BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (AFP)  President Saddam Hussein has sent 870 copies of the
 Koran, the Muslim holy book, to the Kurds who control northern Iraq in defiance of Baghdad, an
 official newspaper reported on Tuesday.

 Al-Iraq said 10 Korans were offered to each mosque in the Kurdish-held region. The books had
 been gifts to the Iraqi leader.

 In another gesture for the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr, which follow the fasting month of
 Ramadan, Saddam has distributed 1,000 of the holy books to 100 mosques of Baghdad.

 Iraqi Kurdistan, home to around three million people, has been under the control of Kurdish
 factions since Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait.
-----------------
Kurds hold silent protest march near the Vatican

 ROME, Dec 25 (AFP) Several dozen Kurds led a silent protest march near the Vatican
 on Monday, demanding "peace for the Kurdish people."

 The protesters, who had come from several European countries, marched towards the Vatican
 but were kept from reaching Saint Peter's Square by the tight security in place for the Jubilee
 celebrations.

 "May the birth of Jesus bring peace to the Kurdish people," said one placard displayed next to a
 photo of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

 Ocalan, head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was sentenced to death by a
 Turkish court in June 1999 for treason and separatism under the terms of a Turkish law covering
 "terrorist" acts.

 Between November 1998 and January 1999, Ocalan sought political asylum in Italy, sparking a
 diplomatic row between Ankara and Rome.

 The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear an appeal made by Ocalan against the
 death sentence handed down against him.

 A panel of judges said the court would hear Ocalan's complaint that he had not received a fair
 trial in Turkey and that his right to life, freedom of expression, religion and other rights had been
 violated.
******************
The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com

Click Back In Your Browser To Return To News Headlines