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Turk sources say the PKK has rejected the Turkish government's amnesty proposal. Ozgur Politika, a Kurd newspaper in Turkey, published an article that essentially described the government's draft amnesty deal as a political fraud that amounts to a demand to "surrender and supply information" (about PKK activities). The article identified Murat Karayilan as the "senior PKK commander" who officially rejected the amnesty deal. Western wire services quoted Karayilan as saying: "If they (the Turkish government) insist on annihilation and denial, we will be left with only one option. And it is a war of honor...A new war will not be like the old one. If war starts economic, political and social life will be
paralyzed." Karayilan made other claims. He said his forces had been training and were prepared for war. Is this political posturing to force the Turk parliament to sweeten the deal? Of course. But small scale battles between the Turkish Army and the PKK continue in southeastern Turkey. The "war option" hasn't gone away. (Austin Bay)