TURKEY - Jan. 12 - Execution Of Ocalan Delayed.

Turkey's coalition government announces it has temporarily suspended the death sentence against Kurdish rebel leader Ocalan until a European court can review it. But PM Ecevit warns the hold on the execution can be lifted at any time. Ecevit says: "If the rebel organisation and its supporters attempt to use this process against the high interests of the state, then the process of delaying will be halted and the process of execution will be started immediately". (Ecevit's warning to the rebel group is an apparent attempt to appease his partner in the coalition government, hard-line nationalist Devlet Bahceli, and relatives of thousands of people who lost their loved ones in fighting against the rebels. Bahceli, chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) is under pressure from supporters in the Anatolian hinterland to hang Ocalan.) On Jan. 12, hundreds gather in Ankara at the funeral of soldiers killed in clashes with rebels on Jan. 9. They boo Pres. Suleyman Demirel - who favours waiting for the European Court's ruling - calling him a traitor. They also call on the government to resign. (A Turkish court in June sentenced Ocalan to death for leading a 15-year war for autonomy in south-eastern Turkey. The fighting killed about 37,000 people - mostly Kurds. Ocalan lawyers have appealed the sentence to the European Court of Human Rights. The court had asked Turkey not to execute Ocalan until it reviews the case, which could take up to 2 years.) The MHP, which has pressed for Ocalan's hanging, agrees to wait for the court to review his appeal before sending it to Turkey's parliament for debate. (Ecevit had warned that failing to comply with the European request would damage the countries boosted relations with the EU.) At a meeting in Ankara, Wolfgang Peukart, an official of the European court says: "The execution would cause more tension in Turkey and would not be good for Turkey's society and industry". Prior to a meeting on Jan. 12 of Turkey's governing party leaders, speculation had risen that Ocalan's death sentence could lead to a breakup in Ecevit's coalition government which is credited with giving Turkey its most stable government in years. Kurds have also voiced their concern. On Jan. 11, 37 elected mayors from Turkey's only legal political Kurdish movement, the People's Democracy Party, urged the leaders not to hang him. (Turkey has not executed anyone since 1984. European countries have all abolished the death penalty and are urging Turkey to do the same. Ocalan was tried under the authority of an Ankara State Security Court, one of 12 such institutions in the country. The courts have a 3-member judiciary panel comprised of a military officer and 2 civilian judges. Under Turkish law, these judicial institutions handled cases involving crimes against national security, including drug trafficking cases and various political offences. EU officials claimed that Turkey still does not have a "respectable" human rights record or a respectable record for ensuring fair trials to people who speak out, peacefully or not, against the Turkish government.