ANKARA, Turkey, July 12 (UPI) -- An effort to resolve ongoing tensions with the Kurdish minority in Turkey might hit a road block without government concessions, a rebel leader said.
Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, in March called on his guerrillas to leave Turkey following negotiations with Turkish government officials. The group, known by its Kurdish initials PKK, did not agree to disarm. The Turkish government, meanwhile, did not offer PKK fighters any security guarantees.
Rebel commander Murat Karayilan said he was frustrated with the lack of concessions from the Turkish government. He said the military was still active in parts of Kurdish-populated southern Turkey, adding some village security forces were taking up arms against the PKK.
"If the attitude of the Turkish side continues as it is, the process will be blocked," he was quoted as saying Thursday by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman. "It isn't completely blocked right now, but it is getting there."
Previous efforts to resolve the situation were spoiled by fighting between the Turkish military and PKK guerrillas.
The European Union said resolution to the situation was key to establishing a closer relationship with Ankara.
