ANKARA, June 9 (AFP) Vast border areas in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast will be
 cleared of mines and distributed to the impoverished local population for farming, Prime Minister
 Bulent Ecevit said Saturday.

 "One of our very important projects for the southeast region is the cleansing of mines in the
 border areas," Ecevit told reporters, adding that the land involved totalled 306,000 hectares.

 "In this way, vast and fertile land will be opened for agriculture and given to landless villagers,"
 Ecevit said. "This will help boost the welfare not only of the villagers but the whole (Turkish)
 people."

 A Kurdish rebellion in southeast Turkey has claimed some 36,500 lives, stalled economic
 activity in the region and led to a massive Kurdish migration to the urban west since 1984 when
 the rebels launched their campaign for self-rule.

 The conflict has notably scaled down since September 1999, when the militants announced
 they were ending their armed struggle to seek a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem
 following the capture of their leader Abdallah Ocalan.

 During a visit to the region last week, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that boosting
 economic development there was a main priority for Turkey after the de-escalation of the armed
 conflict.

 Last year Turkey introduced an action plan to improve economic development and public
 services in the region.

 But Ankara has so far failed to respond to Kurdish demands for cultural freedoms such as
 Kurdish-language education and broadcasts even though Brussels has conditioned Turkey's
 European Union membership on such democratic reforms.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com