SIRNAK (CIHAN) - The chairman of the pro-Kurdish DEHAP Tuncer Bakýrhan, responded to criticicism from the Turkish Prime Minister, saying on Tuesday in Sirnak that the Turkish government should appreciate this peaceful period of time in our country.
Bakirhan, accompanying a southeastern tour by freed ex-MPs of the DEP, warned that Turkey could never attain the same peaceful atmosphere again if she loses the existing one.
The DEHAP leader praised the recent steps taken by the Turkish government to expand the cultural rights of the Turkish Kurds but Bakirhan said that the steps are not satisfactory. "The steps do not meet the expectation of the people in the region. We are expecting more in order to fulfill the needs of citizens in the region. If not, the peaceful atmosphere may be gone."
Yesterday the Turkish government lashed out fiercely at statements from the pro-Kurdish DEHAP chairman Tuncer Bakirhan and freed ex-MP Leyla Zana.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused the DEHAP chairman of putting the illegal terror organization on the same ground as the Turkish government
The Turkish government paved the way for expanding the cultural rights of the Kurdish people by adopting the EU-inspired reform packages. Last week, the state broadcaster (TRT) began airing radio and TV programs in two Kurdish dialects, Kurmanji and Zaza. The Turkish Supreme Court freed four former pro-Kurdish-DEP deputies, including Nobel peace prize nominee Leyla Zana, who were jailed in 1994 for ties with the PKK.