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 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". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |