SIT-REP 2-16; February 16, 1999

In This Report: The Kurdish PKK & the Albanian KLA

What do the Kurdish supporters of Abdullah Ocalan want by storming Greek Embassies across Europe? Beyond this "retired" terrorist chieftan's release, this minority political element within the larger Kurdish population of Turkey wants an ethnically defined state for Kurds, where Kurdish, rather than Turkish is the official language. What these protestors want is the same thing that most people think the US and partners of the 6-nation Contact Group are attempting to impose in Kosovo. Like the Albanians of Kosovo, the Kurds hope to get through fraud what they cannot achieve by force and terror.

There is bound to be pious spouting by governments and Human Rights groups in coming days, so let us watch this public show with some important background.

The PKK and KLA

While there are historical analogies between the mountain Gegs and the mountain Kurds dating to the Ottoman Empire, there are more interesting and immediate analogies between the ongoing Albanian conspiracy of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to carve a "Greater Albania" out of Yugoslavia and Macedonia, and Abdullah Ocalan's Marxist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) attempt to erect a Kurdish state out of Turkey, Iraq and Iran. As an aside, among their many enterprises, those Albanian Mafia gangs which smuggle Albanian refugees across the Adriatic to Italy also smuggle illegal Kurdish immigrants and Kurds are also involved in the production of opium and heroin which the Albanian Mafia smuggles and distributes in Europe and America.

Like the Albanian supporters of the KLA, the Kurd supporters of the PKK would love to see Europe and the US support a deal that could lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish republic so that Kurds could then carve out parts of Iraq and Iran, but in fact, the best deal the NATO powers could negotiate with Anakara would be to ease restrictions on the use of Kurdish as an "equal" second language for broadcasting and other media. This process will begin with some pious statements of principles from the foreign offices of the Western powers, dwelling on group "rights and duties." Again, the PKK is supported by a minority of the Kurds within Turkey; over half of whom now live outside Kurdistan and are reasonably integrated in the Turkish polity and economy.

Now at the core, the Kurds of Turkey do have a reasonable case for easing official restrictions on the use of Kurdish in broadcasting and print media. Turkey's modern Constitution, based on the US model, has sought to curb Kurdish ambitions towards a autonomous state since its inception in the early 1920s, after Attaturk defeated a Greek Army's attempt to conquer western Turkey and stimulate its further partition. But the Turkish Constitution empowered the Army as a fourth and co-equal branch of government to prevent erection of an Islamic state out of a secular republic and to prevent Kurdish secession. Viewing language rights as the "thin end of the wedge" leading to autonomy and independence, which in turn would upset Iran and Iraq as well, the Army dictated a ban on the unofficial use of Kurdish in the media and that was pushing too hard.

Both attempts are supported by violent-minded Muslim ethnic mountain peoples and both have very chauvanistic roots. Both have resorted to every level of violence and are sustained by Mafia gangsters and expatriate communities spread throughout Europe. Both seek to exploit the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights' (UDHR) evolving interpretation as a charter for group entitlements within larger nation states, rather than its more general purpose of outlining reasonable individual and group rights. Both movements ignore the duties of individuals and groups to the nation and their neighbors. Both are dangerous perversions of politics. Where the UN charter is being perverted today is in its use to justify groups refusing to live cooperatively with others in their larger nation-state polities; the UDHR is becoming an invitation for groups to assert a right to not cooperate, and even to misbehave.

Turkey's Crackdown

To add further perspective, Ocalan's PKK is responsible for some 29,000 deaths (the Turkish Government's estimate, another estimate is 37,000) in the last 14 years. Turkey has frequently pursued the PKK into northern Iraq since the end of Desert Storm and the two major Kurdish factions (led by Barzani and Talibani) in Iraq do not support the Marxist KLA. Further details are to be found in five news articles appended to this website report.

In October 1998, fed up with Ocalan's ability to hide in Syria and the Bekaa valley of Lebanon, Turkey massed an army on Syria's northern border, forcing President Assad to eject Ocalan and shut down his training camps. He fled to Russia, but Turkey threatened Moscow, among other things, threatening to restrict traffic of oil tankers through the Bosporus from Black Sea Port. Ocalan fled to Italy which arrested him based on an outstanding German warrant, but Germany's new Leftist government refused to extradite him for trial, while under pressure from Kurds in the streets of Rome, the Italian government refused to extradite him to Turkey, based on Human Rights concerns about Turkey's death penalty. While in Italy and in an attempt to gain greater sympathy from European governments, Ocalan publicly renounced terrrorism as a means to political power and announced his retirement and abandonment of the PKK army and cause. This of course, was concurrent with English and Spanish Lefts' attempts to indict and extradie General Agosto Pinochet for genocide and other crimes against humanity. Violent Leftists are protected and less-violent Rightists are prosecuted.

What's To Come:

The organized move by Kurdish expatriates against some 20 Greek Embassies across Europe today, demonstrates to Europe and America, just how well-organized Ocalan's support is among those communities. But this was also demonstrated on the streets of Rome in mid-November, when Italy held Mr. Ocalan under arrest (see the Wall Street Journal editorial of Nov. 20 attached to the website report). Italy passed the hot potato on, leading Ocalan to Nairobi, which is still smarting from the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy by Osama bin Laden's Arab terrorist allies.

Lastly, it is an interesting and misfortunate irony that Greek embassies were targeted by the Kurds, who are also reportedly threatening Kenyan embassies. It appears from later wire reports that the Greeks did not directly hand Ocalan over to Turkey; rather, Kenya did, after he left his refuge for a flight back to Europe where it is reported he expected official refuge in the Netherlands. When the dust settles, I expect this extreme PKK attempt at coercing support for its cause will backfire.

© Copyright 1999 by Benjamin C. Works --SIRIUS www.siri-us.com

Archive:

1. AP, Feb. 16, 1999, Kurd Rebel Leader Brought to Turkey

2. Kurds Stage Europe-Wide Protests

3. Note to people and WSJ Commentary of Nov 20, 1998; Ocalan --Craven Europe

4. AP, Feb. 16, 1999; Key Issues in Kurds Struggle

5. Reuters, Feb 16, 1999; ANALYSIS-Tough Turkish tactics triumph again

* * * *

Kurd Rebel Leader Brought to Turkey

By SELCAN HACAOGLU .c The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (Feb. 16) - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan's international quest for asylum ended today after Turkey's prime minister announced that Ocalan had been brought here to face justice.

''We had promised that the state would catch him, we have kept our promise,'' Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said. ''He will pay the price of his accounts to the independent Turkish courts.''

Ocalan's arrival marks a victory for Turkey, which wants to prosecute him for waging a guerilla war for autonomy that claimed tens of thousands of lives. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Ecevit did not say when Turkey would put him on trial. Ocalan was once tried in absentia, but a verdict was never issued.

Before Ocalan's capture was announced, Kurds launched demonstrations across Europe and stormed Greek diplomatic compounds.

Ocalan, whose whereabouts had been unknown since he left Rome in January, arrived in Turkey today after surfacing in Kenya, Ecevit said.

Ecevit said his capture was the result of a 12-day covert operation, but gave no details. He did not say where Ocalan was being held.

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said Ocalan arrived in Kenya on Feb. 2 and had been given refuge in the Greek embassy.

He said Ocalan left against the advice of his hosts, heading for the Nairobi airport on Monday to fly to the Netherlands. Pangalos said Greek authorities said they lost track of him after he left the Greek compound.

According to Pangalos, Ocalan's representatives had been negotiating independently with African governments for asylum.

Pangalos also hinted at possible American complicity. The United States regards Ocalan as a terrorist and had pressed Italy to extradite him to Turkey.

''I had contacts with the American government and asked it to use its agencies to find out exactly what happened, or, if it knows, to let us know and inform international opinion as quickly as possible,'' he said.

Turkey has maintained an uncompromising stance toward Kurds since 1984 when Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, launched a guerrilla war for autonomy on behalf of Turkey's 12 million Kurds. The Kurds are seeking, among other things, the rights to teach and broadcast in their own language.

The government has refused to negotiate with the PKK, which it calls a terrorist organization, and has rebuffed all calls for a cease-fire.

''Everyone must understand that no one can challenge our state and no one can get anywhere in Turkey with separatist terrorism,'' Ecevit said, his voice trembling with emotion.

He appealed to the guerrillas to lay down their arms and surrender. ''You have reached the dead end,'' he told them.

PKK has recruited around 10,000 guerrillas over the years, mostly from the remote poverty-stricken southeastern Turkey.

''While you were fighting in the mountains, Ocalan was living in luxury,'' Ecevit said. ''Say ''Enough!' to Ocalan and come and reunite with your mothers, fathers.''

Ocalan's capture could be a major blow on the PKK, which risks becoming mired in internal conflicts over leadership.

The rebel leader's odyssey began last fall after Syria, under threat of attack from Turkey, expelled him from his longtime base.

After a brief stay in Russia, Ocalan went to Italy in November and asked for political asylum. Italy refused to extradite him to Turkey because he faced the death penalty, but was unwilling to grant him asylum and asked him to leave. In January he left Italy and his whereabouts had been a mystery.

He was denied refuge in a number of European countries before going to Kenya.

On Feb. 2, he tried to fly to the Netherlands but was turned away and headed for Nairobi. Pangalos said Greece allowed Ocalan's private jet to refuel in Greece as a ''humanitarian gesture'' when he was enroute to Kenya.

AP-NY-02-16-99 0654EST

* * * *

Kurds Stage Europe-Wide Protests

Protesters Take Hostages in Greek Embassies to Demand a Safe Haven Rebel Leader

By ELENA BECATOROS

.c The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (Feb. 16) - Kurdish protesters burst into Greek embassies and missions around Europe today, taking hostages and threatening to set themselves on fire to demand a safe haven for a Kurdish rebel leader.

The Kurds' anti-Greek demonstrations in London, Moscow, Stockholm and other European cities came as Turkey announced it had captured Abdullah Ocalan and would prosecute him for waging a guerrilla war in southeastern Turkey that has cost 37,000 thousand lives.

Kurds had wanted Greece to grant Ocalan permanent asylum and quickly turned their fury against Greek diplomatic sites.

In a plush Hague neighborhood in the Netherlands, hundreds of angry Kurds burst through a police cordon and forced their way into the house of the Greek ambassador. They were holding three people hostage, including the ambassador's wife and their 8-year-old child, police spokeswoman Lineke Bennema said.

In Vienna, Kurdish protesters burst into the Greek and Kenyan embassies today and took five hostages at the Greek mission, including the ambassador, police said. Authorities cordoned off the site and were trying to negotiate with the protesters.

They threatened to set the Kenyan Embassy on fire unless their demands for talks were met.

About 50 Kurdish demonstrators who occupied the Greek Embassy in Brussels today doused themselves with gasoline and threatened to set themselves on fire if police attempted to drive them out, Belgian radio reported.

At the Greek consulate in Strasbourg, France, Kurds with gasoline cans threatened to burn down the building.

There were few large protests in Greece. Authorities had been given orders to immediately arrest any group of protesting Kurds, police sources said. At least 80 Kurds were reportedly detained.

All around Europe, security was increased around Greek institutions for fears of attacks or occupation attempts.

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos ordered Kurds to leave all Greek diplomatic areas or authorities would ''take appropriate action.''

Greek authorities claim they lost sight of Ocalan on Monday after he left the compound to travel to the Nairobi airport for a flight to the Netherlands, where his representatives had been conducting private negotiations for asylum.

''The Greek government ... granted him a place to stay in Kenya where he had traveled after his efforts to find permission to reside in various European countries,'' a government statement said.

Ocalan has been on the run since he was forced last year to leave his longtime base of Syria under threat of military action by Turkey. After a brief stay in Russia, he spent two months in Italy, but left Jan. 16.

Earlier Monday, a protester set himself ablaze outside the Greek Parliament to demand the country grant political asylum to Ocalan.

Kurds took control of diplomatic compounds in at least six German cities: Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Duesseldorf. Kurds also occupied Greek diplomatic buildings in London; Marseilles, France; Stockholm, Sweden; and Zurich, Switzerland.

Serious security concerns were raised in Germany, which has the largest Kurdish population in western Europe, numbering 400,000 of its 2 million Turks.

In Denmark today, a Kurdish woman outside the Greek Embassy in Copenhagen set herself on fire and was seriously burned.

Another group of about 40 Kurdish protesters broke into the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva before dawn today.

AP-NY-02-16-99 0643EST

* * * *

3. Note on WSJ, Nov. 20, 1998 "Craven Europe"

To: Stella, Bobdj, Mike Lofgren Nov. 21, 1998

I thought you might find this of interest regarding the NWO situation in Europe. The Journal does not compare this to the Pinochet pickle, but I do and that makes for interesting hypocrisy as we watch the EU continue to pick on Yugoslavia and everybody else who do not follow its Social Democrat "imperialist" agenda. South Africa's national reconciliation pact is okay, but Chile's is not. Attempts to indict Pinochet have been filed by everyone in the world except us, it seems, while the Spanish Courts refused to indict Castro.

Odd as it may seem to Serbs, Turkey's more clearly on the pariah list, too. It is a shame Cyprus cannot get resolved, what with the attention Rugova gets. Hmmm... Guess Bonn doesn't mind helping keep Greece and Turkey at loggerheads, too.

Ben Works

--------------------

The Wall Street Journal - November 20, 1998

Review & Outlook

Craven Europe

Europe should be rejoicing. Italy has captured Abdullah Ocalan, known as "Apo," leader of a bloody 14-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, a NATO country. Now he can be brought to justice, providing Europe with a victory over terrorism and demonstrating NATO solidarity with Turkey in its long struggle against Apo's PKK guerrillas.

Apo's capture came about because Turkey threatened to attack Syria for harboring the PKK. Syria thought it wise to take the threat seriously, so it evicted Apo. He later was arrested in Rome. Turkey immediately asked Italy to turn him over. Taking account of Italian objections to capital punishment, Turkey even set about to alter its laws to eliminate that possibility.

So the ball is in Italy's court, giving it a chance to strike a blow against terrorism and take a foreign-policy leadership role in Europe. But incredibly, instead of siding with Turkey, Europe's leaders are running for cover.

Germany has had an arrest warrant out on Ocalan for years, but Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer -- a former Communist revolutionary -- dismissed his arrest as "a matter for Italy" and lectured that Ankara must improve its human rights record and "make concessions to a minority." In Belgium, where the PKK maintains a parliament in exile, the response was even meeker: "We are having problems enough in Belgium [with the PKK]," said Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke evasively.

In short, Ocalan's PKK, with cells among the Kurdish diaspora throughout Europe, has quietly developed a capability to intimidate European governments. To show off its power, its adherents descended on Rome after the arrest to conduct protests against Italian authorities. Rather than taking a firm stand on behalf of law enforcement, Roman officials hurriedly set up tents and toilets for the demonstrators.

The PKK shrewdly appeals to traditional leftist sentiments while exploiting deeply rooted anti-Turkish prejudices in Europe. Well-placed sympathizers on the European left, such as the widow of the late French President Francois Mitterrand, have lent it legitimacy, obscuring its terrorist methods. Ocalan has in recent months met with a number of European politicians and parliamentarians in Damascus, including Labor MP John Austin.

Apo chose carefully in picking Italy as his country of destination after being refused asylum by Russia. The parliament building in Rome had been made available to the Kurdish parliament-in-exile. Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema is a former Communist.

We may finally be witnessing the rotten fruits of the political legitimization of the likes of Gerry Adams, Yasser Arafat and even Slobodan Milosevic. Indeed, the most appalling official response has come from the Italian government itself. Prime Minister D'Alema told parliament that, in effect, the door was open to giving Ocalan political asylum -- provided Italy is convinced that Ocalan has indeed renounced terrorism. It takes a gravity-defying contortion of logic, law and common sense to suggest that Ocalan has even the tiniest case for political asylum. It would constitute a most dangerous legitimization of the kind of terror Ocalan specialized in.

The U.S. for its part weighed in Wednesday, somewhat tardily but at least on the right side, when James P. Rubin, State Department spokesman, said that the U.S. thinks Ocalan should be extradited. The U.S. has reason to fear an Italian capitulation to terrorism. In 1985, U.S. jets forced an airliner carrying four suspected hijackers of the cruise liner Achille Lauro to land in Italy. But the Italian government, over strong U.S. objections, released the suspected ringleader, Abul Abbas, even though the terrorists had cold-bloodedly killed an elderly, disabled American Jew, Leon Klinghoffer, by throwing him overboard. Two other terrorists, convicted in an Italian court, escaped under mysterious circumstances.

Mr. D'Alema, with his colleagues around Europe, may feel annoyed by the threatening insistence of Turkish officials. He may feel pressured by the presence in Europe of thousands of Kurdish supporters. But if he shows cowardice on this crucial matter he will be sowing dragon's teeth throughout the civilized world.

* * * *

4. Key Issues in Kurds' Struggle

.c The Associated Press

Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan's futile search for a new base and his return to Turkey mark a new chapter in the Kurdish conflict. Some key facts about the Kurdish problem:

Q: Who are the Kurds and how many are there?

A: There are 20 million to 25 million Kurds spread out in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. About 12 million live in Turkey, most in the poor southeastern region. Kurds share a common language, related to Iran's Farsi, and are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims.

Q: What is the legal status of Kurds in Turkey?

A: Kurds are not recognized as a minority - unlike Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians and Jews. Recognized minorities have the right to teach in their respective languages.

Q: What rights do Kurds have in Turkey?

A: A ban imposed by Turkey's last military government on the use of Kurdish in unofficial settings was lifted in 1991, but Kurdish is illegal in broadcasts, educational or political settings. A court case to ban Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party is under way.

Q: When did the Kurdish independence movements begin?

A: Kurds were promised a homeland in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, which carved up Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, fought to regain the land, destroying plans for a Kurdish state. There have been numerous Kurdish revolts since.

Q: When was the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, created and what are its aims?

A: The PKK was established in 1978 and turned to armed struggle in 1984. Originally fighting for independence, the group now says it aims for an autonomous Kurdish state or a federation with Turkey.

Q: What's the toll of the conflict?

A: Close to 37,000 people have died. The PKK has waged a guerrilla war in the southeastern mountains and carried out attacks in western Turkey and Europe.

Q: What's the likelihood of the PKK's survival after its leader's capture?

A: Ocalan's capture is a major blow for the PKK. The group might fall into internal conflicts and face a leadership problem. More radical activists might opt for intensifying the armed struggle. Moderates might choose to concentrate on a political solution.

Q: How does Turkey answer accusations that it discriminates against Kurds?

A: Turkey insists that Turks and Kurds are equal and points to success stories of Kurds, including late President Turgut Ozal and Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin.

AP-NY-02-16-99 0636EST

* * * *

5. ANALYSIS-Tough Turkish tactics triumph again

By Paul Taylor, Diplomatic Editor

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The capture of Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan is a triumph for Turkey's tactics of using military threats, commercial pressure, street protests and political intimidation to achieve its diplomatic aims.

But analysts say the trial of ``the world's most unwanted man,'' seized in murky circumstances in Nairobi after four months of international buck-passing on his fate, may yet rebound on Turkey's military-dominated government, leading to more pressure for Kurdish autonomy.

To supporters, the Turkish authorities have played hardball skilfully to grab a ``terrorist'' chieftain they hold responsible for 29,000 deaths in a 14-year separatist war waged by his separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

To critics, they have bullied neighbours and NATO allies in a campaign that has dramatised the Kurdish cause, especially in Europe, rather than weakening it.

``On the face of it, this is a remarkable success for Turkey. The Turks will obviously now try to use Ocalan's trial to drive a wedge between the PKK and moderate Kurds,'' said Professor Keith Kyle, an expert on Greek and Turkish affairs at Britain's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

``But the Turks have not been very subtle about the way they have done this thing, and it is quite possible they will make a mess of it,'' he said.

James Ker-Lindsay, a specialist on Turkey-Greek relations at London's Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said that while Ankara had scored a big victory in snatching Ocalan, it had not won the battle to persuade international public opinion that the PKK was an unrepresentative terrorist group.

``The PKK has received lots of publicity and managed to get across its claim to the right of self-determination. Many people in Western Europe don't understand the issue and equate the PKK with the Kurds,'' he said. ``The most dangerous moment for Turkey may be now that he has been arrested.''

Instead of opening a dialogue with moderate Kurdish autonomists in the legal HADEP political party, the Turkish authorities were harassing and arresting its members and moving to possibly outlaw the group, Ker-Lindsay said.

Ankara massed troops and went to the brink of war with Damascus last October to force Syria to expel the Kurdish warlord it had long harboured, and to close PKK bases and supply lines to fighters in southeastern Turkey.

Alarmed by Ankara's increasingly close military cooperation with Israel, which raised the spectre of Syria's encirclement by hostile powers, President Hafez al-Assad backed down.

The Turks then turned pressure tactics on Russia, forcing Moscow to deny Ocalan asylum and put him on a plane to Rome in November despite an appeal from the Russian parliament.

Turkey then tried to use the same methods with Italy, which detained Ocalan on an old arrest warrant from Germany.

It barred Italian firms from defence tenders, encouraged a trade boycott and incited street demonstrations at home and in Europe, where PKK supporters in the large immigrant community staged counter-protests demanding Ocalan's freedom.

``Ocalan has become such a hot potato that no one wants to handle him,'' a senior European Union official said. ``No EU country wants to import a Turkish civil war.''

That appears to have been Greece's calculation in refusing to admit Ocalan when he landed on a Greek island on February 1.

Kyle noted that despite multiple disputes with Turkey, the Greek government had done Ankara a favour for the second time in weeks by refusing to admit Ocalan and making him go to Kenya.

In December, Athens helped defuse a crisis over the planned deployment by Cyprus of Russian anti-aircraft missiles, which Turkey had threatened to destroy, when it agreed to put them on the Greek island of Crete instead.

That was another victory for Turkey's tough tactics.

Greek analysts say Prime Minister Costas Simitis has given absolute priority to putting his country in the European Union's first division by qualifying to join the euro single currency by 2001 -- and all disputes have been put on hold pending that.

Ocalan's return to Turkey after a fruitless odyssey in search of a country willing to give him shelter leaves many unanswered questions:

What role, if any, did the United States or Israel play in locating and capturing him?

Both countries are strong supporters of Turkey and have the electronic eavesdropping and covert action capabilities to have helped in his abduction.

Washington officially called in November for Italy to hand Ocalan over to Turkey for trial and said it was working with its allies to achieve that aim.

But spokesmen for both the United States and Israel denied any role on Tuesday.

Did the Greek government, despite its denials, cooperate in Ocalan's arrest after he spent 12 days holed up in the Greek embassy in Kenya, and can Athens expect any quid pro quo from Ankara in return for incurring the PKK's wrath?

Why was the European Union, which aspires to a common foreign and security policy, unable to find any joint solution to the Ocalan affair, despite appeals from both Italy and Greece?

Will his capture end a crisis between Turkey and the EU, which began when EU leaders refused in December 1997 to consider the Turkish application for membership of the Union in the same category as those of even the poorest east European candidates?

Or will it fan widespread sympathy in Western Europe for the Kurdish political struggle and deepen the gulf with Ankara?

09:58 02-16-99