Turkish leader urges PKK to give up guns

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YUNAK, Turkey, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Thursday urged the Kurdistan Workers Party to give up their weapons.

Davutoglu refused to respond in detail to an opposition leader's suggestion that the party, known by its Turkish acronym PKK, would receive a general amnesty in return, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party or CHP discussed the possibility of an amnesty Wednesday.

"It is very important that the terrorist organization lay down its arms," Davutoglu said.

The foreign minister was in Central Anatolia to barnstorm for proposed changes to the constitution. The referendum is scheduled for September.

While there, he visited Yunak, a district in Konya province where about 60 percent of the residents are ethnic Kurds.

"Yunak is a special area for us because its people are living in harmony without any internal conflict between ethnic groups, a situation we all long for in Turkey," Davutoglu said. "Yunak is the living example of our national unity project."