Kurdish rebels warn Turkey on peace

19 July 2013 Last updated at 14:46 GMT The PKK has been fighting Turkish forces for nearly 30 years Kurdish rebels have warned Turkey that it must start implementing reforms agreed under a plan to end their 30-year conflict.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said in a statement that "concrete steps" should be taken "in the shortest time".

The PKK has already begun withdrawing its fighters from Turkey, but Ankara insists on a full withdrawal for peace talks to progress.

The 30-year Kurdish insurgency has left more than 40,000 people dead.

"If concrete steps are not taken in the shortest time, on the subjects set out by our people and the public, the process will not advance and the AKP [Turkey's ruling party] government will be responsible'', the PKK said on the pro-Kurdish website Firatnews.com. It called the statement a "final warning".

The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating a Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey, but it has now moderated its goal to regional autonomy.

It has been designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

Kurds make up about a fifth of Turkey's population.

Slow progress Continue reading the main story The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, demanding greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to comprise up to 20% of the populationSince then, some 40,000 people have died in the conflictIt is regarded by Turkey, the US and European Union as a terrorist organisation because of its attacks on Turkish security forces and civiliansThe imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, announced peace talks with the Turkish government last October, saying the PKK should switch from armed struggle to a political process.

As part of these efforts, Turkey is under pressure to abolish an anti-terrorism law - under which thousands have been imprisoned for links to the PKK - and allow Kurdish children to be educated in their own language.

As part of wider democratisation demands the PKK also wants Turkey to lower the electoral threshold, so that Kurdish parties - rather than independent candidates - can get elected to parliament.

The rebels agreed to move their fighters out of Turkey and into northern Iraq - but Ankara says the withdrawal is happening too slowly.

Ocalan was sentenced to death for treason in 1999, although that was later commuted to life imprisonment.

The Turkish government believes it has already taken a big step by negotiating directly with Ocalan. A full PKK withdrawal is necessary, Ankara argues, for the peace process to move on to a democratisation process and then normalisation, which would include the release of political prisoners.

Ankara says that so far no more than 20% of the withdrawal has been accomplished.

Ocalan is still the final decision-maker among the Kurds, despite the 14 years he has spent in Turkish custody.

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Turkey fourth biggest donor country

17 July 2013 Last updated at 12:09 GMT Much of the humanitarian aid provided by Turkey is likely to have been spent on housing Syrian refugees Turkey was the fourth-largest donor of humanitarian assistance last year, according to an annual report by Global Humanitarian Assistance.

The report says that Turkey contributed more than $1bn (£665m) - 0.13% of its national income.

"It is likely" that much of this went to the surrounding region, especially due to the escalating Syrian crisis, the report says.

The United States remained the largest donor by volume, providing $3.8bn.

This amounts to 29% of all the humanitarian assistance provided by governments.

Sweden and Luxembourg were the most generous donor countries, giving the most aid in proportion to their gross national income.

The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report shows that 76 million people were identified by the UN as needing humanitarian assistance - compared with 93 million people in 2011.

The amount of international humanitarian assistance in 2012 totalled $17.9bn, more than 70% of which was provided by governments.

That was a fall of 8% on the year before.

GHA says the decrease might in part be driven by the absence of any "mega-disasters", in terms of fatalities, on the scale of previous years - such as the Japanese tsunami in 2011 or the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

Giver and receiver

According to the GHA report, the top five donors were: the United States, European Union institutions, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Sweden.

The most surprising finding is that Turkey ranks fourth on the list.

GHA says it is possible that a significant volume of the humanitarian assistance provided by Turkey might have been spent on housing Syrian refugees within Turkey's own borders.

There are almost 350,000 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey.

Turkey is also a recipient of international aid.

In 2011 it received its highest volume of aid to date, amounting to $3.2bn.

Almost 90% of this aid was from EU institutions.

Preventive action

The report also reveals the impact of the famine crisis in Somalia.

The data show that the famine is estimated to have claimed more than 275,000 lives in Somalia between 2010 and 2012, half of which were children under the age of five.

GHA says the crisis in Somalia was not solely caused by a shortage of food as a result of drought, but rather by a food shortage combined with market failure caused by conflict in the country.

The GHA report advises the donors to act earlier, take more preventative action, make better use of cash transfers and provide multi-year humanitarian funding cycles in areas of persistent need.

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