A decision by Kurdish rebels to dissolve their organization is a "cheap" tactic to shrug off their violent image, a high-level Turkish government official said Tuesday.
The outlawed Turkish Congress for Democracy and Freedom in Kurdistan (KADEK) - formerly the PKK which fought Ankara for 15 years - said in a statement in Baghdad that it had disbanded to allow for the establishment of a more democratic Kurdish organization.
"KADEK is being dissolved in order to make way for a new, more democratic organisational structure that allows for broader participation," said an English version of a statement by the general executive board.
"It is not possible for them to escape accountability (for their past) by just changing name once in a while. They cannot wash their hands like this," a government official said, requesting anonymity.
"This is a cheap tactical maneuver to shrug off their terrorist image and we do not take it seriously," he added.
Turkey considers the rebels as "terrorists" and holds them responsible for the deaths of some 36,500 people, many of them rebels, killed in fighting between the army and the guerrillas since 1984 when the PKK took up arms in a bid to win self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast.
In 1999, the rebels retreated to northern Iraq, also a mainly Kurdish region, after announcing a unilateral ceasefire.
Up to 5,000 armed guerrillas are said to be based in the region at present.
After four years of decreased violence, the group said in September it was ending the unilateral truce. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
