'Wise people' selected by governement to help on peace process

The government announced its list of "wise men" on Wednesday, consisting of members of a seven-region commission including 63 prominent artists, a musician, a large group of journalists, academics, intellectuals and representatives from non-governmental organizations tasked with explaining the ongoing settlement process with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to the public and promoting the negotiations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with the committee at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc announced the list in a press conference, saying that the list of wise men has been appointed by the government and personally commissioned by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and that their common ground was democracy and freedoms.