Press Release

September 21, 1995

202.483.6444

Turkish Prime Minister Steps Down; PKK Cease-Fire is Postponed

On September 20, 1995, following the first round of new coalition talks, Turkish prime minister Tansu Ciller officially announced her resignation. According to official statements, the continuation of the coalition government between the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the True Path Party (DYP) was no longer possible due to disagreements about the terms of the coalition.

The collapse of the government comes at a time when the number one domestic problem in the country, the Kurdish question, was having some prospects of solution. On September 18, 1995, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), stated in a television interview that he thought the present conditions offered a new chance for a political solution to the conflict. He said: "In order to prove our good will, we want to restart the 1993 cease-fire...Particularly now, as the European Union is about to make a decision regarding Turkey's admissibility to Custom's Union. We would like them to know that we are not the problem and that we are on record for wishing to seek a political solution. If Turkey does not plan to respond to such a gesture with more violence, we will make the announcement soon."

According to information reaching our office, Abdullah Ocalan was planning to make the cease-fire announcement in an interview with MED- TV scheduled for September 25. But unfortunately for the cause of peace, the news that government in Ankara had stepped down has forced the Chair of PKK to postpone his decision. In his words: "... until there is a interlocutor in Ankara who could respond to our call, we are going to wait and see."

The surprise collapse of the Turkish government is reminiscent of 1993, when Turgut Ozal, the president of Turkey at that time, died of mysterious causes shortly after the PKK announced a unilateral cease-fire. Claims that Ozal died of a heart attack seem far-fetched when one considers the number of voices, even within Turkey, which seemed to indicate that there were political motives for his death. Against the wishes of the Turkish National Security Council, Turgut Ozal had intended to deal with the Kurdish question at the political level.

Since all real power in Turkey is in the hands of the military, no civilian politician is willing to take on the risk of acknowledging the cease- fire. It seems that this government collapse is being staged so as to prevent there being any high-ranking officials who can take on the responsibility of utilizing the chances offered by the cease-fire. Furthermore, a collapsed government cannot be held responsible for failing to make use of the cease- fire, and this would remove the burden of having to answer to international pressure.