Turkish president calls on Kurdish rebels to lay down arms

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Turkish president is calling on Kurdish rebels to lay down their arms, saying Turkey will never tolerate those who engage in "terrorism." President Abdullah Gul is ruling out any tolerance to Kurdish rebels in response to a question Friday about whether Turkey would consider nonmilitary ways to end the conflict with autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels. "First of all, the Turkish state will never tolerate those who illegally carry arms and engage in terrorism," Gul says. "Whoever has a gun in his hand should lay his weapon down; the state will never tolerate this."