MAIN | BACKGROUNDER | WHO'S OCALAN? | ARREST TIMELINE | PKK PROFILE WHO ARE THE KURDS? | WHERE ARE THE KURDS? | TURKEY AND HUMAN RIGHTS FREEDOM FIGHTERS OR TERRORISTS? | TURKEY TIMELINE | MESSAGE BOARD

June 23, 1999
Web posted at: 3:44 a.m. EDT (0744 GMT)

MUDANYA, Turkey (CNN)-- Attorneys for Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan hope his call for reconciliation in southeastern Turkey will sway the three-judge court hearing his treason and sedition trial.

They were scheduled to make their final arguments in the case at 0700 GMT (3 a.m. EDT) Wednesday, but the procedings were delayed by bad weather.

The boat carrying Ocalan's attorneys to the prison island, where the trial is being held had to turn back. Local television reports they later left for the island in a Coast Guard boat.

Ocalan is accused of waging a 15-year ethnic war in the very region of Turkey where he now wants to play peacemaker. He is expected by many to be convicted and sentenced to death.

His defense attorneys will make their first statements before a three-judge tribunal that will no longer include a military judge.

Reacting to European pressure, the Turkish parliament amended the constitution on Friday to remove military judges from all State Security Courts.

Col. Abdulkadir Davarcioglu, an expert on terrorism, will be replaced by a civilian judge who has been observing the case from the start.

The Turkish government has dismissed Ocalan's calls for reconciliation, saying his movement is a terrorist organization that partially funds itself by smuggling drugs.

Turks almost universally blame Ocalan and his Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK for the deaths of 37,000 people during 15-years of fighting. The vast majority of those killed have been Kurdish civilians and guerrillas.

Prosecutors have called for his execution and a verdict could come as early as Monday.

Turkey has not executed anyone in 15 years.

Mahmut Sakar, one of Ocalan's defense attorneys, said his team will try to emphasize the need for a political solution to the root causes of the fighting.

"What will Turkey lose in the economic, social and cultural fields if this problem will not be solved?" asked Sakar. "We will base our defense on the possible losses and gains." Kurds have long called for more investment in the impoverished southeast, parts of which have been left devastated by the fighting.

They are also demanding a relaxation of the bans on broadcasting and teaching in Kurdish.

In earlier hearings, Ocalan called on the government to declare amnesty for his rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in the largely Kurdish southeast, home to about 10 million people.

He said he could bring his guerrillas down from their mountain hideouts within three months if he were permitted to contact his fighters.

If Ocalan is convicted, the sentence will be automatically appealed and must be endorsed by parliament and approved by President Suleyman Demirel.

The removal of the military judge answers some of the complaints by human rights organizations, but is unlikely to satisfy critics who have also complained that Ocalan was held for nine days without legal counsel and has since been allowed to speak with his lawyers only in the presence of masked soldiers.

Ocalan's attorneys have said they will ask the Court of Europe to rule on the fairness of the proceedings.

The Council of Europe has already reviewed the trial and issued a report Monday that found Ocalan was treated fairly.

"The procedure used in the trial is correct and conforms with applicable Turkish law," said the report, which was presented to the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly.

The Council, a 40-nation association set up after World War II to foster democracy and human rights across Europe, has been closely monitoring Turkey's treatment of Ocalan since he was seized in Kenya in February.

However, the report warned that the Council would be "seriously" worried if Ocalan were condemned to death.

Ocalan's trial began on May 31 and was adjourned for two weeks to give the defense time to prepare its case.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.