Silence guns says Kurdish rebel leader

Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has called for an immediate ceasefire and for thousands of his fighters to withdraw from Turkish territory, a major step toward ending one of the world’s bloodiest insurgencies.

By The Newsroom

Published 21st Mar 2013, 16:44 BST

In a message read by pro-Kurdish MPs in the Kurdish and Turkish languages, Ocalan said: “we have reached the point where the guns must be silenced and where ideas must speak. A new era has started, where it is politics, not guns, which is at the forefront.”

“We have reached the stage where our armed elements need to retreat beyond the border,” Ocalan’s message continued.

Turkey has embarked on talks with Ocalan to end the nearly 30-year conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

His group has been fighting for self-rule for Kurds in south-eastern Turkey.

The message was read to hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered for a spring festival celebration in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s south-east. People cheered as the announcement was made.