PKK's fate in the balance

By Samia Nkrumah

Ocalan was expelled from Syria last month following threats of war from Turkey, which accused Damascus of sheltering the PKK. After a short stay in Moscow, under the protection of friends, Ocalan landed in Rome's Fiumicino airport last week and walked straight into the arms of the Italian authorities. Under the terms of the Schengen Treaty, which allows free travel in several EU countries, the Italians were obliged to arrest him because an arrest warrant had already been issued against him by Germany, a member state, in connection with murder carried out on German soil.

While the Italian government does not want to jeopardise its good relations with Turkey by refusing to extradite Ocalan, it remains opposed to granting extradition requests to countries which practise capital punishment, such as Turkey.

These are early days and it remains to be seen whether Turkey's wish will be granted. But at the moment, the odds are tipped in favour of Ocalan. The Kurdish leader's choice of destination was quite clearly planned. After his arrest, he said: "I chose to come here because in this country there is respect for democracy and human rights." While denying reports that the Italian government knew of his intention in advance, Ocalan's decision appears to be based on the support of the Italian left. Last month, Italian communist parliamentarians invited Ocalan to seek political asylum in the country, and in September, the self-proclaimed Kurdish parliament in exile held a session in the Italian capital.

Since Ocalan's arrest, leftist leaders have declared their sympathy for the Kurdish leader. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said on Monday, "Italy will not give in to threats, pressure or conditions of any sort." Walter Veltroni, leader of the largest party in the governing coalition, the Democratic Left (DS), cast doubts on the possibility of extraditing Ocalan to Turkey. The DS is the party of D'Alema and Justice Minister Oliviero Diliberto. Communist party leader Armando Cossutta called on the Italian government last Saturday to grant Ocalan political asylum. Cossutta's party is also part of the governing coalition.

Even centrist Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, who wants Turkey to be admitted to the European Union, has not come out in favour of extraditing Ocalan.

"There is total agreement in the government. Italy keeps an open mind on accepting Ocalan," said Antonio Gambino, a prominent Italian political analyst. "If Germany asks for Ocalan, Italy will seriously consider it, but Germany has no intention of doing this," he said, adding that "nobody here accepts the idea that if he's sent to Turkey he will not be killed, despite Turkey's indication that it will abolish the death sentence".

Since his capture in Rome, thousands of Kurds, at times reaching 10,000, have been protesting and calling for Ocalan's freedom outside the military hospital where he is being held. Men, women and children are camping outside and protesters, assisted by Italian leftist volunteers, have organised makeshift canteens and mobile toilets. Protesters take turns in raising hundreds of PKK flags, and the red, green and yellow scarves of the movement.

The crowd's unceasing chant of "Viva Ocalan" is accompanied by music and dancing. Some of the adults are on a hunger strike and are only drinking hot sweet tea. Ocalan's spokesman regularly relays messages from the PKK leader to the protesters, many of whom have travelled from other European capitals and some from as far away as Australia. "The crowd will remain on vigil and on hunger strike until Ocalan is given asylum," said Nejdet Buldan, a deputy for the Kurdistan parliament in exile.

The PKK says Ankara regards the PKK as a serious threat because there is growing support for the organisation in Turkey. Ocalan's three previous calls for a unilateral cease-fire have all gone unheeded.

Three years ago, the PKK distanced itself from its former communist and separatist ideology. Ocalan declared at the time that the PKK was no longer a Marxist-Leninist organisation but advocated "scientific socialism". Rather than insist on a separate Kurdish state, it called for a Turkish federal state. The movement also shed its anti-Israel position and no longer cooperates with radical leftist Palestinian groups. But the PKK's earlier positions earned it the mistrust of the US and Israel. The US still views it as a terrorist organisation and has denied it the financial and political assistance enjoyed by other Kurdish nationalist movements. The PKK maintains that the reason behind Turkey's decision to strengthen military ties with Israel is the assassination of the movement's leader. In more ways than one, then, Ocalan's fate hangs in the balance.

Ocalan's arrest
highlights Kurds' plight