No amnesty plan for Kurdistan Workers' Party rebelsMarch 28, 2009 - 18:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish prime minister says the country has no plans to consider amnesty for Kurdish rebels in order to end a 24-year insurgency. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with NTV television on Friday denied media reports that the government might consider an amnesty for the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community. He said that an amnesty 'is out of the question'. ''Only voluntary disarmament is acceptable for Turkey.'' The PKK, which took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, has long taken refuge in the mountains of autonomous Kurdish-run northern Iraq. They have used this area as a launching pad for cross-border attacks on Turkish territory. Iraq's government and the Iraqi Kurds have pledged to help Turkey against the PKK and urged the rebels to disarm or leave Iraq. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, earlier this month said Kurdish groups from regional countries would gather in northern Iraq in late April or May and issue a joint appeal for the PKK to lay down arms. It is not yet clear if PKK representatives would be invited to the meeting. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |