Arbil, Iraq - A senior member of Turkey's separatist
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said Monday that the three German
hostages it is holding are in excellent health and would be released
only if Berlin pressured Ankara to end its military operations
against PKK fighters.
Ahmed Deniz told the Italian news agency Adnkronos by telephone
that the German tourists, who were abducted by PKK rebels on
Wednesday, were not 'prisoners of war, but guests.'
'Their abduction was in response to Germany's recent positions
against our party, namely the closure of the satellite television
channel Roj TV,' said Deniz, who was in charge of the foreign affairs
portfolio in the group.
The channel was working within German laws and there was no need
for Germany to close it, he said.
'It seems that Germany does not even observe its own laws to serve
the interests of Turkey and antagonize the Kurdish people,' the
official added.
Commenting on calls for the immediate unconditional release of the
hostages, Deniz said the PKK respected international law but wanted
Germany to pressure Turkey to end its war against the Kurdish people
as a condition for the release of the hostages.
'The hostages will not be released until a peaceful climate is
secured,' he said.
'Anyone who wants them (the hostages) to return to their families,
must not spare any efforts to press Turkey to end its fight on the
Kurdish people,' Deniz said.
'As long as the Turkish state insists on launching its fierce
fight on our people, we will maintain our right to use all options to
defend our people,' Deniz said in the interview with Adnkronos'
correspondent based in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish Autonomous
Region in northern Iraq .
The hostages are in 'excellent health and treated with all
respect,' Deniz said.
'We treat them as honourable guests,' he added.
Turkey has been launching cross-border raids on PKK positions in
the rugged mountains of northern Iraq. The group, seeking
self-rule in south-east Turkey has been designated a terrorist group
by the US and the EU.
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