NO AMNESTY PLAN FOR KURDISTAN WORKERS' PARTY REBELS

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.

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Headlines for March 28, 2009

4 SOLDIERS DIE IN NKR
3
Four soldiers of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army – Pargev Karapetyan, Aram Karapetyan, Arkady Umerabyan and Hrach Eghyan - died in an accident on March 26, the press office of the NKR Defense Ministry ...
WAY TO SMYRNA BY ANTONIA ARSLAN PRESENTED IN ROME
Way to Smyrna book by Antonia Arslan was presented in Levonian lyceum in Rome on March 26. The new by the author of Skyark Farm is again dedicated to the Armenian Genocide. Antonia Arslan (born 1938) ...
13 OPPOSITION PARTIES ISSUE MANIFESTO OF UNITY
Thirteen opposition political groups announced on March 27, that they would coordinate efforts to organize peaceful protest rallies starting from April 9 to demand President Saakashvili’s resignation. ...
IRAN, NATO HOLD FIRST TALKS IN 30 YEARS
An Iranian diplomat has held informal talks with NATO officials for the first time in 30 years. Senior NATO negotiator Martin Erdmann said he had met Iran's ambassador to the European Union, Ali-Asghar ...
MAIN AREAS FOR CONFIDENCE BUILDING INITIATIVES BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN DEFINED
Today, 27th March, the Third Armenian Azerbaijani Public Peace Forum, that was taking place in Vienna between 24-27 March under the aegis of International Alert, came to an end. During the 4 days of the ...
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS IN ARMENIA
On the night of March 29 (the last Sunday in March) at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in Armenia. Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall ...
FINANCIAL CRISIS WON’T AFFECT ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK
ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank has not suffered losses over the global economic crisis, the bank’s executive director said. “The bank continues granting loans, although the amount has decreased,” Stepan ...
GUL: EU SHOULD KEEP ITS PROMISES
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Friday that keeping its promises was one of the fundamental principles of the European Union (EU). "The EU is well aware of Turkey's influence and strategic importance," ...
IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION ISSUE MIGHT BE SOLVED THIS YEAR
“We plan to study Iran-Armenia railway construction technical and economic issues in near future,” RA Transport Minister Gurgen Sargsyan told a news conference in Yerevan. There are many potential project ...
ANKARA IS OPEN TO NABUCCO PROJECT ALTERNATIVES
Turkish FM said that Turkey was open to other alternatives regarding the Nabucco project, including the Russian gas, Iraqi and Iranian gas. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Friday that Turkey ...
RURAL ROADS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WILL MITIGATE FINANCIAL CRISIS CONSEQUENCES
“Rural roads construction projects will help mitigate financial crisis consequences,” RA Transport Minister Gurgen Sargsyan told a news conference on Saturday. “A number agreements have been concluded ...
TURMOIL IN GEORGIA WOULD PRESENT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WITH AN ACUTE DILEMMA
Turmoil in Georgia and the possible downfall of Saakashvili would present the Obama administration with an acute dilemma. Saakashvili still has many friends in Washington - and there would be lots of ...
YOUNG ARMENIAN POLITICIANS' COUNCIL WILL SHOW ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN MAYORAL ELECTIONS
''Many active young people in Armenia possess political mentality and are ready for serious political processes. They enroll in political parties, without being fully aware of the serious step they're ...
ROADS IN ARMENIA WILL BE ILLUMINATED
''Road illumination in population centers is a burning issue we're all trying to solve,'' RA Transport Minister Gurgen Sargsyan told a news conference on Saturday. Yet its a costly project Armenia hasn't ...
BRAZILIAN ART WEEK TO LAUNCH IN ARMENIA
Brazilian Art Week, initiated by RA and Brazilian Ministries of Culture and RA Brazilian Embassy will launch on Apr. 1 in Armenia. Within Brazilian Art Week framework , Trio Imajes music band will hold ...
NO AMNESTY PLAN FOR KURDISTAN WORKERS' PARTY REBELS
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 ...
SAAKASHVILI GREATER THREAT THAN RUSSIA?
Irakli Okruashvili, former defense minister, said Georgia was in a situation wherein removal of President Saakashvili from power “is justified with any humanely method,” as he posed “greater threat” to ...
SIGNING OF NABUCCO GAS PIPELINE AGREEMENT EXPECTED IN JUNE THIS YEAR
The Nabucco gas pipeline consortium expects an intergovernmental agreement, needed to start up the project, by the end of June, the consortium's head said on Friday. The planned 7.9 billion euros ($10.59 ...
WILL GAS TARIFF INCREASE RESULT IN PASSENGER FARE RAISE?
RA Public Services Regulation Committee-ratified gas tariff increase will come into effect on Apr.1, 2009. “Gas tariff increase can’t but affect the pricing for other products and services. Still, the ...
TURKISH RADICAL GRAND UNITY PARTY LEADER WAS FOUND DEAD
Turkish searchers found the body of the leader of a right-wing political party and the wreckage of his helicopter on Friday, two days after it crashed during election campaigning, Reuters reports. Members ...
ARMENIAN STUDENTS AT HOLLY CROSS TO HOST MEMORIAL AND CHARITABLE CONCERT, TITLED “FOR YOU, ARMENIA”
The newly founded Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester (USA) will host a memorial and charitable concert, titled “Pour Toi, Arménie (For You, Armenia),” on ...
TWO TURKISH RETIRED GENERALS CHARGED WITH "FORMING AND ORGANIZING AN ARMED TERROR GROUP"
An Istanbul court has formally indicted 56 suspects, including two retired generals, on charges of plotting to topple Turkey's Islamic-rooted government. The indictment is the second to emerge from a ...