"The PKK is not the old PKK," Karayilan said. "The PKK is in a more
reasonable position than in the past. Previously, the PKK demanded an
independent Kurdish state. That was in the past. The PKK is not separatist
anymore."
The statement came amid a Turkish offensive against the PKK in
southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Officials said Iran, Iraq, Syria and
Turkey have been cooperating in the campaign against the PKK, with bases in
the Kandil mountains.
Karayilan, who spoke to Turkish journalists from his base in the Kandil
mountains, proposed a ceasefire with Turkey. He said this could be followed
by a dialogue of conciliation.
"First the weapons have to fall silent," Karayilan said. "No attacks
should be launched, and then we should talk to each other -- not with guns
but through dialogue."
Officials said Karayilan became leader of the PKK in wake of the capture
of Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. They said the Kurdish movement has been divided
regarding its war against Turkey, with hundreds of fighters reported to have
defected over the past six months.
"The PKK won't be finished by military means," Karayilan said.
Over the last few years, the PKK has announced several unilateral
ceasefires, broken days or weeks later. The latest PKK ceasefire was
announced in April, followed by the killing of 10 Turkish soldiers in an
improvised explosive device attack a week later.
"We are sorry about that, too," Karayilan said. "It wasn't planned by
headquarters. It was a local initiative. Such actions are taken in
self-defense."
