TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (March 24, 1996)

From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 24 March 1996

[01] German police hunt PKK arms depot, office

BERLIN- Some 700 police searched Germany's main reception centre for asylum seekers on Saturday but failed to find an arms and explosives cache which they suspected Kurdish militants had put there, police said.

But officers combing the centre in Halberstadt, west of Berlin, did confiscate propaganda belonging to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

More than 300 people were hurt in clashes last Saturday as police tried to stop thousands of Kurds attending a banned rally in Dortmund which authorities believe was organised by the PKK, fighting for autonomy or independence in southeast Turkey.

Police said in a statement that they had searched the accommodation of some 300 asylum seekers, mostly Kurds, in Halberstadt.

They were looking not only for weapons but also an illegal PKK office and evidence of drug dealing and concealing stolen goods. Sixteen people were taken into custody to have their identities checked.

About 1,300 of the 1,900 asylum seekers staying in Halberstadt are Kurds.

Around 500,000 Kurds live in Germany. Officials estimate about 7,500 are militant.