Diyarbakir - The Kurdish rebel leader, Mr Abdullah Ocalan, currently under house arrest in Rome, yesterday likened his own guerrilla fighters to "murderers" who had disobeyed his commands for 15 years.
"If they fought right, they could achieve victory," Mr Ocalan said about the fighters of his Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on a Kurdish satellite television channel. "I have told my commanders to stop, but they won't," Mr Ocalan said, adding: "I cannot work with these people. I will wait a few months, and if they change themselves, I will continue to work with them. If not, then I will leave."
He also called on other Kurdish groups, many of whom are opposed to the PKK's armed struggle, to ally themselves with him.