RUSSIA: KURDISH PROTESTS OVER OCALAN ARREST CONTINUE

(22 Feb 1999) Russian/Nat Demonstrations over Turkey’s arrest of guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan continued on Monday, when hundreds of angry Kurds gathered in front of the Turkish embassy in Moscow, calling for his release. The leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, the P-K-K, faces the death penalty in Turkey, and Kurds around the world have vowed to avenge any steps taken against Ocalan. A spokesman for Russia’s Kurds said the Moscow protest would remain peaceful and whilst the demonstration was loud, no violence has been reported. Russia’s Kurds have vowed to keep up the protests until Ocalan is released. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) “Until the Kurdish problem is solved, outside Kurdistan there will be continued protests and in Kurdistan itself, of course, the blood will flow. The Kurds intend to continue demonstrations, in the former Soviet Union and in Australia and the the US and in the Middle East and in Europe -- and again, in Kurdistan itself