Ocalan confirms his party's readiness to hand over weapons

The leader of theTurkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, who is sentenced to death in Turkey, expressed the readiness of his followers to hand over their arms if Turkey presents a general amnesty for them to end the armed struggle that has lasted for more than 15 years between the two sides.

In a statement distributed by his lawyers today, Ocalan said the fighters of the PKK intend to abandon their armed struggle aimed at establishing self-rule for the Kurds in southeast Turkey.