The convicted Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has called on his Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, rebels to lay down their arms and withdraw outside Turkish territory. The 50-year-old rebel leader said that it was "necessary to stop the violence", arising from the Kurdish problem, which he said was one of the main obstacles to improving human rights and developing democracy.
Mr. Ocalan further called on the Turkish state to respond to his call and asked foreign countries and international organisations to give him backing to his "process of peace and fraternity".
More than 31,000 people have been killed since the PKK, which was set up by Ocalan in 1978, took up arms 15 years ago to fight for Kurdish self-rule in Southeastern Turkey. Mr. Ocalan was sentenced to death in June after a trial during, in which he had offered to use his influence over his guerrillas to negotiate a peaceful end to the conflict. However, clashes between the PKK and Turkish troops have continued unabated.
