Ocalan asks for sanctuary in Greece

Leader of the Kurdistani Workers Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan has asked Greece to offer him sanctuary. He also renewed his request for political asylum in Russia and denounced the disapproval of the Russian government of the initiatives proposed by the Russian Duma council in this regard.

AFP said that Ocalan's statements came in a message through the office of the Kurdistani Workers Party in Greece. The PKK representative said that Ocalan's call is addressed to all the European states, but he refused to say where the Kurdish leader is currently staying.

The representative stressed that Ocalan asked Bonn and Paris to reconsider their position against him and to shoulder their responsibilities concerning the way he lives now.

In November 1998, Ocalan asked for asylum in Italy upon his arrival there. He, in particular, called upon the Greek and Italian peoples and progressive public opinion to respond to his request. Once again on Sunday he asked for asylum in Greece.

Greece has repeatedly announced during the few past weeks that Ocalan is "persona non grata" in the country, especially because of Greece's tense relations with Turkey.