Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti.
Some renegade Kurdish guerrillas have rejected Ocalan's call and vowed to fight on. More
than 30,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed since the PKK, founded by
Ocalan, began its armed campaign in 1984.
Kara said he and his followers would soon present themselves officially as a new party for
Kurdish home rule.
Asked if his party would back an armed struggle against Ankara, he said he would decide
after consulting other Kurds in Europe, particularly in Germany.
"However, it's well known that in the Middle East you can only gain respect by the use of
force," he said.
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Report: Turkish Troops along Iraqi Border for
25 Mar 2000
Anti-Kurdish
Rebel Operation
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- The Turkish military has been massing troops and tanks along
the Iraqi border in recent weeks, apparently for a cross-border offensive on Kurdish rebels, a
newspaper reported Sunday.
Turkey has ignored a recent announcement by Kurdish rebels that the 15-year-Iong armed
struggle for autonomy for the southeast was over, and the army is determined to crush the
guerrillas.
Turkish military officials were not immediately available to comment on the report in the
daily Curnhuriyet.
According to Curnhuriyet, the troops -- aided by pro-Turkey Iraqi Kurdish fighters from the
Kurdistan Democratic Party -- have already engaged in skirmishes with Kurdish rebels in the
northeastern tip of Iraq. No casualty figure was given.
But the main operation, expècted to take place in the coming days, would involve thousands
of Turkish soldiers, the report said.
Army engineers were erecting portable bridges over the Hezil river, which run along the
Iraqi-Turkish border, for possible use by tanks and trucks, the paper said.
Turkey often sends troops into northern Iraq in the spring after the snow clears to fight
guerrillas who maintain bases in the area, which has been out of Baghdad's control since the
end of the Gulf War in 1991.
The rebels, heeding a call by their imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, announced an end to
fighting in early February. The bulk of the rebels have retreated to Iraq and Iran under
orders from Ocalan.
Turkish military was also reportedly getting ready to launch an operation against some 300
Kurdish rebels left on mountain tops inside Turkey, Curnhuriyet said.
Meanwhile, police on Sunday temporarily detained some 100 wedding guests in the
southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa for riding in cars decorated with red, green and yellow
ribbons -- the colors of Ocalan's Kurdish rebel banner, the Anatolia news agency said.
All were released after questioning at a police station.
The incident underlined authorities' sensitivities to the smallest hints of Kurdish nationalism.
Kurds make up about one-fifth of Turkey's people.
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