Turkish cinema artists support leaders’ meeting on Kurdish issue

A group of artists, including Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Altan Erkekli, Bülent Kayabaş, Cahit Berkay, Devin Özgür Çınar, Halil Ergün, Mehmet Aslantuğ, İsmail Güneş and Mesut Uçakan, said in a joint statement released on Friday that they support “all efforts to end suffering in every corner of this country and to construct our common future.”

“We would like to share our great hope that we have after the ruling and opposition parties of our country came together and initiated a process of dialogue for a solution to our country’s massive and decades-long problem. … Let’s come and, as the poet says, ‘Let’s gather tears from all eyelashes, let’s burn all weapons in the public square, let’s turn all sufferings to love’,” they said, referring to a poem by Şükrü Erbaş.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) had a key meeting on Wednesday to discuss a proposal by the CHP to find a solution to the Kurdish issue through consensus among all political parties. The meeting was positive, according to officials from both parties. Last month the CHP submitted its suggestions on how to solve the Kurdish problem to Parliament, presenting a proposal detailing ideas first announced as part of the party’s campaign in the last general elections.

Turkey has for decades been battling separatist terrorism carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which in 1984 launched its armed campaign to fight for an autonomous Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.

Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO, has failed to quash the PKK in 27 years of bitter fighting. More than 40,000 militants, soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict. Turkey, the United States and the European Union all list the PKK as a terrorist organization.