51999IR0100

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on "The arrest of Mr Öcalan and the need to find a political solution to the Kurdish problem"

(1999/C 198/15)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

encourages the Turkish Government to work for a political solution to the Kurdish problem and calls on the PKK and the other Kurdish organizations to show respect for law and order;

trusts that the Turkish Government will draw a distinction between cultural autonomy, to which the representatives of the local and regional authorities of the European Union are particularly attached, and separatism, which jeopardizes the unity of the Turkish State;

calls on Turkey to implement the requisite socio-economic reforms to allow the Kurdish minority to express its cultural identity within the context of the Turkish State;

reminds the Turkish authorities that all applicants for membership of the European Union must fulfil the criteria laid down by the Copenhagen Summit calling for stable institutions which guarantee democracy, the primacy of the law, human rights, respect for and the protection of minorities;

expects the Turkish authorities to provide the requisite guarantees that Mr Öcalan will be treated humanely and will be given a fair trial in open court, in keeping with the international obligations to which Turkey has subscribed, inter alia, by virtue of its membership of the Council of Europe;

in this context, invites the Turkish authorities to make the appropriate arrangements to allow international observers to attend the trial and insists that Mr Öcalan be judged in open court, with the assistance of defence counsel of his own choice;

absolutely condemns all acts of violence, hostage-taking and attacks on the embassies of EU Member States;

endorses the Council Declaration of 22 February 1999 and the European Parliament Resolution of 25 February 1999.

Brussels, 11 March 1999.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER