ANKARA, Turkey, June 10 (UPI) -- Pro-Kurdish leaders in Turkey said they hope to reschedule government negotiations after initial meetings were canceled because of separatist activity.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused a meeting with Ahmet Turk, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, saying Kurdish separatists were trying to thwart political reconciliation.
"Whenever I plan to meet with the DTP, mines explode throughout the country," Erdogan said in the wake of a spate of attacks attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
Ankara is struggling to find a political solution to the so-called Kurdish question in an effort to reach a settlement with pro-Kurdish and separatist groups.
Erdogan said Ankara was moving to formally recognize the Kurdish identity in Turkey, opening a state-run Kurdish-language television network and embracing other Kurdish ethnic trends.
The effort comes in the wake of March municipal elections, which saw pro-Kurdish parties, including DTP, win major concessions over the ruling Justice and Development Party.
Turk, the head of DTP, said his party would seek another meeting with Erdogan to discuss Kurdish issues, Turkish daily Today's Zaman reports.
