(25 Nov 1999) English/Nat
Supporters of Kurdish guerilla leader Abdullah Ocalan have reacted swiftly to the decision of a Turkish appeal court to uphold his death sentence.
The head of the Brussels based Kurdish parliament in exile, Ismet Sherif Vanly, said the decision was expected but that it wasn't a just one.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Ocalan supporters from the Kurdish community in the U-K took their protest to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to plead with the British Foreign Secretary to intervene on Ocalan's behalf.
Kurdish politicians were quick to react to the decision of an Ankara court to uphold the death sentence passed on the Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
In its brief ruling, the court stated that the previous trial in which Ocalan was sentenced to death had been held in accordance with legal procedures.
But supporters of Ocalan protested loudly against the ruling.
The head of the Brussels-based Kurdish parliament in exile, Ismet Sherif Vanly, compared the Turkish justice system to a Nazi regime and appealed to the international community to intervene on Ocalan's behalf.
He hinted that the decision to uphold the death sentence could lead to reprisals by Kurds around Europe.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"They (Kurds) do not want to see Abdullah Ocalan executed, and Europe could expect that if anything is done against the person of Abdullah Ocalan they should expect many other things as a normal reaction of Kurdish masses, Kurdish people."
SUPER CAPTION: Ismet Sherif Vanly, head of Kurdistan National Congress
The decision of the Turkish authorities also sparked a protest by the Kurdish community in Britain.
There is strong public support in Turkey for hanging the guerrilla leader, whose fight for autonomy has led to 37-thousand deaths.
But authorities in Turkey point out that the legal and political appeals have not been exhausted and the rebel's execution is still not certain.
The Turkish parliament and President, Suleyman Demirel, must endorse any execution before it takes place.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We are here today (Thursday) to give Mr Robin Cook to give a letter concerning Kurdish struggle and we are protesting here today about the announcement of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan's death sentence. We are urging Mr Robin Cook to do something and generally for Europe to do something to lift the death sentence. Kurds have always been peaceful up to now and we are trying to sort out the ongoing Kurdish problem peacefully. It's up to Turkey to choose the right way."
SUPER CAPTION: Ocalan supporter
SOUNDBITE: (Kurdish)
"We are here to protest Ocalan's death sentence and we sent a letter to (British Foreign Secretary) Mr (Robin) Cook with a petition signed by 3-thousand people. We are here to stop Mr Ocalan's execution and we are here to show our support. As with many other minorities living in other countries, we want minority rights for Kurds as well. There 40 million Kurds who neither have the right to use their language, or other human rights and freedoms. We are here to protest against this capital punishment and we want Europe to put pressure on Turkey to stop this execution."
SUPER CAPTION: Ocalan supporter
Ocalan's lawyers have already said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, where a decision could take up to two years.
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