PKK 'peace groups' surrender in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Several members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, turned themselves in to Turkish authorities at the request of their leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Ocalan, imprisoned on the Turkish island of Imrali since 1999, called on PKK members to form so-called peace groups who would surrender to Turkish authorities, Turkish daily Today's Zaman reports.

As many as 34 PKK members from the Makhmur refugee camp in northern Iraq said they were turning themselves over of their own free will. Authorities released most of the group pending trial on minor charges.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that five of the members of the PKK should stand trial for their membership in the blacklisted organization. Lawyers are at odds over whether the conditions of their surrender qualify them for a national repentance law that requires former PKK members to renounce the group.

The group surrendered before a crowd of pro-Kurdish lawmakers and supporters who chanted slogans in support of the militant separatist group.

Ocalan had suggested the peace groups should meet with various officials to discuss solutions to the so-called Kurdish question.

Ankara is considering a variety of conciliatory measures to find a political solution to lingering issues with the Kurdish minority. Lawmakers, however, recently passed a measure permitting cross-border raids into Iraq to pursue PKK guerrillas.