WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A roadmap to resolving the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey by imprisoned guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan may determine the future of the movement, experts say.
Ankara is searching for a political solution to its longstanding conflict with the Kurdish minority. The government had considered lifting some restrictions on pro-Kurdish television broadcasts, facilitating militant reconciliation measures and providing relocation assistance to internally displaced persons.
Pro-Kurdish leaders, for their part, are considering their own set of initiatives, which may include suggestions from Ocalan, who is expected to unveil a plan on Saturday.
Bozan Tekin, a general in the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said he was unsure which direction Ocalan was likely to take with the issue. Tekin noted, however, that any political solution may look to democratic solutions sought by Scotland with the British government, notes The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington think tank.
The general says the PKK wants a series of concessions from Ankara, including Ocalan's release and its own protection force.
He says the PKK is ready to join forces with the Turkish military if Ankara accepts the Ocalan measure. If not, he said, "we are ready to defend our country till our last drop of blood."
