Kurdish Rebels Warn Tourists to Avoid Visiting Turkey

Kurdish rebels warned foreign tourists Monday not to travel to Turkey, saying they could be hurt in a wave of violence that has gripped the country after the capture last month of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

In a statement faxed to Western news agencies, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, said: “All of Turkey has become a war zone. This includes areas designated by the Turkish Republic as tourist destinations.”

Rebels also vowed to step up their actions until Ocalan is freed. The Kurdish warlord was captured Feb. 15 in Nairobi, Kenya, by Turkish commandos after U.S. intelligence officials tipped off Turkey on his whereabouts.

Ocalan is being held in solitary confinement on a small prison island off the coast of Istanbul, where he is awaiting trial on treason charges. Legal experts say he will probably be sentenced to death for leading the PKK’s 14-year-old armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast provinces.

Just hours after the Kurdish rebels issued their warning, a bomb placed under a vehicle parked outside the offices of the European Union in Ankara, the capital, exploded, wrecking three cars.

A pedestrian was slightly injured in the blast, which could be heard throughout the upscale Gaziosmanpasa residential district, home to hundreds of foreigners, including U.S. diplomats. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility.

In the wake of the attack, the U.S. Embassy was reviewing security procedures. Americans were advised by the State Department to be careful and to steer clear of crowds in Turkey. Britain and Germany already have issued warnings to their nationals about traveling to Turkey.

But Turkish Tourism Minister Ahmet Tan described the threats as “empty propaganda.”

“Nearly 2.5 million Germans visit this country every year, and there are 50,000 German citizens who are permanent residents in Turkey. None has ever been harmed or killed in a terrorist incident,” he said.

Tan said 1999 would be “a record year,” with well over 10 million tourists expected to visit Turkey, bringing in about $12 billion.

Local tour operators, however, said a substantial number of reservations for the summer season had been canceled because of a string of bomb attacks that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

In the worst incident, 13 people were killed Saturday after unidentified assailants hurled gasoline bombs at a clothing store in Istanbul. Turkish authorities blamed the PKK. The rebels have denied involvement, but a previously unknown group called the “Revenge Hawks for Apo” claimed responsibility. Apo is Ocalan’s nickname.

The PKK has targeted foreign tourists in recent years in a bid to draw international attention.

The rebels first struck in 1993, injuring 12 Europeans at a Mediterranean resort. The following year, four tourists were fatally injured in separate bomb attacks mounted by the rebels. No U.S. citizens have been hurt so far.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s leftist prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, has struggled to stay in power as Islamist lawmakers joined forces with their pro-secular opponents in a bid to postpone nationwide parliamentary elections scheduled for April 18 and bring down Ecevit’s minority government.

Ecevit acknowledged late Monday that his government could fall.