The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, did not play a role in the surrender of the “peace group” from northern Iraq, according to Turkish authorities, who released all the returnees in response to the group’s gesture.

“We are the Republic of Turkey. It is a result of our work. Some circles could be searching for different implications, but what we care about is just the plan of our government,” Interior Minister Beşir Atalay told a group of journalists Tuesday, a day after the surrenders at the Iraqi border.

Thirty-four people, 26 from the United Nations’ Mahmour Refugee Camp and eight from the PKK’s Kandil camps surrendered Monday at the Habur border gate amid crowded demonstrations organized by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP. After the initial probe, 29 of them were released late Monday, while the remaining five people’s trial continued into the night.

The five PKK members were released late Tuesday by the court after a trial that lasted many hours. None of the returnees demanded protection under Article 221 of the Penal Code, known as Penitence Law.

Following their release, a bus belonging to the DTP, accompanied by the top DTP officials, brought the group to Silopi near the Habur border gate, where they were met by thousands of people.

The DTP members were in active dialogue throughout the day with the officials of the Interior Ministry for the release of the PKK members. Atalay early Tuesday hinted that all returnees were selected from among those who were not sought by the Turkish police.“We knew who was returning in advance,” he said.

The move came on the same day that the country’s top security board met to discuss the developments. The board’s meeting was still going on when the Daily News went to print.

Öcalan’s call

The surrender did come following a call by Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a lifetime sentence on İmrali Island in the Marmara Sea, in a move to send a gesture to the government’s recently launched Kurdish initiative.

“I want to repeat that it is part of our plans to solve the country’s decades-old problem. We are in a process of solving social problems through democracy. The first objective is to create a country free of terror. The second is to raise democratic standards. These two will go on together,” Atalay said in response to questions about whether the move allowed Öcalan to become an indispensable partner in the process.

In reaction to some media reports on Öcalan’s role in the development, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that PKK’s imprisoned chief has been arrested since 1999 and asked, “Why then has he never taken such steps before?”

“I want to repeat my calls to those who are now in the [Kandil mountains in northern Iraq], in the Mahmour Camp and in Europe. I call on you to immediately return to your country, your homes,” Erdoğan said.

100 to 150 more to surrender

According to Atalay, in the coming days 100 to 150 more people could return to Turkey in small groups. “The first group stands as the beginning of a new phase. It became obvious that the terrorists have also understood that it is impossible for them to continue in their ways. In full harmony, all institutions of the state are working for this end. We will surely hear more good news in the days ahead,” he said.

But both Erdoğan and Atalay warned against provocations that would harm the ongoing process. “There are those who want to cast a shadow over the process,” Erdoğan said, and criticized the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP. He also called on the DTP to be more responsible.

The need to remind the DTP of its responsibility in the process was born Monday when its co-leader held a press conference in Silopi, a district Şırnak close to the Iraqi border, demanding that the Turkish state recognize Öcalan’s role in the process.

“I immediately called him after the press conference. I told him that these statements were not appropriate on such a day. I invited him to be more wise and responsible, the way every conscious person should be,” Atalay said. “It is not an easy issue. It requires sensitivity and we are expecting the DTP to behave this way.”

Erdoğan, for his part, said the issue was so important that no party should turn it into a political show. “These shows will not serve anything except making the solution more difficult. A representative of a legal party cannot speak on behalf of an illegal organization,” he said.

Legal problems

But what makes the situation unclear about those who returned from northern Iraq is the lack of appropriate legal procedures. According to Article 221 of the Penal Code, those who joined the PKK but did not commit crimes can return to Turkey with the guarantee that they will not face judicial prosecution. Monday’s groups, however, said they did not surrender and thus they do not want to benefit from the law. Instead, they said they have brought messages to Turkish leaders including a nine-article to-do list for the solution of the problem.

Atalay said he was not informed about the proposals or the messages, but whoever returns from northern Iraq will be treated according to Article 221. “It’s a sole regulation we have. We have tried a lot, but so far we have this.”

MHP and CHP slam the government

The return of the PKK members was also on the opposition’s agenda. Reacting to the demonstration held on the border to meet the returnees, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli described the scene as a “historical scandal and betrayal” in his address to his lawmakers Tuesday.

“It’s not the PKK surrendering to Turkey, but the Justice and Development Party (AKP) surrendering to PKK,” Bahçeli said. “There is no longer a need for the PKK to divide the country.”

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal speaking to his party group Tuesday accused the government of implementing Öcalan’s road map. “It’s like a script. Somebody has written it. All the details are already set. What’s the road map? Here it is. The AKP government has begun to put it on stage. Imrali has become the main interlocutor of the government,” Baykal said