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Kurd leader Ocalan calls for congress to end Turkey struggle | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has renewed a call for his fighters to end their armed struggle in Turkey. | |
In a message read out at a huge rally marking the Kurdish new year, Ocalan called for a congress to decide on abandoning the insurgency. | |
His Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been waging a 30-year armed struggle for Kurdish independence. | |
He called a ceasefire in 2013 and there are growing hopes of a long-term deal. | |
More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died in fighting for a Kurdish homeland in Turkey's south-east. | More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died in fighting for a Kurdish homeland in Turkey's south-east. |
Ocalan has been in prison since 1999, serving a life sentence for treason. | |
His message was delivered instead by Sirri Sureyya Onder, a pro-Kurdish politician who visited Ocalan in jail on Thursday. | |
Hundreds of thousands attended the celebration in Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish-populated city in eastern Turkey, with many carrying images of the imprisoned leader. | |
A ceasefire announced by Ocalan in 2013 still holds despite ongoing mistrust between the two sides. | |
Stumbling blocks remain. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan angered some Kurds by saying the country "never had a Kurdish problem". | |
Turkey is facing parliamentary elections later this year, with analysts suggesting Mr Erdogan's comments were an attempt to shore-up nationalist support. | Turkey is facing parliamentary elections later this year, with analysts suggesting Mr Erdogan's comments were an attempt to shore-up nationalist support. |