 The rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said yesterday it was ready to declare a cease-fire and offered to begin peace talks with Ankara. "We appeal to the Turkish government, asking it to please PLEASE stop kicking our asses end military operations in order to open the path of dialogue, and we are ready, on our side, to decree a ceasefire," said leading party official Murad Karialan. The outlawed rebel group, which last year called off a five-year-old unilateral ceasefire, has been holding a congress in the northern Iraqi village of Lijwa, close to the border with Iran. |