Pro-Kurdish parties seek public input

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Pro-Kurdish lawmakers in Turkey announced plans to hold a series of town-hall meetings to address reconciliation measures under review in Ankara.

Turkish lawmakers are considering a series of initiatives intended to find a political solution to lingering disputes with the Kurdish minority.

Turkish officials aim to close camps in northern Iraq that are home to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and relocate its members to Turkey. The process would take place under U.N. supervision, and returning separatists would enter a rehabilitation program.

Authorities would also offer a series of language and other cultural considerations for the minority community.

Turkey and the PKK have been engaged in hostilities for decades. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, meanwhile, made relative gains on the ruling Justice and Development Party in local elections early this year.

Members of the DTP announced independent plans to reach out to the public and the intellectual community to discuss the Kurdish initiative, leading English-language daily Today's Zaman reports.

"Beginning with our party co-chairs and our parliamentary deputies, we will contribute to and participate in programs related to solving the Kurdish problem both domestically and abroad," the party said.

The DTP added it would continue with a series of public meetings beginning Sunday and continue into January.