Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Kurdish Separatists End Ceasefire in Turkey, Foreigners Warned

Could be another reason why Bush, who is to visit Turkey, wants bases in Turkey. Although in Turkey the turkey probably will not serve turkey to Turkey. Okay, so it's hot here.
#msg-3208349


Kurdish separatists end ceasefire, warn foreigners to avoid Turkey

Posted: 29 May 2004 2322 hrs


ANKARA : Kurdish rebels said they were ending a five-year unilateral ceasefire and warned tourists and foreigner investors to stay away from Turkey, just a month before it was set to host US President George W. Bush at a major NATO summit.

"Our commitment to the ceasefire will cease to exist from June 1," KONGRA-GEL, the successor to the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said in a statement carried on the website of the German-based pro-Kurdish Mesopotamia news agency on Saturday.

About 37,000 people have died in unrest since rebels took up arms in 1983 in their quest for an ethnic homeland in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.

KONGRA-GEL said the ceasefire it has observed since September 1999 had become meangingless because of what it called "annihilation operations" by Turkish security forces against its fighters in the past three months, the report said.

The revival of the Kurdish insurgency and the potential tough response from Turkish forces could damage Ankara's chances to join the European Union.

Turkey, a formal EU candidate since 1999, is eagerly waiting for the green light to begin membership talks with the bloc when EU leaders meet in December to assess the country's progress in democracy and human rights.

"Tourists should not choose Turkey," the KONGGRA-GEL statement added.

"We appeal to people wanting to invest in Turkey not to come here and choose to invest in a conflict zone. Otherwise we will not be responsible for the damage."

"We will engage in various types of activities targeting Turkish forces," it said.

The statement was released after a recent flare-up of violence and as Turkey prepares to host President Bush and other leaders at the NATO summit in Istanbul on June 28-29.

"Twenty-six people, both rebels and members of the security forces, have been killed in the past two months. This points to an increase," said Selahattin Demirtas, head of the local branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association in Diyarbakir in the southeast.

Demirtas linked the increased fighting to the war in neighbouring Iraq. Up to 5,000 Kurdish rebels from Turkey are believed to be in hiding in mountainous northern Iraq's Kurdish area since pulling out of Turkish territory in 1999.

"The United States wants KONGRA-GEL militants to leave Iraq. They come to Turkey and clashes erupt," Demirtas said.

The United States, a key Turkish ally, considers KONGRA-GEL a terrorist organization and last year reached agreement with Ankara on an "action plan," including military measures, against the group.

Turkey has since complained of US reluctance to purge northern Iraq of the rebels.

Washington is keen to prevent Turkey, a key NATO ally, from intervening in its southern neighbour as the US-led coalition tries to stabilize the restive country.

PKK violence abated after their leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999 and the group said it would lay down its arms in favor of a peaceful resolution.

But the rebels continued attacking government targets, though less frequently.

The PKK has several times changed names and is now known as KONGRA-GEL. Its reincarnations have also been put on the list of terrorist organizations by both the United States and the EU.

Turkish officials had categorically rejected the rebels' 1999 truce.

But Ankara has since then made some concessions towards its Kurdish population, who make up some 20 percent of the 70-million-strong population.

It has allowed private institutions to teach the Kurdish language and permitted limited Kurdish-language broadcasts in a bid to boost its chances of joining the EU.

The EU had condemned Turkey's handling of Kurds in the 1980s and 1990s, accusing authorities there of torture and other abuse.

There was no immediate reaction from Turkish officials Saturday to the reported end to the ceasefire.

- AFP


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