Brussels, 07/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - As EUROPE reported yesterday, three Members of the EP, British Liberal Sarah Ludford, German Communist Feleknas Uca and British Green Jean Lambert, held a press conference upon their return from a visit to south-east Turkey. They have proposed a five-point action plan to restore the confidence of the Kurds: - abolition of the death penalty and an end to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan; - authorisation for displaced villagers to return to the 3,000 destroyed villages; - development of tourism in the framework of a sustainable regional economy and abandonment of the plan for the flooding of the former city of Hasenkeyf by the Ilisu Dam; - political normalisation (waiver of the state of emergency, release of political prisoners, guaranteed freedom of expression for Kurds and an end to the system of village guards); - targeted EU aid for Turkey for the reintegration of Kurdish refugees, employment and training for civil servants in democracy and human rights.
Mrs Ludford criticised the Turkish Government for continuing to deny the existence of the Kurdish problem and insisted on the necessity of a ceasefire, real security guarantees for the population and effective recognition of the Kurds' democratic and cultural rights. Mrs Uca highlighted the tragic situation of displaced persons and said she was particularly shocked by the omnipresence of military forces. And she asked: "How can there be hope of reaching peace when there are troops everywhere?" Discussing their visit to Hasenkefy, Mrs Lambert stated: "It seems inconceivable that a government would wish to squander such tremendous economic potential by risking greater regional instability."