Dahouk, Iraq Press, Jan. 16 - The Kurdistan Workers Party will soon hold a congress in which it will renounce violence as a means to achieve Kurdish aspirations in Turkey.

The party, also known as PKK, will seek a new name to reflect a determination for a peaceful solution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey, PKK sources told Iraq Press.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said party leaders were set to lay down a new constitution in the light of the current events in both Turkey and the world.

''A revision of PKK tenets is necessary due to the far-reaching changes that have occurred in the world,'' one source said.

He said the party was aware of ''major constitutional transformations'' taking place in Turkey that are bound to lead to the recognition of Kurdish rights there.

''More focus will be placed on political action inside and outside Turkey,'' the sources added.

Founded in 1974, PKK's goal was initially to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeasternTurkey where the population is predominantly Kurdish.

From 1984 it waged an armed battle, which up to 37,000 people were killed, most of them Kurdish civilians or guerrillas.

Turkish authorities captured PKK's chairman, Abdullah Ocalan, in Kenya in early 1999. The Turkish State Security Court subsequently sentenced him to death.

But Ocalan changed approach shortly after his capture. He launched a peace initiative, ordering members to refrain from violence and overthrow of Turkey and requesting dialogue with Ankara.

A PKK Congress in January 2000 endorsed Ocalan's initiatives, vowing to pursue only political means to achieve its goals.

Peace has returned to Southeast Turkey and parts of northern Iraq, which PKK guerrillas used as a launching pad for attacks on Turkish targets.

The new congress is expected to renew allegiance to its jailed leader, Ocalan. The sources said Ocalan ''is the chairman'' and PKK will never abandon him and will do everything it can to defend him.

They said their leader was target of a smear campaign and doubted that certain statements carried by the Turkish and other media could be attributed to him.

They said PKK was now freer than any time before as it had rid itself of the hegemony regional powers tried to impose on it. 

The party, they added, was trying to rebuild itself away from the influence of these countries - a reference to Syria, Iraq and Iran where formerly PKK had military training camps.