Former Deputies Of Outlawed Dep: Laying Down Arms And Ending Clashes Is An Urgent Need

ANKARA - ''Laying down arms and ending clashes soon unconditionally and indefinitely is an urgent need for our people,'' four former deputies of the banned Democracy Party (DEP) said on Wednesday.
The former parliamentarians Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak held a joint press conference in Ankara on the occasion of World Peace Day.
Zana made the statement on behalf of them.
Stating that Turkey was going through a delicate process, Zana said steps taken as regards relations with the European Union (EU) were like ''reforms''.
''Despite all those steps taken, it is not yet possible to say that all our problems pertaining to democratization are solved. Of course we have many problems to be solved, however the most important one is the Kurdish problem which is a democracy problem in its core. The more freedoms broaden, the more Kurdish problem will settle on a peaceful basis and thus our country will further be strengthened,'' Zana said.
(AY-ULG) 01.09.2004