Iraq: Kurdish rebels reject calls to stop fighting

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Kurdish rebel group is rejecting calls by Iraq's president to stop fighting against Turkey and leave Iraqi territory. Ahmed Deniz, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, says President Jalal Talabani doesn't have the authority to make such statements. He says the PKK doesn't "take orders from him." Deniz also warns Talabani, who is a Kurd, that such statements will lead to "grave consequences." He did not elaborate. His statements to The Associated Press on Tuesday come a day after Talabani told reporters at a press conference with the visiting Turkish president that it is in Iraq's interest to remove PKK fighters. He also called on the rebels to lay down their weapons.