BALADI NEWS
Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a rare statement on Monday calling on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to resolve problems in Syria without conflict.
Ocalan, founder and leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since the mid-1980s, is revered by many Kurdish fighters who form the core of the U.S.-backed SDF.
The statement from Ocalan, and three other senior PKK members, was read by lawyers who said they were allowed to meet him in a Turkish prison on Thursday for the first time since 2011.
“We believe that, within the scope of the SDF, problems in Syria should be aimed to be solved by staying away from a culture of conflict, with constitutional assurances given within the framework of Syria’s territorial integrity,” it said.
It also said Turkish sensitivities should be taken into consideration in any work toward a solution in Syria.
It was not clear what specific potential conflict Ocalan was advising the SDF to avoid in Syria’s eight-year civil war, but he could have been referring to Turkish or Syrian government forces.
Ankara says Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters spearheading the SDF are part of the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. Turkey has waged two military incursions in northern Syria against the YPG.
Source: Reuters.