Bulletin de liaison etd'information - Institut kurde de Paris

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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentrode
la Prensa-Baszn Ozeti
Turkish Kurd rebels signal new phase, change name
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Reuters Feb 6; 2002
Kurdish separatist leaders said on Tuesday the September 11 attacks on the United States had prompted them to
drop the name of their group to show they were seeking changethrough political means.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose commander Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999 and sentenced to
death for treason,. said it aimed to change its name at a party congress within the next few days.
"After thé events that took place on September 11, new h1ternationà1 solutions are needed. The whole world, especially
the Middle East, has changed," rebelleaders based in northern Iraq said in a statement sent to Kurdish satellite
television channel, Medya TV. 'By taking the necessary steps, the PKK has entered this new period," they
added.
The PKK's 17-year-Iong armed struggle for self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey has claimed more than
30,000.lives, but fighting largely ended after Ocalan's arrest. Turkey describes the PKK guerrillas as "terrorists" but
unsuccessfully lobbied the European Union to includethe group on its list of deemed terrorist organisations.
"From today onwards, the PKK's organisational and party endeavours in Turkey and countries belonging to the
European Union have been stopped. No work will be conducted under the PKK name," the statement said.
Sources close to the PKK said alternative names being considered were the Democratic Republic Party or the
Kurdistan Freedom Party. But the leaders also hinted they could resort to arms again if their cultural demands failed
to be met. ..
'Turkey, God willing, needs to realise our positive, democratic steps are not permanent," the PKK statement said.
Ocalan has ordered his followers to withdraw from Turkey and seek cultural rights for Turkey's 12 million Kurds
through political means. Turkey has dismissed Ocalan's peace overture as a ruse to escape execution and said it
will never negotiate with the PKK. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit last month ruled out Kurdish language education,
saying bringing the Kurdish language to Turkish classrooms would erode the country's unity.
The EU, which Turkey hopes to join, has counselled Ankara to expand civilliberties
for Kurds.
Turkish soldiers regularly pursue PKK fighters into the mountains of northern Iraq, where the army says about
5,000 guerrillas are encamped.
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Turkish Reforms Get Mixed Reviews EU-geared changes will curb torture but not
much to expand freedom of expression, human rights advocates say.
By AMBERIN ZAMAN Los Angeles TImes February 8, 2002
ANKARA, Turkey - A set of long-delayed reforms aimed at bolstering Turkey's chances for membership in the
European Union will help reduce widespread torture but do little to expand freedom of expression, human rights
advocates and legal scholars said Thursday.
.J
The package of constitutional amendments was passed by the 550-member parliament Wednesday despite tough
resistance from the ultranationalist wing of Turkey's three-party coalition government, whose members said the
reforms' woula encourage Kùrdish separatists and other enemies of the state. Husnu Ondul, chairman of Turkey's
Human Rights Assn., the country's leading advocacy group, said the changes will dramatically improve human
rights in four Kurdish-dominated provinces where most abuses occur. Those four provinces are governed by special
emergency laws. Under the new law, detainees accused of so-called terror crimes can be held without trial for
a maximum of seven days.
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