Turkey's justice minister to hold talks with Kurdish militants

PKK supporters

flickr- openDemocracy

Turkish Justice Minister, Sadullah Ergin, is to hold a new round of talks with Kurdish militants amid increased separatist violence in the southeast of Turkey.

"Regarding Imrali, there could be more talks," said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in September, referring to an island south of Istanbul where the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan is being held captive. 

"There is a military dimension to this, a security dimension which is separate and will continue. But beside this there is a diplomatic, socio-economic and psychological dimension," he added. Erdogan faces calls from the country's main pro-Kurdish party to resume talks with the PKK to prevent a further escalation in violence. 

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union, is a guerrilla movement that has been fighting for the autonomy of Kurdistan and greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. 

Erdogan has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of arming PKK militants and vows Turkey will retaliate should the PKK launch an attack from the country's soil. 

The conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK has claimed more than 40,000 lives to date.