Ankara, 06/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published in the Kurdish newspaper, Yeni Gundem, two days before the European Commission is to submit its progress reports on candidate countries for EU accession, the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) calls on the European Union to include the right to identity and cultural rights of the Kurdish people among the conditions that Turkey must meet to be able to begin accession negotiations to the EU. (You may recall that, following the arrest of its leader Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK gave up the armed struggle).
Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, who was in Turkey last week where he met President Sezer, Prime Minister Ecevit and Foreign Minister Cem, encouraged his interlocutors to do more to ensure the freedom of expression, given that the internal security situation had greatly improved.