Turkish and Norwegian officials deny PKK’s exile reports

A total of 240 militants of the PKK have applied to disarm and benefit from the amnesty law since the time the government brought amnesty plans to Parliament, news reports say.
A partial amnesty issued Tuesday has increased prospects for disarmament of thousands of armed militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) holed up in northern Iraq but fate of the top leaders of the terrorist group, left out of the amnesty scheme, is in uncertainty, raising doubts over effectiveness of the law.

Government sources have said up to 2,500 members of the PKK, which is estimated to have 5,000 terrorists in the mountains of northern Iraq, could lay down arms and return to benefit from the amnesty. But the excluded leaders may block departures from the group and complicate the return process.

Kurdish sources close to the U.S. administration have said Washington is in contact with Scandinavian countries, such as Norway, to send these leaders as exiles, daily Hurriyet and CNN-Turk television said Wednesday.

But the report was immediately denied by Turkish and Norwegian authorities in Ankara. "This cannot happen," said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to reporters when asked of the reports of exile to Norway.

"This is definitely unacceptable. These people are terrorists and they have to be treated in the way terrorists are treated," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz said at a press conference.

Hurriyet cited Necmettin Kerim, who, it said, is a leading member of the Kurdish lobby in Washington, said the U.S. administration was "testing waters" in Scandinavian countries to see whether the top leaders of the group could be sent there as political immigrants and has already received a positive response from Norway.

Norwegian Ambassador Hans Wilhelm Longva said he had contacted government authorities in Oslo and found out that they had no such information.

Turkey expects the United States to crack down on those members of the PKK that refuse to disarm and return to Turkey under the so-called "win-back for society law."

The United States has pledged to eliminate the PKK presence in northern Iraq, saying this is a responsibility under its commitment to fight against terrorism. Turkish government sources have dismissed prospects for troubles that could arise in connection with a possible U.S. unwillingness to eliminate the PKK after the amnesty law is issued and said the U.S. will not tolerate a terrorist group in a territory under its control.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Marc Grossman has earlier said he had no information on the reported talks between Washington and Norway and added that such a scenario had not been discussed with the United States.

The law is expected to be a step in the direction of easing tension with the United States as well.

Turkey has stationed thousands of troops just inside Iraq’s northern border in a deployment it says is necessary to halt incursions into Turkey by the PKK terrorists.

Washington is uneasy about Turkey’s military presence, and the brief detention by U.S. forces earlier this month of 11 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq raised tensions between the two NATO allies.

The partial amnesty may reduce attacks by the PKK on Turkish targets and allow for a possible phased withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq if a significant number of group members elect to lay down weapons and return to their homes in Turkey.

"There will be no reason for us to maintain a military presence in another country if the PKK threat is effectively removed," Gul said.

A total of 240 militants of the PKK have applied to disarm and benefit from the amnesty law since the time the government brought amnesty plans to Parliament, private NTV television said, citing intelligence sources.

Twenty-seven of them were PKK terrorists living outside Turkey and northern Iraq.

The PKK’s separatist campaign in Turkey’s southeast has cost over 30,000 lives, most of them Kurds, in recent decades.

Relations between Turkey and the United States have worsened since Washington moved to invade Iraq. Most Turks opposed the war and are firmly against the subsequent occupation by U.S.-led forces.

The government hopes Parliament will soon make an important gesture to Washington and vote to send Turkish troops to help U.S. troops in Iraq, possibly to its central or southern regions.

Tuesday’s vote envisages reduced prison terms for many PKK terrorists and an amnesty for those who have not participated in attacks on Turkish targets. The laws apply to militants stationed in Turkey and elsewhere.