Military

DATE=3/20/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=TURKEY / KURDS / IRAQ (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-287777

BYLINE=AMBERIN ZAMAN

DATELINE=ANKARA

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The leader of a main Iraqi Kurdish faction in northern Iraq says (Wednesday) that a Turkish Kurd rebel group is ready to lay down its arms in exchange for a general amnesty for its fighters. Amberin Zaman reports from Ankara.

TEXT: Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or P-U-K, says rebels of Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or P-K-K, are prepared to give up their armed campaign for Kurdish independence and lay down their weapons -- if the Turkish government grants a full amnesty for their fighters.

Mr. Talabani -- who is in Ankara for talks with Turkish officials -- says the P-K-K leadership is undergoing what he terms a dramatic change. These include changing their name and re-defining their strategic goals.

The P-K-K waged a 15-year campaign against Turkish government forces for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state carved mainly out of Turkey's largely Kurdish-populated southeast region.

But the group declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1999 following the capture of its leader Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan -- who was sentenced to death on treason by a Turkish court -- ordered his men to withdraw from Turkey to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. He also said his group has renounced its campaign for Kurdish statehood and is willing to settle instead for cultural autonomy for Turkey's estimated 12-million Kurds.

/// OPT /// The P-U-K leader, Mr. Talabani, says about five-thousand P-K-K fighters are scattered throughout Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. More than half are believed to be in the rugged mountains bordering Iran that are under the control of Mr. Talabani's faction. The P-U-K leader is widely believed to have met with P-K-K commanders based in his region and is seeking to mediate between the rebels and the Turkish government. /// END OPT ///

Many Kurdish politicians describe the P-K-K's newly conciliatory policies as Turkey's best chance to achieve a lasting peace with its restive Kurdish population.

Turkey's military and political leaders have repeatedly said, however, they will not negotiate with the P-K-K, labeling the group terrorists.

/// OPT /// Turkey says only P-K-K members who were not directly involved in the insurgency that has claimed over 30-thousand lives can be expunged for their deeds. /// END OPT ///

Mr. Talabani's mediation bid comes one day before the March 21st Kurdish New Year, known as Newroz. Security throughout Turkey's largely Kurdish southeastern provinces has been beefed up ahead of the event, that often has been marred by bloody clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish revelers staging street celebrations without official permission.

The P-U-K leader's contacts in the Turkish capital also follow a visit by U-S Vice President Dick Cheney, who sought Turkey's views about a possible U-S military intervention to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Talabani on Wednesday echoed Turkey's concerns, saying such action could further destabilize the region. Mr. Talabani says the Iraqi Kurds will support change in Iraq only if the new government is fully democratic - one that would recognize the political and cultural rights of Iraq's estimated four-million Kurds.

Northern Iraq has remained outside Baghdad's control since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. That is when the U-S led coalition declared a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect the Kurds against possible attack by Iraqi government forces. (SIGNED)

NEB/AZ/JWH/FC