Turkish PM to PKK: Let's bury violence rather than our youth

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged on Nowroz Day for an end to the 40-year armed conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"I call on all to leave hatred aside and speak with the language of affection from now on," he told a gathering held at Istanbul's Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall by the headquarters of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Saturday.

Nowroz is the 21 March festival that marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated as a symbol of a new year by many in the Middle East, Afghanistan, India, as well as Azerbaijan, Albania and Macedonia.

Turkey's Kurdish population in particular see it as an important traditional and cultural event.

Davutoglu’s remarks coincided with the Nowroz message of the jailed head of the PKK group, Abdullah Ocalan, in which he said, "PKK must convene a congress to end the 40-year armed conflict against Turkey."

The message was read out by pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, deputy chairperson Pervin Buldan and by its Istanbul MP Sirri Sureyya Onder in front of hundreds of thousands of Kurdish people in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, for the spring celebrations.

"Let's bury hatred, violence, weapons in the ground forever, rather than bury our youth. Let's bury the pains of the mothers of the martyrs and those who lost their sons," said Davutoglu.

The Turkish government launched an initiative in early 2013 popularly known as the "solution process" to end the decades-old conflict with the outlawed PKK, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey as well as by the US and the European Union.

The Turkish premier said that the government’s main goal with the solution process is to "preserve the peace, unity and brotherhood which we well know can be only attained by speaking heart to heart".

Davutoglu said the process aims to "convey the message of the flowers of love to the Turkish youth on this spring day," describing Nowroz as the festival of "all humanity."

"Turks and Kurds have been brothers throughout history and will remain so for ever, so let's stand shoulder to shoulder in the name of our common faith to prevent any instigation among our nation," he said.

However, the Turkish premier warned against tactics and manoeuvres to "play daily politics with the solution process."

"Those who would like to contribute to our brotherhood, peace, unity and solidarity must first see the big picture only and stay focused on a mutual target rather than tactics and manoeuvres by new calls for violence," he said.