ANKARA, Jan 17 (AFP) -  Turkey's chief prosecutor argued in constitutional court Thursday for a ban of the country's main pro-Kurdish party for its links with armed Kurdish rebels.
Sabih Kanadoglu told reporters outside the courthouse after his presentation in court that the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) had become a focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of Turkey, a principle enshrined in the constitution.

"We also examined the evidence in the case and I asked the court to ban the said party in view of the gravity, scope and nature of their activities," the prosecutor said.

In the trial, which the court began sitting in January 1999, HADEP is charged with having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which fought a 15-year armed campaign against Turkey for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey's southeast.

In the 1999 indictment, the prosecution had argued that HADEP acted under the directives of the PKK and served as a propaganda tool for the armed rebels.

It had even charged that HADEP offices had turned into "recruitment centres" to win over militants to the PKK'c cause.

HADEP, which seeks a peaceful resolution to the the Kurdish conflict, denies the charges.

The constitutional court is scheduled to hear HADEP's defence on January 30.

Procedures in the case were sped up by the court after Kanadoglu sent a harshly-worded statement, asking the judges to consider the HADEP case as soon as possible on the grounds that delays would only result in harm to the country's unity.

Banning HADEP will almost certainly strain ties between Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, and the European Union, which has asked the country to clear up its poor human rights record and improve its crippled democracy to be able to begin accession talks.