World

Turks Cheer Ocalan Verdict

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 8, 1999 / 4:22 PM EDT / CBS

Relatives of slain soldiers cheered and waved blood-red national flags and, in some cases, rope nooses when the leader of Turkey's rebel Kurds, Abdullah Ocalan, was convicted of treason Tuesday and sentenced to death by hanging.

Supporters of the Kurdish movement went into mourning, and one Kurdish girl in Istanbul reportedly set herself afire in protest.

In Germnay, suspected supporters of Ocalan firebombed Turkish businesses and establishments Wednesday. Damage was minor in most of the attacks, although one person was lightly injured in Stuttgart.

More than 2 million Turks live in Germany, about a quarter of them Kurds.

In reaching its verdict, read aloud by Judge Turgut Okyay, the three-man trial court brushed aside pleas for mercy by saying that Ocalan's 15-year guerrilla struggle had left thousands of men, women and children dead.

European states quickly urged Turkey not to send Ocalan to the gallows, warning that could jeopardize Turkey's goal of entering the European Union. EU countries have banned the death penalty and many have expressed concerns over Turkey's human rights record, including its treatment of Kurds.

Death sentences in Turkey are automatically appealed, a process that could take months. If the appeals court approves of the sentence, it must also be endorsed by parliament and President Suleymen Demirel.

There has been some speculation that Turkey might drag its feet in deciding on the execution until after the country hosts an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in November. European leaders reportedly have hinted that they might boycott the meeting if Turkey hangs Ocalan.

The trial has been extremely emotional for many Turks, who regard Ocalan as a terrorist. The death sentence had been expected and there is strong public pressure to carry it out.

However, no one has been executed in Turkey since a Kurdish rebel, Hidir Aslan, was hanged in October 1984.

Many Turks blame Ocalan for all the 37,000 deaths in the guerrilla war led by his Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is battling for autonomy in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey. The overwhelming majority of the casualties were Kurdish guerrillas and civilians.

Â"By inciting and leading the armed terrorist organization which he founded ... (Ocalan) carried out acts to separate parts of the territory which is under the sovereignty of the state,Â" Okyay said.

The judge rejected a request from Ocalan's lawyers to commute the sentence to life imprisonment, saying the rebel leader's actions Â"indiscriminately killed thousands of innocent people, babies, children, women and the elderly.Â"

While relatives of Turkish war dead and their lawyers sang and unfurled Turkey's crescent and star flag, Ocalan waved to his 12 lawyers and left the room.

The PKK's seven top commanders warned Tuesday that Â"this dangerous decision could engulf not only Turkey and Kurdista but the entire region in flames.Â"

Ocalan throughout his trial had offered to work for peace if spared the gallows, but he warned of massive bloodshed if he is executed.

Â"I am repeating my call, the determined promise I made at the onset, for a fair and honorable peace and brotherhood in line with the democratic republic,Â" Ocalan told the court in his final statement Tuesday. Â"The future of the country lies with peace not war.Â"

Ocalan founded the PKK in 1978. The group at first called for a Kurdish state, but later scaled back its demands to autonomy for the southeast, home to about half of Turkey's 12 million Kurds.

The group drew support in the mountainous, impoverished region among Kurds who resent Turkey's refusal to grant them minority rights, like Jews, Armenians and Greeks.

It is illegal to broadcast or teach in Kurdish. Speaking the language has only been legal since 1991.