ANKARA — Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq freed eight captured Turkish soldiers and officials Wednesday as part of peace efforts between Turkey and the rebel group aimed at ending a decades-long conflict, a legislator said. The rebels handed over six soldiers, a trainee local administrator and a police officer to a group of pro-Kurdish legislators and human rights activists who traveled to northern Iraq, where the rebels maintain bases, Adil Kurt, one of the lawmakers, told The Associated Press by telephone. They were on their way back to Turkey. Five of the captives had been held by the rebels for more than a year, while three others were kidnapped in August. Some were abducted by the rebels who stopped cars in makeshift roadblocks in southeast Turkey, carried out identity checks and took state officials or soldiers hostage. The rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984, often using bases in northern Iraq to stage hit-and-run attacks. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and the group is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Turkey's government announced late last year that its intelligence agency was talking to the rebels' jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan with the aim of persuading the group to disarm. Turkish officials have not disclosed details of the talks but Ocalan reportedly outlined his peace proposal in a letter delivered to rebel commanders in northern Iraq. News reports and officials said under the plan, the rebels would declare a cease-fire this month and lay down arms and begin retreating from Turkey in the summer. Under the proposal, Turkey would ensure that Kurdish rights are safeguarded in a new constitution and that local administrations are granted increased powers. Turkish officials welcomed news of their release but renewed a call for the group to end its armed campaign. “We are happy that our citizens who had been away from their country for so long, and from whom we had not received any news, are returning,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted President Abdullah Gul as saying during a visit to Sweden. “If the violence and guns stop, then it will be easier (for Turkey) to move from a security policy to one of reforms,” Gul said. The officials' and soldiers' release follows a call by Ocalan, which was relayed by Kurdish legislators who were allowed to visit him last month on his prison island off Istanbul, as part of the peace process. “We aim to make a contribution to the ongoing process of talks with our leader,” a news agency linked to the rebels, Firat News, quoted a rebel commander Bawer Dersim as saying during the hand over. But Dersim suggested there was still a long way to peace saying: “The reason why we are here today is the fact that the Kurdish problem still remains unsolved.” Photographs of the freed soldiers and officials showed them clean-shaven, wearing similar checkered shirts and casual jackets. “We hope that the release will open the way for the peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue,” Kurt said. “It is important that (the captive officials) are returned to their families safely.” — AP
