Abdullah Ocalan, 1999 News

50, Kurdish rebel leader, was sentenced to death in June after being found guilty of treason in a Turkish court. The leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party has waged a 15-year guerrilla war against the Turkish government, claiming Turkey has suppressed the Kurdish language and culture. Ocalan shocked many observers during his trial when he acknowledged that his group killed thousands, and he said he would devote his life to “bringing Turks and Kurds together” if he was spared the death penalty.


1999 People in the News