Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, sentenced to death in 1999, praised Turkey's abolition of capital punishment as the most important decision in its modern history, in an interview published Sunday. "It means the end to a 5,000-year-old tradition in this region of the world -- that political enemies must be physically eliminated," Ocalan told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, also appealing to Turks and Kurds to live as brothers.
The abolition of the death penalty is "the most important decision in the 80 years of the Turkish republic," he said.
"I welcome Turkey's decision as it will strengthen friendship as well as ties between peoples and cultures," he said, adding that the abolition would usher in a policy no longer based "on a frontal clash, but a modern policy based on compromises and accords among parties".
The interview marked Ocalan's first since the abolition of capital punishment after La Repubblica journalist Marco Ansaldo, who has written a book about the rebel leader, filed written questions. Ocalan said that Kurds "now have a major duty to fulfill, and they must not underestimate what has happened. "They must respond to that decision (the abolition of capital punishment) and continue to work for democracy in peace and brotherhood."
He urged fellow Kurds to "talk to the most progressive elements in the country, under the roof of the Republic of Turkey. "They must not feel any vengeance but rather brotherhood and union," he said
Asked about the Kurds’ stand in the event of a US attack on Iraq, which is home to a large Kurdish minority, Ocalan said that "Kurds will fight alongside democrats and will be for democracy". "In Iraq, a democratic society is about to be born, current conditions are leading there rapidly," he conveyed. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
