Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council member Duran Kalkan spoke to Vatan journalist Ruşen Çakır about the withdrawal of Kurdish guerrillas beyond the Turkish border.

Kalkan said there was no problem on their side about the withdrawal which - he said - required some certain conditions and shouldn't be considered as an easy move to be made in a few hours or days.

Kalkan remarked that the KCK executive board will make a statement on withdrawal in the coming days, adding “they may put forward some opinions, proposals and demands”.

Noting that the letters Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan has sent to Kandil have relieved the concerns of KCK's senior executives about withdrawal from northern Kurdistan and convinced the guerrillas to practice it, Kalkan said that “It would no doubt be hard to make a change in the system, work and struggle of a movement that has existed for many years now and, to convince guerrillas who all took to the mountains for a purpose. They are soldiers but they are not on compulsory duty. This is why only Öcalan could convince them to take this step and that is why we demanded further explanations from him".
He added that the rest of the process depends on what sort of a progress it will be made.

Kalkan pointed out that the government still didn't have a definitive project on the process, noting that, “The statements from the government's side are not clear and confusing. We are taking the steps on the basis of our own decisions and with an intention to pave the way for further steps. Withdrawal means not stepping aside but the beginning of a new phase of struggle”.

Laying down arms would be a risky step.

Kalkan remarked that withdrawal was a significant step but that the essential point was to work for a political solution to the Kurdish question. “Our withdrawal should lead to the prominence of politics in the Kurdish region and the withdrawal of the state's military forces from that territory. Political steps are much more important than the withdrawal itself”, he added.

He noted that if succeeded, the process would lead to radical political changes in Turkey such as legal arrangements and the formation of a new constitution that recognizes Kurds and other minorities. “The Kurdish question is a difficult but also a simple matter, as long as there is a pluralist mentality”.

Kalkan added that the natural and seasonal conditions wouldn't allow guerrilas to withdrawal for some months still.