Turkish deputy PM says Kurds, Turks have no separate future

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmu? has dismissed suggestions of an "emotional disengagement" on the part of Kurds toward the state due to ongoing clashes in the southeast, saying Kurds and Turks have a joint future because of their joint history. 

"In Turkey, Turks and Kurds have never engaged in a civil war, they have never been enemies of each other, and they will not be either today or tomorrow either, Inshallah. Turks and Kurds have always been together in every field of life," Kurtulmu? said late Dec. 29 during a gathering with a group of Ankara bureau chiefs of some media outlets.

"Now, some people may desire the emergence of an emotional disengagement in Turkey. God forbid, if there was a conflict between the two peoples, then not only emotional disengagement but other disengagements could also happen. Today, people, both Kurds and Turks, are aware that Kurds do not have a future separate from Turks, and Turks do not have a future separate from Kurds," he said.

"Both of these peoples' past is one and their future is one, too. As long as it goes this way, God willing, no emotional disengagement will take place in Turkey," he added.

Kurtulmu? also touched upon recent comments suggesting that the parliamentary immunity of deputies of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) could be lifted and that the party could eventually be closed down because an investigation had been opened against one of its co-chairs, Selahattin Demirta?, by the Ankara Prosecutor's Office for "crimes against the constitutional order and the functioning of this order."

Similar incidents occurred in the past and failed to yield any positive result, Kurtulmu? said.

"Political bans are not a solution for this matter," he said. "That...