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Turkey prosecutors seek to charge Kurdish
PKK rebels
20.10.2009
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Prosecutors said five of the eight rebels, who were
among a group of 34 people, mainly refugees, who
crossed from semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in
northern Iraq into Turkey, should stand trial for
membership in the PKK
October
20, 2009
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, — Turkish prosecutors sought charges Tuesday
against five Kurdish rebels who surrendered in a
peace gesture, raising questions about whether
thousands of other guerrillas can be persuaded to
end their decades-long fight.
Amnesty for fighters and more rights for Turkey's
Kurdish minority are key demands of the Turkey's
Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which began attacks
in 1984 and is labelled a "terrorist" group by the
West. |
Turkish security members take position as they they
wait for the arrival of Kurdish PKK rebels to
surrender to Turkish authorities in the Turkish town
of Silopi at the Turkey-Iraqi Kurdistan region
border, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 AP |
Turkish law pardons rebels not involved in attacks,
but the PKK wants a broader amnesty that would
include leaders who operate in Iraqi Kurdistan and
jailed chief Abdullah Ocalan, a reviled figure for
most Turks.
It backed the surrender
of eight rebels on Monday, apparently to test the
goodwill of a government that is seeking
reconciliation with its Kurdish citizens.
"They're evaluating implementation of the repentance
law to see if, in fact, it represents an adequate
amnesty arrangement," said David Phillips, a Turkey
expert at the Atlantic Council, a research center in
Washington, D.C.
Prosecutors said five of the eight rebels, who were
among a group of 34 people, mainly refugees, who
crossed from
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq
into Turkey, should stand trial for membership in
the PKK, the Anatolia news agency reported. The
crime carries a penalty of a long prison term.
Twenty-five others from the group were
released
pending trial on minor charges, while four were
children and were not questioned. It was not
immediately clear why five of the eight rebels came
under heavier scrutiny.
Prosecutors said the five included people who
traveled from PKK headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan's
Qandil mountains, which were bombed in a Turkish
assault last year. Others were from a refugee camp,www.ekurd.netMakhmur,
that Turkey has been pressuring Iraq to shut down
for alleged rebel activity.
A civilian court was set up at the Habur border
crossing, and was deliberating whether to charge and
jail the five rebels, or release them.
The rest of the group refused to leave before the
announcement of a decision, according to Anatolia.
On the Turkish side of the border, thousands of
Kurds were hoping to welcome the group in a jubilant
celebration, though the possible arrest of the five
would sour the mood.
Security was heavy, with police setting up
barricades and checking identification.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted in
parliament that most members of the group were
released in line with the law.
"I find this to be an extremely positive and
pleasing development," he said. "I would like to
renew my call to those on the mountains, those at
Makhmur and those in Europe: I recommend that they
return to their country without delay."
Nihat Ali Ozcan, a terrorism expert at the Economic
Policy Research Institute in Ankara, said the
government should heed reaction from hardline Turks
opposed to reconciliation.
"The television footage of celebrations, like the
return of Caesar to Rome after a victory, is likely
to trigger fault lines in the rest of the country,"
Ozcan said on NTV television.
Turkey refuses to negotiate with the PKK, but
Erdogan's Islamic-oriented government recognizes
that military action alone cannot solve its conflict
with Kurds, who have faced discrimination for years.
Giving more social and economic opportunities to
Kurds would also boost Turkey's struggling bid to
join the European Union.
Kurds make up about 20 percent of Turkey's more than
70 million people and dominate the country's poor
southeast.
Critically, the Turkish military has let the
government take the lead on Kurdish pronouncements,
signaling its tacit support. The military has often
intervened in politics and has sparred with the
current government over its commitment to Turkey's
secular principles.
"We are heading toward a conclusion with a good
plan," Interior Minister Besir Atalay said.
Cemil Bayik, a PKK leader in Iraq, questioned
Turkish sincerity and said the rebel group would not
disband as long as "Kurdish identity" was not
accepted.
"The PKK will not come down from the mountains just
because it has a positive outlook toward the peace
groups," the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency quoted
Bayik as saying.
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms
for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of
Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around
45,000 lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish
community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK
rebels. Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish
population as a distinct minority.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded an end to ethnic
discrimination in Turkish laws and constitution
against Kurds, ranting them full political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
Ankara is currently working on a package of fresh
reforms to expand the freedoms of the Kurdish
community, but has rejected calls to halt military
action against the PKK.
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
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