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September 1, 2009
ANKARA, Turkey, — Kurdish rebels said Tuesday
they were extending a unilateral truce until
September 22 and would keep a close eye on the
Turkish government's plan to end to the conflict, a
pro-Kurdish news agency reported.
The truce, first announced by the Turkey's
separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in April,
had been due to expire on Tuesday.
"Our movement has seen it appropriate to extend the
non-action period until the end of" the Eid ul-Fitr
festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan on September 22,www.ekurd.net
the PKK said in a
statement carried by the Firat news agency.
"In the meantime, we will watch closely the attitude
of the Turkish state ... and make an evaluation," it
added, accusing Ankara of failing to take any
"concrete or satisfactory" step so far in its bid to
address Kurdish grievances.
The rebels also urged the government to allow for
the announcement of a separate peace plan drawn up
by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan
on the Turkish prison island of Imrali where he is
serving a life sentence for treason.
Ocalan's lawyers said last month that their client
had handed the document to prison authorities and
they would make a formal application to be given a
copy.
Ankara has never formally recognised PKK's
unilateral truces and military operations against
the rebels have continued.
Over 44,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms
for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of
Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan). 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,www.ekurd.net
but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
Last month, the Turkish government announced that it
was working on a plan to expand the rights of its
Kurdish community and secure an end to the fighting
with the PKK.
The government has released no details on the
package, but Interior Minister Besir Atalay said
Monday that they had no plans for an amnesty for the
rebels or constitutional amendments.
Opposition parties remain hostile to the
government's plan, arguing that broader rights for
the country's Kurds would pave the way for Turkey's
disintegration.
The Turkish army meanwhile has warned that the
planned reforms must not endanger unity, underlining
a constitutional article that describes Turkey as
being an indivisible whole with Turkish as its
language.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, AFP |
Agencies
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