DATE=11/24/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=TURKEY / OCALAN (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256507
BYLINE=AMBERIN ZAMAN
DATELINE=ANKARA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A Turkish appeals court is to rule Thursday on
the death sentence imposed on imprisoned Kurdish
leader Abdullah Ocalan. Amberin Zaman in Ankara
reports the court is widely expected to uphold the
sentence, but it appears increasingly unlikely that it
will actually be carried out.
TEXT: Turkish special forces last February captured
Abdullah Ocalan - the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (P-K-K). At the time, many
commentators predicted the rebel leader would be
executed for leading a 15-year separatist insurgency
that has claimed more than 30-thousand lives.
As expected, a Turkish court in June convicted Ocalan
on treason charges. Ocalan's lawyers appealed that
sentence and demanded a retrial, saying the P-K-K
leader should be tried instead on charges of setting
up an illegal armed gang, a crime that carries a
lighter sentence of up to 18 years.
In an interview with V-O-A, an Ocalan lawyer, Irfan
Dundar, said he is encouraged by recent proposals by
Turkey's justice minister and human rights minister to
abolish the death penalty.
/// DUNDAR ACT ONE - IN TURKISH - FADE
UNDER ///
Mr. Dundar says he believes recent peace overtures by
the P-K-K leader have helped shift the public mood in
Turkey. He cites Ocalan statements renouncing demands
for Kurdish autonomy and independence in favor of
cultural autonomy for Turkey's estimated 12-million
Kurds. Mr. Dundar also noted the P-K-K's decision to
give up its armed struggle and to withdraw from
Turkish territory.
But there may be other reasons why Turkish authorities
appear increasingly reluctant to hang Ocalan, thereby
ending a 15-year moratorium on executions.
Mr. Dundar says the major reason is Turkey's desire to
join the European Union.
E-U leaders - at a summit next month in Helsinki - are
expected to include Turkey on the list of countries
with which the European Union is starting membership
negotiations. E-U leaders have made clear that if
Ocalan is executed, Turkey's chances of E-U membership
will disappear altogether.
/// OPT /// The Turkish parliament has final say on
Ocalan's fate. But it can indefinitely postpone the
vote on whether the death sentence should be carried
out. Analysts say there are growing signs that
parliament will be in no hurry to take up the issue.
The Turkish military - which exercises great influence
over Turkish policy - has said Ocalan's fate should be
decided by politicians. Turkey's military chief of
staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu, also hinted recently that
the armed forces are not against easing bans on the
use of the Kurdish language. /// END OPT ///
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Wednesday
that if the European Court of Human Rights orders a
halt to the Ocalan execution, Turkey will have to
comply.
Mr. Dundar confirmed that Ocalan's defense team would
apply to the European Court to intervene on the P-K-K
leader's behalf. He said it could take months, even
years, for the European court to come up with its
decision.
Mr. Dundar insists that his client's peace gestures
are not intended to save his own life, as Ocalan
critics frequently charge. Rather, Mr. Dundar says,
they are designed to help promote democracy for Turks
and Kurds alike.
/// DUNDAR ACT TWO - IN TURKISH - FADE
UNDER ///
Mr. Dundar says that granting Kurds the freedom to
broadcast and educate in their own language is a basic
democratic right. He says Turkey's Kurds are not
seeking minority status in the country. All they
want, he says, is to be equal partners. (Signed)
NEB/AZ/JWH/JP
24-Nov-1999 11:46 AM EDT (24-Nov-1999 1646 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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