JINHA

ISTANBUL -A delegation from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and representatives of the ruling government have released the firstbipartisan joint announcement on the ongoing process of peaceful and democratic resolution of the Kurdish Question. HDP MP SırrıSüreyyaÖnder reported that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalanhas called a congress of the PKK in spring to discuss disarmament.

This was the first such shared announcement in the peace process, in which members of the opposition HDP have encountered difficulty participating. The group announced a range of changes to be discussed, including legal and constitutional changes to democratize Turkey.

The HDP's delegation to İmralı Island, where Öcalan is imprisoned, included PervinBuldan andİdrisBalukenalongsideSırrıSürreyaÖnder. The ruling AKP party's contingent included Deputy Prime Minister YalçınAkdoğan and Internal Affairs Minister Efkan Ala.

Öcalan's main message, said SırrıSüreyya, was that the goal of a democratic peace lay at the foundation of the peace process.

"In order to make a strategic and historical decision about disarmament, the PKK is invited to an exceptionalmeeting in the spring months. This is a historic declaration of intention," the jailed guerrilla leader's statement said.

AKP minister YalçınAkdoğanalso expressed the government's desire to end decades of violence.

Sırrı Süreyya Önder listed 10 topicsfor the peace process as follows:

1. The definition and principled discussion of democratic politics, to be shared with the public.

2. The needs for a democratic solution on national and local levels.

3. The legal and democratic assurance of free citizenship; that is, the definition of constitutional citizenship.

4. The definition of topics for democratic politics in relation to state and society and in relation to institutionalization.

5. The socio-economic dimensions of the peace process.

6. A new security structure to open the way to the peace process.

7. Legal solutions and assurances of the problems of women, culture and ecology.

8. Definition of identity; the development of pluralistic, democratic, equal measures for defining identity.

9. Democratic definition of a democratic republic, shared homeland and nation. The creation of legal and constitutional guarantees of a pluralistic democratic system.

10. A new constitution designed to internalize democratic steps and solutions.

(fk/cm)