Press Release

December 14, 1995

202.483.6444

PKK Chair Declares Unilateral Cease-Fire to Test Turkey for the Cause of Peace

On December 14, 1995, PKK Chair Abdullah Ocalan announced an unilateral cease-fire to test Turkey for the cause of peace in an interview with the Kurdish satellite television station MED-TV.

Journalists from Turkey and around the world were present at the live press conference with Mr. Ocalan on MED-TV. The PKK Chair said, "We have announced a unilateral cease-fire. We wish to see how the new Turkish government, which will come to power after the December 24, 1995 elections, approaches the Kurdish question. It is a goodwill gesture on our part to give them the benefit of the doubt for new ways to deal with the issue." Ocalan continued: "During the cease-fire, if the Turkish military does not attack PKK forces, then our guerrillas will halt all their offensive military actions."

The PKK Chair announced this cease-fire in response to attempts by the European Parliament to find ways for a political solution to the Kurdish question. Another factor was the desire to create more peaceful conditions for the upcoming general elections in Turkey.

PKK Chair Abdullah Ocalan stressed that the unilateral cease-fire should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness, rather as an illustration of the party's desire to enter into a political dialogue. The PKK's desire, he said, is not to change Turkey's present borders, but rather to bring about the co-existence of the Turks and the Kurds by means other than war. Several European countries, he said, have federated political systems, and something similar could be worked out to accommodate the Kurds in Turkey.

"If Turkey wishes to be a party to the political solution to the Kurdish question but does not want to enter into dialogue with our party, the PKK, some other Kurdish institution could act as an interlocutor, so long as the the existence of the PKK is accepted as a fact and the reality on the ground is not misconstrued."

Mr. Ocalan, moreover, called upon the nations of Europe to establish a commission to oversee the cease-fire and to redouble their efforts for the cause of peace so that the momentum for a political solution is not wasted. He noted that Turkey's recent admission into the European Customs Union by definition has made the Kurdish question a European issue. It is the duty, therefore, of European countries to bring an end to the war in Turkey.

PKK Chair Abdullah Ocalan called upon Turkey's political and military institutions to respect the cease-fire. He also called on the international community to acknowledge and give their support to this peace effort.