The Democratic Society Party (DTP)'s message was addressed to the secessionist militant group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been stepping up attacks since a five-year unilateral ceasefire ended in 2004.

"We hope the PKK will not ignore our call and will give a positive response," DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk told a news conference in Ankara, Anatolia said.

"We have been closely following the developments and taking into consideration the public's demands. We believe there is a need for such a process," Turk added.

There has been a significant increase in violence in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast of Turkey, especially this year.

More than 100 rebels and 75 members of the security forces have been killed in fighting and rebel attacks since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP count.

Earlier this month, eight soldiers died in a weekend of fighting with the rebels, triggering angry accusations that the government was failing to ensure security in the country.

Several ministers attending the funerals of the slain soldiers were booed.

In August, the PKK's number two, Murat Karayilan, offered to declare a conditional ceasefire as of September 1, but the government in Ankara ignored the proposition, saying it would not negotiate with what it describes as a "terrorist group".

The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has claimed more than 37,000 lives since 1984 when the PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms to fight for self-rule in the majority-Kurdish southeast.