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June 1, 2009
News
PKK extends ceasefire till 15 July
Kurdishaspect.com - By Wladimir van Wilgenburg
The Kurdistan Workers Party has decided to extend the ceasefire reports the PKK mouthpiece Firat News Agency based in Amsterdam.
"The PKK is extending the ceasefire by ... one-and-a-half months to July 15 in order to allow for finding a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish problem," the statement said (Reuters, 1 June). "However, the PKK reserves the right to self-defence if it comes under any attack."
The declaration comes after six Turkish soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on May 27 in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, in an explosion blamed on the PKK. According to the Kurdistan Workers Party it was an act of self-defence, but the Turkish media describes it as an attack. The Turkish military has launched several operations against PKK belligerents in the Kurdish provinces of Turkey.
Already on 27 May Hürriyet columnist Yalçın Doğan wrote that the PKK ceasefire might be extended from 1 June to 1 September. Doğan said that the decision was made by the PKK-leader Abdullah Ocalan under the condition of an end of military operations.
Recently the Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Kurdish province Bitlis and said that 'now, we are closer to a solution [to the Kurdish issue]' (Hurriyet, Today's Zaman, 31 May).
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US. The PKK denies it is a terrorist organization and is trying to get off the list through 'lobbying', demonstrations and campaigns.
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