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Turkey pledges 'very just trial' for Ocalan
Kurdish anger rumbles through Europe a second dayFebruary 17, 1999Web posted at: 11:21 p.m. EST (0421 GMT)
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- As violent Kurdish protests swept Europe for the second day, Turkey relished the capture of its most wanted man, Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. Turkish officials triumphantly released a videotape of Ocalan after his arrest. It shows a dazed Ocalan in handcuffs and a blindfold asking not to be tortured. "If the truth needs to be told, I love Turkey and the Turkish nation, and I want to serve it," Ocalan said on the video, which shows him being put aboard a plane blindfolded with tape and wearing handcuffs. One of the ski-masked commandos replied, "Welcome to your country. You're our guest now." In an interview with CNN, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Ocalan, the fugitive leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), would receive a fair trial. "It will be a very free, a very just trial, because justice is very free in Turkey, autonomous. The government has no right to interfere in any court procedures," Ecevit said.
Ocalan's lawyers denied entry to TurkeyBut Turkish authorities refused to allow three of Ocalan's attorneys into the country Wednesday, arguing that non-Turkish lawyers cannot practice in Turkey.
Two Italian attorneys for Ocalan said they had reported Turkey to the European Court for Human Rights over Ocalan's treatment by his captors. "It is clear from images shown by Turkish television that Ocalan underwent psycho-physical violence ... during the flight to Turkey," lawyers Giuliano Pisapia and Luigi Saraceni said in a statement. The European Union urged Turkey to admit Ocalan's lawyers and to let European observers watch the trial. Ocalan was taken to the prison island of Imrali, in the Sea of Marmara, after being snatched in a clandestine operation Monday in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 200 inmates were evacuated to make room for the Kurdish leader. "At least for a time he will be there, which will be a very secure place for him," Ecevit said.
Ocalan seized in secret Turkish operationThe details of Ocalan's capture remain murky. A Turkish newspaper reported that Ocalan was taken from his car after he left the Greek Embassy in Nairobi. Asked if Ocalan was captured by Turkish special security forces, Ecevit said, "I wouldn't say forces but individuals. A very few people, four or five people" in addition to the jet pilots and a doctor were involved in the operation, Ecevit said. "I myself don't know the details, but it was a very civilized operation," Ecevit said. "Nobody was hurt." Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos denied that Greece was involved in Ocalan's capture and said Ocalan had been advised not to leave the Greek Embassy compound where he was being sheltered secretly.
Apparently hoping Ocalan's arrest would leave PKK rebels in disarray, Turkish forces drove into a rugged Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq on Wednesday. Ecevit denied the military action had anything to do with Ocalan's capture. A spokesman for Turkey's general staff said the operation would not last long.
Widespread protestsOcalan's seizure triggered widespread anti-Turkish and anti- Greek protests by exiled Kurds in major cities throughout Europe. In the latest violence Wednesday, three Kurdish protesters were shot to death during protests at the Israeli consulate in Berlin. Some Kurds believe Israeli intelligence may have cooperated with Turkey in the operation to snatch Ocalan. The PKK has fought a 14-year separatist war in southeastern Turkey in which at least 29,000 people have died. Ocalan is charged with crimes including treason and murder in connection with the PKK's activities.
'Turkish people suffered'Ecevit told CNN that outside forces had been using the PKK for years to destabilize Turkey, which he said was of strategic importance in the region. "For many years, about two decades, the Turkish people suffered a great deal on account of the terrorism, the cruel terrorism of the PKK, led by Ocalan. Many soldiers died. And in the civilian population, most of the victims of the Kurdish organization were Kurdish people, of southeastern Turkey, small children and women," Ecevit said. Ecevit firmly rejected the possibility of Kurdish autonomy in the southeast. He said the region had suffered injustices and was impoverished because of its historically feudal structure. "We have to address the problems of the region from an economic and social and educational angle, which we have been doing for some time," Ecevit said. "That will provide the real relief." Correspondent Jerrold Kessel,The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. MESSAGE BOARD: Post your opinion on the Kurdish issue RELATED STORIES: Reports: Ocalan snatched by Turkish commandos RELATED SITES: Kurdistan Workers Party Information
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