A German delegation visiting Diyarbakir urged the Turkish government to take the opportunity of the ceasefire and start negotiations with the PKK. “Turkish state should not ignore the Northern Ireland and South American experiences and start a dialog rather than trying to destroy the opponents.” added the delegation members.
The delegation also called on an international investigation regarding the chemical weapons used against the Kurdish guerrillas by the Turkish Army. It further asked Germany, EU and UN to take part in this investigation.
The delegation composed of the members of the German Die Linke party including MEP Jürgen Klute, members of the German Federal Parliaments Ingrid Remmers, Andrej Hunko and members of the NRW Parliament Ali Atalan, Bärbel Beuermann, Rüdiger Sagel, Derya Kılıç visited the Mayor of Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Osman Baydemir, Mayor of Sur Borough and Human Rights Association (IHD).
According to Firat News Agency the delegation members said the aim of their visit is to observe the human rights situations in the Kurdish region. They also said the international press is negligent to cover the Turkish attacks on civilians, arrested Kurdish politicians and journalist as well as the Kurdish children and the reports published by the German press is one-sided rather than being impartial.