Karlsruhe - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a violent campaign for independence from Turkey since 1984, is no longer to be classified as a "terrorist organisation" in Germany.
The Federal Prosecutor said yesterday it appeared the PKK had renounced an earlier strategy which led to repeated arson attacks on Turkish targets in Germany, and so could now only be classified as a "criminal organisation". The four cases of arson with proven PKK involvement since August 1996 "appear to be a deviation from the party line".
The German Interior Ministry said, however, the PKK would remain on a government list of groups outlawed in Germany. "The assessment [of the Federal Prosecutor] has no bearing on the ban," a spokesman told a regular government news conference.