ANKARA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) chief said in
remarks published on Tuesday it would be against Turkish interests to hang Kurdish rebel
chief Abdullah Ocalan, sentenced to death last year for treason.

In an unprecedented briefing with selected national newspapers, Senkal Atasagun also said
he was in favour of ending a ban on Kurdish language broadcasting and setting up a
state-controlled television channel in Kurdish.

The liberal comments are sure to spark fierce debate over an issue that has stoked tension in
a three party government that includes the hardline Nationalist Action Party (MHP).

The initial response from Defence Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, a member of the MHP,
was frosty. "These views may be personal opinions of the MIT Undersecretary, but I do not
think they are binding for the state," he told reporters.

The army, which has overturned governments in three coups since 1960, has always
adamantly opposed concessions to Turkey's 12 million Kurds, fearing a breakup of the
country.

Famed for its covert capture of Ocalan in Kenya last year, the MIT is a powerful force in the
country. It is also traditionally secretive and conservative but has gone to some lengths in
recent months to project a more open image.

Ending the Kurdish language broadcasting ban is among key conditions for Turkey to start
European Union membership talks.

Atasagun was quoted by the mainstream Hurriyet daily as saying Turkey should not allow
Medya TV, a satellite channel echoing the views of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK), to provide the only Kurdish language television in Turkey.

"Medya TV broadcasting in line with the PKK can easily be watched in the southeast," he
said. "They are telling many lies. Everybody is watching these broadcasts over the satellites.

"We have informed the government about our opinion. Similarly we oppose the hanging of
Ocalan and we informed the government of that. We opposed that because of Turkey's
interests," Atasagun was quoted as saying.

NATIONALISTS COULD BE HARD TO CONVINCE

Milliyet newspaper, which also carried the interview, quoted Atasagun as saying the army
shared his opinion over Kurdish broadcasting, but the MIT later issued a statement saying
that Atasagun's comments reflected only his own views.

"We said we informed the other state institutions about our views," Atasagun said in a
statement faxed to Reuters.

"But it is not possible for us to make comments over what kind of views either the chief of
general staff's office or the foreign ministry has on this issue," he said.

Any moves towards leniency for Ocalan or easing the Kurdish language ban could also meet
strong opposition from the MHP, the senior partner in Bulent Ecevit's left-right coalition.

Ecevit's relations with MHP leader Devlet Bahceli were strained earlier this month when the
prime minister said Turkey must "sooner or later" consider allowing Kurdish broadcasting.
Bahceli said such a move could fuel ethnic clashes and division.

Ecevit said he had given permission to Atasagun to meet the press. "A solution for the
question of the Kurdish language that will not harm our national unity must be found," he
said.

Liberal academic Dogu Ergil said the intelligence chief would not have made such explicit
comments without the approval of the army, so the interview was significant as the first
public statement of what powerbrokers in Turkey have now accepted as the only
way to solve the Kurdish problem.

"The MHP will go along with the army at the leadership level," Ergil said. "But MHP based
its political position vis a vis the rank and file on opposing anything Kurdish, not only the
PKK. So they will have problems convincing their supporters."

The European Court of Human Rights is currently hearing an appeal against Ocalan's death
penalty.

Turkey has effectively had a moratorium on the death penalty since 1984. While extreme
nationalists are keen to see Ocalan hang, the government is aware that executing him would
end any hopes Turkey has of joining the EU in the near future.

Turkey holds Ocalan responsible for a 16-year campaign of violence in which some 30,000
people died.

After his arrest Ocalan has urged the PKK to give up the armed struggle and violence has
fallen off dramatically.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com

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