(29 Jun 1999) Turkish/Nat

The President of the Brussels-based Kurdish Parliament in Exile, Yasar Kaya, has warned that by condemning Abdullah Ocalan to death the Turkish state has decided to continue its war with the Kurdistan Workers Party (P-K-K).

Ocalan was sentenced to death on Tuesday in a widely expected verdict against the Kurdish rebel leader whom many Turks hold responsible for 37-thousand deaths in 15 years of fighting.

Members of the Brussel-based Kurdish Parliament in Exile gathered at their headquarters to watch the trial on television.

They didn't have to wait long for the verdict to be announced.

As widely expected, the death sentence was passed down to Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the P-K-K.

The sentence will now automatically go to an appeals court.

If it's upheld, it must be approved by parliament and later signed by President Suleyman Demirel.

No one has been executed in Turkey for years but public pressure to hang Ocalan is extremely strong.

The P-K-K has denounced the trial as "unjust" and warned in a statement after the verdict that "Turkey should correct its decision while there is still time."

The President of the Kurdish Parliament in Exile, Yasar Kaya, says the decision will increase tension between the Turkish and Kurdish communities.

SOUNDBITE: (Turkish)
'We have always said that that we did not recognize that court. We do not think it is fair and we think it cannot judge a leader of society. With this decision the Turkish state has decided to continue the war. Also, with this the Turkish government has decided to get rid of all Kurdish people and this is not useful for either of the two communities (Turkish and Kurdish)."
SUPERCAPTION: Yasar Kaya, President of the Kurdish Parliament in Exile

Reaction around the globe has been relatively subdued.

Many analysts believe Ocalan's fighters may refrain from riots or major attacks until the death sentence reaches parliament, where the decision on execution becomes political, not legal.

European leaders have warned Turkey that carrying out the death sentence could jeopardize its already shaky prospects for joining the European Union.

No E-U nation still uses the death penalty, and its members are often sharply critical of countries that do, including the United States.

Turkey was excluded from E-U enlargement talks in December 1997 because of its poor human rights record, stemming largely from the Kurdish rebellion.

The Kurdish community wants the death sentence on Ocalan overturned and says it will seek the help of the international community.

SOUNDBITE: (Turkish)
"We will continue our fight with diplomatic means and we call upon the whole world and humanity to help us change this decision. With the death penalty for Ocalan, the Kurdish problem will not be solved. It will only deepen wounds. It will also cause many problems between the Turkish and Kurdish community and create hatred that will go on for centuries."
SUPERCAPTION: Yasar Kaya, President of the Kurdish Parliament in exile

In advance of the verdict, police in European capitals, from Moscow to London, beefed up security at embassies and other potential targets of Kurdish protest.

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