Peace hope as jailed Kurdish leader orders pull-out

Jailed Kurdish rebel leader ­Abdullah Ocalan has ordered his fighters to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil, a major step towards ending an insurgency in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Hundreds of thousands gathered yesterday to hear the message in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish south-east, where Ocalan’s rebel group has been waging a 30-year battle against the Turkish ­government for autonomy.

In his message, read by pro-Kurd MPs in Kurdish and Turkish, Ocalan said: “We have reached the point where the guns must be silenced and where ideas must speak. A new era has started, where it is politics, not guns, which is at the forefront.

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“We have reached the stage where our armed elements need to retreat beyond the border.”

Fighters would probably cross into northern Iraq, where the Kurdish rebels have bases.

Though there was a cautious response from the Turkish government in Ankara, the announcement at a Kurdish spring festival was met with joy. People sang and danced, waved rebel flags and banners with images of Ocalan and cheered at the prospect of an end to the conflict.

Turkey announced in December it was talking to Ocalan, aiming to persuade his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disarm. The group is considered a terror ­organisation by Turkey, the Euro­pean Union and America.

Despite his 14-year incarceration on a prison island in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul, Ocalan still wields power. PKK commanders in northern Iraq have declared support for the peace initiative and their fighters are expected to heed Ocalan’s call.

Nevertheless, Turkish officials sounded a note of caution.

“I see [the call] as a positive development, but it is its implementation that is important,” premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, on a visit to the Netherlands. “We need to see to what extent (the rebels) respond to it.”

He added that Turkish security forces would cease operations against the rebels after the PKK fighters withdrew. He also lamented the fact no Turkish flag was flown at the festivities, calling it a “provocative act”, contrary to the spirit of Ocalan’s message of unity.

“There is a strategic shift happening,” said Ertugrul Kurkcu, an MP from the pro-Kurd BDP party. “The Kurdish liberation movement is moving from an armed to a cultural ­campaign. And the PKK accepts this.”

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“The PKK is challenging the state and this is a display of power by them,” said Ozcan Yeniceri, an MP from the MHP, Turkey’s nationalist opposition party.

“In place of a Turkish Republic, the road is being paved for formation of a federal independent Kurdish state.”

Kurdish rebels have declared ceasefires in the past, but these were ignored by the state, which vowed to fight the PKK until the end. Mr Erdogan’s government has also admitted to having held failed, secret talks with the PKK in past years, but this latest attempt – conducted more publicly – has raised hopes for a peace deal.

Government officials have warned of possible attempts to “sabotage” the talks by groups opposed to the initiative. Mr Erdogan on Wednesday suggested attacks this week on the justice ministry and the headquarters of his ruling party, in which one person was wounded, may have been an attempt to derail any agreement.

In a reminder of the precarious nature of the initiative, a sign posted on a podium at the venue of Kurdish festivities yesterday read: “We are ready for (both) peace and insurgency.”

Ocalan’s message did not include a time frame for his fighters’ retreat, suggesting the Kurds may be expecting the government to take some confidence-building steps. Justice minister Sadullah Ergin suggested this week withdrawal could be completed by the end of the year.

As part of the peace efforts, Ankara is expected to boost the rights of Kurds through a series of reforms, including a more democratic constitution that under­scores equal rights for Kurds and could increase the power of local authorities.

Kurds, who make up around 20 per cent of Turkey’s population of 75 million, are also seeking the release of hundreds of activists jailed for alleged links to the PKK as well as improved jail conditions for Ocalan, who is serving a life term.

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Many Kurds believe Ocalan should be freed. “A democratic solution and freedom for ­Ocalan,” read one poster.

The PKK has also sought guarantees that its fighters will not be attacked during any retreat. Mr Erdogan has said he is open to the creation of an independent committee that could oversee the withdrawal of an estimated 4,000 fighters.

Turkish forces reportedly attacked PKK guerrillas as they retreated in 1999 as directed by Ocalan, who appealed for peace soon after his capture that year, as well as during another unilateral withdrawal in 2004.

“A door is opening from the armed struggle toward the democratic struggle,” Ocalan said. “This is not an end, this is a new start. We have sacrificed decades for the [Kurdish] people. We have paid a huge price. None of it was in vain. The Kurds gained their self-identity.”

The spring festival, or Newroz – which means “new year” – is mainly marked by Kurds in Turkey. Protesters in the past have used the celebration to assert demands and events have resulted in clashes with security forces.

“War happens, but at some point you have to dress your wounds. This is our chance now,” said Bedri Alat, 73, in ­Diyarbakir. “I remember peace. My grandson does not. He does not remember when Kurds and Turks lived as brothers. This is a last chance.”

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