The Kurdish separatist leader has told the court trying him for treason that he could bring his Kurdish Workers' Party guerrillas down from their mountain strong-holds within three months, if he escapes the mandatory death sentence. Abdullah Ocalan spoke on the opening day of his trial in a specially built courtroom on a Turkish island prison.
He is accused of personal responsibility for 29,000 deaths 14-year Kurd independence war. He apologised to the mothers of dead Turkish troops and said that Turkish unity without arms in one country was the only answer. However, Ocalan warned that the death toll could rise to 100,000 if he is hanged.
