Ankara expects top PKK members soon

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- High-ranking members of Kurdish separatist groups in Iraq are expected to surrender to Turkish authorities in the coming days as part of a reconciliation plan.

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, called on separatists in Iraq to form so-called peace groups as part of a broad-based initiative to find a political solution to lingering issues between the Kurdish minority and the Turkish government.

Ankara, for its part, is moving ahead with plans to offer cultural and other considerations to address the issue following decades of conflict and political wrangling.

Intelligence officials from Turkey spoke recently with Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, to urge PKK members to surrender.

Among the high-ranking members expected to turn themselves over are Abdullah Ocalan's brother, Osman Ocalan, and as many as 100 other Kurdish separatists, Turkish daily Today's Zaman reports.

Osman Ocalan broke away from PKK guerrillas, forming the Patriotic Democratic Party in 2004.

Osman Ocalan, the report said, asked for a certain degree of amnesty upon his return, though Turkish authorities said he would be dealt with according to national law. Returning PKK members not linked directly to terrorist activity were given certain considerations under Turkish law and freed.