Turkey plays down possible rebe

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

Subject: Re: Turkey plays down possible rebel ceasefire call

 id VT20172; Sun, 24 Sep 1995 20:04:36 -0800

-------------- Forwarded from : nytmx at mit.xs4all.nl (NY Transfer) --------------

Turkey plays down possible rebel ceasefire call

    ANKARA, Sept 20 (Reuter) - Turkey on Wednesday played down a
possible ceasefire offer by the rebel leader of the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting an 11-year separatist
campaign in the southeast.
    ``I won't comment on any PKK announcement,'' Foreign
Minister Erdal Inonu told a news briefing. ``Suffice to say
everyone knows our position. We want terror to end, and our
security forces are working for that.
    ``At the same time, we are continuing to make all necessary
initiatives in parliament for the development of democratic
rights in our country,'' he said.
    The Germany-based DEM Kurdish news agency on Tuesday quoted
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as saying he was considering calling
a ceasefire, similar to one called by the rebels in 1993.
    ``If the Turkish state does not come against us with the
intention of destroying, we want to start a new ceasefire
process,'' Ocalan said.
    The PKK's unilateral ceasefire in 1993 held for nearly three
months until the guerrillas killed 33 unarmed soldiers in a bus
ambush after complaining Turkey had not reciprocated.
    More than 18,000 people have been killed in the PKK's fight
for Kurdish autonomy or independence in southeast Turkey.
    Turkey, which has flatly rejected all previous calls for
international mediation and a truce with ``terrorists,'' has
often said it is on the brink of defeating the PKK militarily.
    DEM said Ocalan, believed based in Syria or the
Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, was considering
holding a news conference to announce a possible ceasefire ``in
the following days.''
Reut05:36 09-20-95

Reuter N:Copyright 1995, Reuters News Service