Kurdish PKK Co-Founder Assassinated

Kurdish PKK Co-Founder Sakine Cansiz Shot Dead In Paris -- BBC

Three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant nationalist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris.

The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday.

France and Turkey both condemned the killings.

The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK.

However, Turkey has recently begun talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, with the aim of persuading the group to disarm.

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More News On Today's Assassination Of Kurdish PKK Co-Founder And Two Others

Top Kurdish Militant Is Among Three Slain in Paris -- New York Times
France says 3 Kurdish women ‘executed’ in Paris; Kurds call it a ‘political assassination’ -- Washington Post/AP
Three Kurdish Activists Shot Dead in Paris -- Wall Street Journal
Kurds Assasinated in Paris, France Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris -- CNN
PKK founder among three women ‘executed’ in Paris -- Al Arabiya
Theories Link Paris Murders to Kurdish Peace Moves -- Harvey Morris, Internatinal Herald Tribune
Kurdish leader's murder in Paris threatens tentative Turkish-PKK peace deal -- Ariel Zirulnick, Christian Science Monitor
Sakine Cansiz: 'a legend among PKK members' -- The Guardian
Profile: The PKK -- BBC

Kurdish Rebels Announce A Ceasefire

Kurdish Rebels Announce Ceasefire to September 20 -- New York Times/Reuters

QANDIL MOUNTAINS, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdish militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced a ceasefire against Turkish forces until September 20, a PKK official said on Friday.

A lasting ceasefire was possible if Turkey stopped military operations, released some 1,700 political detainees and started a peace process, PKK official Bozan Tekin told reporters in the mountains near the Turkish border.

"The PKK announces a conditional ceasefire," Tekin said, citing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as a reason for the move.

The announcement came days after Turkey said suspected PKK rebels had blown up a pipeline in southeastern Turkey carrying Iraqi oil.

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My Comment: The Turkish military is not going to respect this ceasefire. This low intensity war is rapidly evolving into a prolonged and continuous conflict between two sides that have no willingness to compromise.

Is Turkey Using Chemical Weapons Against Kurdish Rebels?

Turkish soldiers on patrol in a Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey: Did the Turkish military use chemical weapons against the PKK? Reuters

Shocking Images Of Dead Kurdish Fighters: Turkey Accused Of Using Chemical Weapons Against PKK -- Spiegel Online

German experts have confirmed the authenticity of photographs that purport to show PKK fighters killed by chemical weapons. The evidence puts increasing pressure on the Turkish government, which has long been suspected of using such weapons against Kurdish rebels. German politicians are demanding an investigation.

It would be difficult to exceed the horror shown in the photos, which feature burned, maimed and scorched body parts. The victims are scarcely even recognizable as human beings. Turkish-Kurdish human rights activists believe the people in the photos are eight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) underground movement, who are thought to have been killed in September 2009.

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More News On Turkey Using Chemical Weapons Against The Kurds

Report: Turkey used chemical weapons to kill Kurdish rebels -- Haaretz
'Turkey used chemical weapons against PKK' -- Ynet News
'Turks hit PKK with chemical weapons' -- Jerusalem Post
Report: Turkey kills Kurdish fighters using chemical weapons -- Aysor
Report: Turkey Used Chemical Weapons Against Kurds -- Arutz Sheva
Turkish officials deny Der Spiegel's claim on use of chemical weapons -- Hurriyet Daily news

Are The Kurds And Turkey Reaching A Peace Agreement?

Kurdish Rebels Surrender as Turkey Reaches Out -- Wall Street Journal

ISTANBUL -- In the first concrete sign that months of efforts by Turkey's government to end a 25-year Kurdish insurgency could bear fruit, eight Kurdish rebels crossed over the border from Iraq on Monday to give themselves up.

Accompanied by 26 Kurdish villagers who fled Turkey more than a decade ago, the members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, were detained by police and taken in for questioning by Turkish prosecutors.

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My Comment: The Turks and its Kurdish community still have a long way to go for any chance of peace succeeding. But this is a positive first step.