Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Kurd militants surrender to back Turkish reforms
Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:25pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Mehmet Emin Caliskan
SILOPI, Turkey (Reuters) - A small group of Kurdish separatist guerrillas surrendered to the Turkish army after returning from Iraq on Monday in a gesture of rebel support for government plans to expand Kurdish rights.
Eight militants from a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camp in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq crossed a border gate near the town of Silopi in Turkey's southeast where thousands of supporters were awaiting them with PKK flags.
Two other groups of refugees and PKK supporters also surrendered to authorities. A total of 34 people were being questioned by Turkish authorities, witnesses said.
It was not yet clear if they would face criminal charges.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party has launched an initiative that is expected to give greater freedoms to the 12 million-strong Kurdish minority in Turkey's southeast.
The process is seen as vital to Turkey's European Union membership application as it introduces reforms to meet the bloc's human-rights criteria for membership.
The PKK had announced rebels would return to Turkey on the wishes of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to promote peace. The PKK, based in north Iraq, took up arms in 1984 to carve out an ethnic homeland in the predominantly Kurdish southeast.
DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION
It has since dropped its demand for independence. Some 40,00 people, mainly Kurds, have died in the conflict.
"It has become abundantly clear to both Turks and Kurds the that problems will not be resolved with violence and the solution requires political democracy," read a letter brought by the group returning from Iraq, broadcaster CNN Turk said.
About 3,000 people were spending the night in tents near the border to show support for the group of refugees and militants.
Four lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and several lawyers accompanied the group during questioning, witnesses said.
DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk, said the move "shows that the PKK is insisting on peace not war."
The DTP, Turkey's only legal Kurdish party, has long been suspected of links to the PKK, branded a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU. The DTP denies this, but risks a legal ban in a case before the Constitutional Court.
Erdogan and the army have ruled out a role for the PKK in the initiative, but have said PKK militants who surrender who have not been involved in attacks will be treated with leniency. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Iran threatens U.S. and Britain after Guard bombing
Also On Reuters
Full Coverage: Reuters Washington Summit
Blog: The memo on the New York Times job cuts
Slideshow
Slideshow: Insider trading scandals
More International News
Iran threatens U.S. and Britain after Guard bombing
| Video
Afghan poll picture darkens with run-off looming
Pakistani forces pound Taliban in South Waziristan
| Video
Sudan says new U.S. policy has "positive points"
Iran atom talks off to "good start" despite tensions
| Video
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Iran threatens U.S. and Britain after Guard bombing | Video
Modern man a wimp says anthropologist
Balloon boy case a hoax, says sheriff; charges coming | Video
Google goes global with Apps, has 2 million customers
Report finds new wrinkle in U.S. bankruptcies
Fake security software in millions of computers: Symantec
Corporate America worried about sinking dollar
USDA confirms first case of H1N1 flu in U.S. hog
Bernanke calls for action on global imbalances | Video
Third person dies in Arizona "sweat dome"
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Militants die in Pakistan attack
Suicide attack kills Iran guards
Dutch students in Spain bus crash
John Kerry in Pakistan talking aid
Sheriff calls balloon flight a hoax
Helicopter downed in Rio violence
Kidnapped Darfur aid workers freed
Dozens injured in Thailand blast
Mexican police find bodies.
Peru new counterfeiting centre.
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.