Cairo denies any Egyptian role in arresting Ocalan

Egypt has strongly denied having played any role in the arrest of the leader of the Kurdistani Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan.

Egypt expressed astonishment over news published by the Turkish media claiming a role played by Egypt in following Ocalan, in arresting him and evacuating him from Kenya to Turkey.

In a statement issued in Cairo on Thursday, an Egyptian official source said that what had been reported by certain Turkish media on Egyptian participation in arresting Ocalan is not true.

The Egyptian official source said that what had been published in the Turkish daily Gumhuriyet and broadcast by the Star television on Egypt's connection to this issue are "completely ungrounded and untrue conjectures. These are part of an attempt to divert attention away from the role of Israel and other parties."

The sources described the accusation addressed to Egypt in participating in arresting Ocalan as an "unacceptable scheme to overcast President Mubarak's initiative to resolve the crisis."

It asserted that what had been issued in this regard "clearly contradicts with the principles by which the President abides whenever he makes any move to relieve tension between friendly countries."