Appearing before the press for the first time since they came to Turkey in October, the PKK group held a meeting at the Human Rights Association’s (İHD) Diyarbakır branch on Monday. Speaking on behalf of the group, Gülbahar Çiçekçi claimed the statement of Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who said about 300 people will return to Turkey from Makhmour before the new year, was not sincere and questioned the infrastructure for those who are expected to come.
Recalling that there are 5,000 students in the Makhmour camp, Çiçekçi continued: “What will the education conditions of these students be? These people are high school and university students. Will they start from primary school here? Because a university graduate who came here with us was labeled ‘uneducated’.
Then what will happen to the 5,000 students in Makhmour? Bringing them to Turkey before outlining a detailed procedure is just leaving Turkey to face new problems. No one can come back before providing necessary constitutional and safety conditions, such as schooling in one’s mother tongue.” Upon a question asking why they had not yet been to Ankara although they had said they would visit the capital in statements made before their return to Turkey, Çiçekçi said there are circles provoking war and that they do not go westward in order to not block the progress of the Kurdish initiative.
