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![]() Wednesday, June 2, 1999 Published at 10:21 GMT 11:21 UK ![]() ![]() World: Europe ![]() PKK backs Ocalan peace call ![]() Heavy security surrounds the trial of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan ![]() The Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, has issued a statement saying it supports a call made by its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for an end to its long-running war with Turkey. Mr Ocalan is on trial on charges of treason and faces a possible death sentence if convicted.
The statement called for "a democratic solution to be realised through peace and brotherhood."
The statement was issued by the PKK's leadership council, formed as an interim body after Mr Ocalan's capture in February. Ocalan's plea At the start of his trial on Monday he said he wanted to cooperate with the Turkish authorities and could bring an end to the armed conflict if he was allowed to live.
His statement was greeted with widespread scepticism in the Turkish press and amongst the relatives of Turkish soldiers killed in the conflict who are attending the trial. The PKK has been blamed for more than 30,000 deaths since it began its campaign against Turkish rule in 1984. Mr Ocalan was captured by Turkish special forces in Kenya on 15 February, after trying for months to find a country willing to grant him asylum. His trial is being held in a specially built courtroom on a high security prison island in the Sea of Marmara. Surrender call
In an interview with the Turkish newspaper, Sabah, Mr Demirel said: ""What you are doing is in vain." "If your leader has come to this state, what can you do? Nobody has been able to harm the Turkish state," he said. On Tuesday Mr Ocalan told the court that the PKK had received support from a number of countries in the past including Syria, Iran and Turkey's arch rival, Greece. He also denied responsibility for the deaths of 33 unarmed Turkish soldiers in 1993 in an attack that ended a PKK ceasefire, saying the killings were carried out by renegade soldiers acting without his authority. His trial continues. ![]() |
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