Pro-Kurdish groups call for talks

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party on Friday asked the ruling party in Ankara to hold talks following accusations they were undermining reconciliation.

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, called on his supporters to form so-called peace groups and surrender to Turkish authorities as part of a broader reconciliation effort.

The returns provoked an outcry from the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and members of the public over jubilant celebrations welcoming the peace groups.

Ankara as a result halted plans for additional returns from PKK members in European countries.

Interior Minister Besir Atalay criticized the pro-Kurdish party for its response to the returns, saying they have "deteriorated the process," Turkish daily Hurriyet reports.

Ankara moved forward earlier this year with a series of concessions for the Kurdish minority in an effort to find a political solution to the so-called Kurdish question.

Kurdish leaders in a written statement said it was time for AKP to discuss the situation with members of the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, the report said.

"You need to start dialogue with the DTP," the statement read. "Let's move the process forward with mutual steps."