Reporter: Klaus Ther for ORF
0:02
Driving In Kurdish South East Turkey after15 years of conflict the PKK guerillas now says they're preparing to lay down arms in their battle against the Turkish state. In Diyarbakir the capital refugees have trebled the population and foreign news crews are followed everywhere by the police. This is one of the most tense regions in the world.
0:28
street scenes While the worst of the fighting has been in the villages the Kurdish capital of Diyarbakir on the ancient silk route, has not been spared the ravages of war.
0.40 The conflict between the Kurdistan Peoples Workers' Party, the PKK, and the state has been bad for business here and hardly anyone invests. Thousands have no regular income and tourists have not been here for a long time either.
(Loud singing)
1:04
CU's people Turks of Kurdish origin. That's how Turkey refers to them. Their Kurdish culture and heritage has been supressed by the Turkish government and that's why they been at war with the Turkish army since 1984. The area surrounding Diyarbakir has become a ghetto for Kurdish refugees escaping the fighting.
1:29
children They come from the mountains where the fighting has destroyed thousands of their villages. Civilians are caught between the army and the guerillas, neither of which hesitate to punish disloyal civilians.
1:41
group of men People are rarely willing or able to speak to foreigners. The fear of police reprisals is too great. Only the elderly feel secure enough to speak out.
1:54
Ibrahim Salman
Our people were tormented and tortured by the PKK and the military. Both commit murder and arson. That's why the farmers leave the land. Our villages no longer exist.
2:15
men sitting With Ocalan now offering a peace deal many remain sceptical that this could really be the end.
2:25
Ibrahim Salman
This story isn't going to end here. Very well, they've caught Abdullah Öcalan but there's another 50 Öcalans who will take his place. It's not an issue which depends solely on that one person! The state has to find a peaceful solution to the problem!
2:52
car journey The journey to the deserted villages is dangerous as both sides have mined all access routes. Nobody can live here any more. Ferhant is one of the 4000 Kurdish villages destroyed by the fighting. The army suspected PKK sympathisers of being here and used helicopters to destroy the village. Throughout the region the war has uprooted thousands of people.
3:26
Ariel shots The imminent withdrawal of PKK troops from Turkey has come after severe losses on both sides. The capture of the PKK leader has buoyed the Turkish army and since then they've pursued the guerillas with renewed vigour. As a key NATO member, some believe the alliance is reluctant to condemn Turkey's human rights abuses and have threatened no serious sanctions. Support in Europe has waned and never before have the Kurds been so isolated
4:02
office The extremist Party of National Movement has relations with the Turkish government. They're believed to be responsible for the killing of Kurdish politicians and journalists. They're known as the 'Grey Wolves'.
4:11
Seyfettin Özbülten ( Chairman of the Party of National Movement, 'Grey Wolves')
There is no such thing as a Kurdish question. There are no problems between Turks and Kurds. The Kurds are our brothers, we're all the same flesh and blood. Only Europe is using all possible means to separate us. Although in our country the separatists have their own henchmen and degenerate elements as well.
4:34
office(2 men) The separatists he's refering to are recently elected Kurdish mayors who he claims are also members of the PKK.
4:45
Ramazan Tekin ( Deputy mayor of Diyarbakir)
If Europe intervened here, then maybe there wouldn't have been so many victims. Don't forget that 31 000 people have already fallen in this conflict. Yes, if only Europe was a little more sensitive, and would say 'Stop it!', ' Solve the problem!', 'Make a proper start! But unfortunately they don't do anything! And in doing that they make everything worse!
5:16
car journey Travelling across the country and the police still keep a close watch. 100 kilometres east of the capital is Hasankeyf.
5.31
river Situated on the river Tigris it's a spectacular town of great beauty but also of fear.
5.41
rocks For generations people have lived here in caves carved from the rocks. The presence of the police keeps most people away and prevents anyone from speaking in front of the camera.
5:56
gushing water This region is also strategically important to Turkey for another reason. Although the water of the Tigris is essential to Iraq and Syria Turkey claims the river for herself. The water here provides a fertile land for agriculture and now Turkey is planning to flood much of the region with a vast new dam forcing the Kurds out and putting pressure on Iraq and Syria who will see their flow of water severely restricted. It'll be a potentially explosive situation into the next century.
6:31
Mardin sign In the town of Mardin there's a military prison. It's mainly Kurds and PKK fighters who are incarcerated here. Etched on the mountain side above the prison is one of the tenets of Atatürk, founder of the Republic. It says, 'Happy is he who is a Turk!'.
Imprisoned PKK fighters are presented pointedly in front of a Turkish flag. Whoever collaborates and shows remorse can expect a more lenient sentence. Yet those who take this option are still a minority among the Kurds.
7:11
mountain Mardin is also a NATO base, and serves as a listening post into Syria and Iraq. Relations with Turkey's Arab neighbours are full of mistrust despite recent gestures of goodwill.
7.25
soldier The government's repressive measures and the constant upgrading of military potential don't suggest that Turkey is seeking new ways to tackle the Kurdish question. While the Turkish press gloat daily about their military successes over the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan is sitting on Death Row, offering reconcilliation. But the Turkish government believes he just wants to save his own neck.
07:53
street scenes Kurds have been living in the Middle East for over 3000 years. Up to 18 million of them live in Turkey. The assimilation policy of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey renders the Kurds one of the largest peoples of the world without recognition.
8:24 What chance is there now that the Turkish government will also take up the banner of peace and relax its repressive policies in the region. On their past record it seems unlikely.
Ends 08.34
CREDITS
Reporter: Klaus Ther
Camera: Metin Cornik
Editor: Andrea Handlos
An ORF Report