and head of state, the BDP said it would continue to seek dialogue under any conditions. “We are obliged to produce a formula to stop the bloodshed. We should wisely use this environment,” Kışanak said, adding that the BDP was ready to contribute to any effort that could help find a solution.

Kışanak’s statement came hours after the PKK’s executive committee announced in a written statement released through the pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency that “the unilateral cease-fire declared Aug. 13 is extended until a further statement next week.” The government had not issued any statement in reaction to the outlawed group’s announcement when the Daily News went to press late Monday.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Its initial cease-fire had been due to end Monday.

Intelligence chief in the US
The joint fight against the PKK is expected to be the top issue raised during a meeting in the United States between Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization, or MİT, and his American counterparts.

Fidan’s trip was announced following a security summit Sunday during which top civilian and military officials discussed the fight against terror. As the top official was out of the country, the MİT was represented by Afet Güneş, Fidan’s deputy in the organization.

During his meetings, Fidan is expected to seek more cooperation from the United States in blocking financial assistance to the PKK, especially from European countries. It was not announced when he went to the United States, nor when he would return.

New road map discussed
Officials said participants in Sunday’s meeting reviewed the preparations for a new road map to be implemented in the anti-terror fight. Though its content has not been yet revealed, they said the road map would be multidimensional and optional and would include political, social and economic measures as well as some military precautions.

Though it is not yet certain when the road map will be ready and announced, it is unlikely to happen before the end of this week, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to return from a brief holiday. Upon his return, Erdoğan is scheduled to meet with prominent journalists as part of an ongoing effort to inform the public about the government’s Kurdish opening.
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