KurdistanObserver.com

Turkey's Kurd Rebels To Stay "Inactive" Till Oct 3

ISTANBUL, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Kurdish rebels in Turkey on Wednesday extended a one-month suspension of hostilities until Oct. 3, the day Ankara is due to begin long-awaited talks on joining the European Union.

Turkey has eased bans on Kurdish broadcasting and edged towards improving its human rights record under pressure from the EU, but baulks at negotiating with the Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) rebels it has fought for more than 20 years.

The PKK called for a month's "inactivity" on Aug. 20 after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged in a speech the existence of a "Kurdish problem" and said democratic reforms were the answer.

But Turkey's army ignored the PKK call, just as it did a five-year ceasefire by the group that ended last year, and operations against the rebels have continued with full force.

"We call on the prime minister to act responsibly and evaluate the period until Oct. 3 for a democratic solution," a PKK leadership statement said in an apparent attempt to press Erdogan to follow up on his speech before the EU talks begin.

The statement was quoted by the Germany-based Mesopotamian News Agency, which often carries rebel announcements.

More than 30,000 people, most of them Kurds, have been killed since the PKK took up arms for Kurdish home-rule in 1984 and there has been little let-up in violence in the last month -- some 40 rebels and soldiers have died in fighting.

Clashes have also occurred between PKK sympathisers and Turkish nationalists in some towns around the country. Turkish leaders have accused the PKK of trying to force itself onto the political agenda ahead of the Oct. 3 EU start date.

The PKK said it supported Turkey's EU membership, but if Turkey did not respond to its call by Oct. 3, "we want everyone to know we will not hesitate to defend ourselves."