IPS/TURKEY/SEPTEMBER 1992

[PeaceNet Middle East Team]

From: <pnmideast>
Subject: IPS/TURKEY/SEPTEMBER 1992

/* Written 12:17 am  Sep 21, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "TURKEY: Plea for PKK and government" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: TURKEY: Plea for PKK and government to sit down and talk


istanbul, sep 18 (ips) -- an urgent plea has been made for the
kurdish guerrilla movement and government to come to a ceasefire
agreement, but the two parties still seem a long way off from
putting down their guns and sitting around a negotiating table.

this week's appeal has come from turkish president turgut ozal
who was quoted in friday's daily 'hurriyet' as saying that the
shooting has got to ''cease for a while''.

''if the shooting comes to a halt, some progress can be made.
this is not meant to be a threat, but if the situation gets any
worse, something unexpected could take place...things could even
go beyond our control.''

but while ozal's words do have some influence, he and prime
minister suleyman demirel's government remain at loggerheads and
observers have thus expressed only cautious optimism that there
could be a peaceful solution in the eight year war between the
kurdistan workers party (pkk) and the turkish security forces.

so that while pkk leader abdullah ocalan had indicated a
willingness to meet with government, prime minister demirel had up
until late friday failed to respond. ocalan has insisted that
strict security would have to be place for such a historic meeting
to take place.

the pkk has been waging an armed struggle for self-determination
for turkey's four million kurds since 1984. nearly 5,000 people
have died in the fighting since 1984 -- mainly in the kurdish
populated areas in south-eastern turkey.

but with fighting escalating in recent months -- a whole village
of 20,000 fled their homes last month after bitter fighting in
sirnak -- the turkish population is anxious to have an end put to
the fighting.

according to a poll taken in istanbul last week, 63 of the city's
seven million people said they are against a military solution to
the dispute, although only 16 percent were in favour of granting
the kurds either autonomy or independence.

ozal's published appeal followed a meeting wednesday between the
president and three pro-kurdish peoples' labour party (hep)
members of parliament -- orhan dogan, selim sadak and mahmut
alinak.

in the article headlined ''ceasefire plea from ozal'', the
president said he would try to arrange a meeting with the prime
minister to discuss the problem. as president of turkey, ozal has
a number of executive powers, however, it is the prime minister
and his council of ministers who implement government policy.
(more/ips)

turkey: plea for pkk and government to sit down and talk(2-e)

turkey: plea (2)

dogan told ips that the president seemed ''sincere'' in his plea,
and added that they would meet with ozal again before arranging a
meeting with ocalan.

sadak also viewed the ozal meeting as a step in the right
direction, and called on the government to follow his lead.

but umit firat, a leading kurdish intellectual, pointed out that
ozal lacks the political backing to bring the parties to the
negotiating table, adding that ''the government generally does
just the opposite, which makes it hard to have faith in what ozal
says''.

noting that ozal was advocating a ''political solution'' to the
issue, editor of the 'hurriyet' oktay eksi, said this in itself
could be a stumbling block.

''what matters here is the fact that ozal is mentioning a
political solution, and thus elevating abdullah ocalan's status
from 'leader of a terrorist organisation' to 'leader of a force
waging a war for national independence'.''

in neither case, though, is ozal acknowledging the ''legitimacy''
of the pkk.

true path party mp melik firat, himself a kurd, put it this way.
''although ozal's initiative may be a good one, i don't trust him.
he's playing both ends against the middle.''

and while the human rights association of diyarbakir, a south-
eastern town, is pleased with the ozal initiative, it does not
expect much to come out of it.

''despite ozal's initiatives, i can't say i am hopeful when i
look at government's policies,'' said lawyer fevzi veznedaroglu,
chairman of the diyarbakir branch of the association, who stresses
that a ceasefire is a pre-condition for a political solution.

''the region is in a state of war. trying to solve this issue
with gunfire and violence won't get anybody anywhere,'' he
concluded.(end/ips/np/nm/cpg/92)