Turkish PM says Kurdish reforms depend on rebels' surrender
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkey's plans to expand the rights of its Kurdish community will falter if separatist rebels do not surrender  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Friday.
 His warning came amid widespread criticism of the government's alleged lenient treatment of a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who walked free shortly after crossing into Turkey from Iraq on Monday.
 In comments published in several newspapers  Erdogan warned that public discomfort over the hero's welcome given to the rebels could hamper government plans to grant the Kurdish community more rights.
 "This could negatively affect the process... We would not want it  but it could throw us right back where we started " he said.
 He underlined that the refrom process would continue smoothly if PKK rebels abandoned their armed campaign and turned themselves in.
Turkey's plans to expand the rights of its Kurdish community will falter if separatist rebels do not surrender  [TGT] said in comments published Friday.
 [TGT] warning came amid widespread criticism of the government's alleged lenient treatment of a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who walked free shortly after crossing into Turkey from Iraq on Monday.
 In comments published in several newspapers  [TGT] warned that public discomfort over the hero's welcome given to the rebels could hamper government plans to grant the Kurdish community more rights.
 "This could negatively affect the process... We would not want it  but it could throw us right back where we started " [TGT] said.
 [TGT] underlined that the refrom process would continue smoothly if PKK rebels abandoned their armed campaign and turned themselves in.