Kurds: The head of a Turkish Kurdish rebel group was quoted yesterday as saying Turkey was failing to uphold the rights of its large ethnic Kurdish population despite pledges made to the European Union.
His comments came as EU leaders gathered in Brussels to decide whether Ankara has done enough on human rights and political freedoms to win a date to start EU entry talks.
"Turkey wants to become a member of the European Union without changing, without guaranteeing the personal, political, cultural and social rights of this population," Mr Zubeyir Aydar, head of the former Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), told the Bulgarian daily Monitor.
"Stability and democracy in the country are possible only if Ankara fulfils our 14 demands, which are norms that meet European standards."
Mr Aydar said these included a halt to Turkish military operations in Kurdish regions, an amnesty for political prisoners, the rebuilding of villages destroyed by war and the recognition of Kurdish culture and language.
The PKK has been known since November 2003 as the Kurdistan People's Congress.
The 20-year conflict in south-east Turkey has killed more than 30,000 people, mostly ethnic Kurds. Separatist violence has largely subsided since the capture of its leader, Mr Abdullah Ocalan, in 1999. Clashes between security forces and rebel fighters still occur from time to time.
Both the EU and the United States have put the PKK on their terrorism blacklist.
Turkish Kurds mostly favour EU entry, as they see the process as guaranteeing greater human rights.