ad info

CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
   africa
   americas
   asianow
   europe
   middle east
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:

 

World - Europe

Turkey pledges 'very just trial' for Ocalan

Ocalan
Ocalan in Turkish custody

 ALSO
Netanyahu: Israeli guards acted in self-defense against Kurds

Kurdish protests prompt U.S. global travel warning
 

Kurdish anger rumbles through Europe a second day

February 17, 1999
Web posted at: 11:21 p.m. EST (0421 GMT)

In this story:

Ocalan's lawyers denied entry to Turkey

Ocalan seized in secret Turkish operation

Widespread protests

'Turkish people suffered'

RELATED STORIES, SITES icon



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 Turkey

But Turkish authorities refused to allow three of Ocalan's attorneys into the country Wednesday, arguing that non-Turkish lawyers cannot practice in Turkey.

Ocalan
Ocalan's captors congratulate themselves

RELATED AUDIO
Click here to hear Ocalan talking to his captors (English translation):

320K/26 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Jerrold Kessel has a look at Turkey's position now that Ocalan has been returned
Real 28K 80K
Windows Media 28K 80K

Turkish military video of Ocalan after his arrest. He is surrounded by his captors.

Real 28K 80K
Windows Media 28K 80K

 

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 operation

The 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.

ecevit
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit discusses the Ocalan capture. Click below to hear his comments.

RELATED AUDIO

"For many years the Turkish people suffered ...."
448/35 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

"It was a very civilized operation ..."
325/26 sec. AIFF or WAV sound
RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Jerrold Kessel interviews Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit

Real 28K 80K
Windows Media 28K 80K

 

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 protests

Ocalan'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
February 17, 1999
Kurds storm UNHCR headquarters; new protests erupt
February 17, 1999
Arrest of Kurd rebel chief draws Turkish joy, Kurdish rage
February 16, 1999
Turks jubilant over Ocalan's capture
February 16, 1999
Profile: Ocalan inspires loyalty, hate
February 16, 1999

RELATED SITES:
Kurdistan Workers Party Information
The Republic of Turkey
President of the Turkish Republic
The Center for Kurdish Political Studies
Terrorist acts by the PKK
Turkish Press Review: Daily News
Kurdish Information Network
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.