(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Public is behind the Turkish government's initiative to end conflict with outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, says Numan Kurtulmus.
Turkey's solution process will continue and has the support of the public, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said.
Kurtulmus made the remarks in an exclusive interview with The Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk at its headquarters in Ankara on Wednesday, days after four Turkish troops were wounded in Turkey's eastern Agri province in a PKK terrorist attack.
Kurtulmus said: "The success of the solution process will be Turkey's success. The supporters of the solution process are people.
"Turkey has lost $1.2 billion through 30 years of terror."
Kurtulmus said the success of the process would be a great example to other countries including Ukraine and Yemen.
The Turkish government launched the "solution process" initiative with the aim of bringing an end to the decades-long conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
- 'Unity and brotherhood'
Turkish authorities has repeatedly said the process was being carried out with the full support of the Turkish community and that the government's main goal was to safeguard Turkey's national unity, brotherhood of its citizens, and comfort and peace in the homeland.
Kurtulmus said there were some factions who wanted to axe the process and there could be some "provocations" before Turkey's general elections on June 7, but he added "A u-turn can never be accepted."
Government officials say Saturday's attack was a provocation instigated by PKK members.
Selahattin Demirtas, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party co-chair, has claimed the incident was not spontaneous but a pre-planned and rehearsed fake set-up which was carried out to discredit his party.
Regarding the chances of the HDP passing the 10 percent election threshold, Kurtulmus said: "It would not be turmoil for the HDP not to pass the election threshold. It is not an factor that would damage the solution process.
"I believe that a political party failing to cross the election threshold, either the HDP of any other party, would not conform with democracy."
Political parties need to pass 10 percent election threshold to enter parliament in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
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