The New York Times

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

Government Refuses to Deal With Ocalan on Kurdish Issue

By STEPHEN KINZER

ISTANBUL, Jan. 17 -- Now that the condemned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has been assured that he will not be hanged, at least for the moment, he wants to take part in the incipient national dialogue about how Turkey should deal with its Kurdish minority.

But Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has declared that Mr. Ocalan can have no role in that dialogue, and he has urged Mr. Ocalan to hold his tongue. "Ocalan and his supporters are trying to dictate to the Turkish government, and they are making statements with this aim," Mr. Ecevit told a news conference. "This is unacceptable. It would be to his advantage to keep quiet."

Last week, Mr. Ecevit announced that his government had decided not to carry out the death sentence given to Mr. Ocalan after he was convicted of treason in June. Mr. Ecevit said Turkey would wait until the European Court of Human Rights had ruled on Mr. Ocalan's appeal, which is most likely to take at least a year.

Some politicians and relatives of soldiers killed while fighting Mr. Ocalan's guerrillas protested the decision. But most Turks seemed to agree, albeit reluctantly, that it was in the national interest. Turkey is a candidate for membership in the European Union, and European leaders strongly oppose the death penalty. They have made clear that Turkey's prospects for membership will be set back if Mr. Ocalan is executed.

After the decision to postpone the execution had been announced, Mr. Ocalan (pronounced OH-ja-lan) issued a statement through his lawyers. He called on the government to offer an amnesty to members of his Kurdistan Workers Party.

"It is said that if they execute me the E.U. candidacy, the economy and prospects for peace would all suffer," he said. "It is true that all of these depend on my staying alive. I am a synthesis of values, not just a person. I represent democracy."

Although Mr. Ocalan led what was originally a separatist uprising, in his statement he said:

"I am not a separatist. I have distanced myself from historical mistakes committed in the past. Now I am settling on the idea of unity based on freedom. That is what I am fighting for. We are loyal and respectful toward the unity of the state and nation, but on the basis of democracy. If we are to reach peace, there is an urgent need for reform.

"We should not be selfish, blind and unjust. We have to learn to be constructive. We have to trust and value each other. The healing must be done together, and we must see our differences as the strength of democracy." But after a 15-year insurgency, few Turks are ready to accept the idea that Mr. Ocalan could become a political figure. Many consider him a terrorist and find it outrageous that he would presume to portray himself as a democrat.

Government leaders are acutely aware that the public consensus that favors postponing execution is very fragile. They want to avoid anything that might upset it, and evidently fear that his statements might do so.

Since his arrest nearly a year ago, Mr. Ocalan has been calling for reconciliation and asking his guerrillas to lay down their weapons. Fighting has died down considerably, and several prominent politicians have urged the government to take a new approach to Kurdish issues. But none has been so bold as to suggest that Mr. Ocalan could play a role in shaping Turkey's political future. That idea remains an absolute taboo.

"We cannot allow Ocalan to use Imrali as a political pulpit," Mr. Ecevit said, referring to the island prison where he is being held. "Imrali is not a podium for speeches. Ocalan has taken to issuing statements from there through his lawyers. I want to stress that the Turkish government cannot tolerate this."