BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) has added ''KADEK'' and ''KONGRA-GELL'', names used by the terrorist organization of PKK, to its list of terrorist organizations.
The updated list of terrorist organizations was published in the EU's Officials Gazette on April 3, 2004.
Earlier, the terrorist organization was included in the EU's list of terrorist organizations with its first name ''PKK''.
In the updated list, it was stressed that the PKK was also using the names of ''KADEK'' and ''KONGRA-GEL''
The list also includes the terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
The EU decided to prepare a list of terrorist organizations following the September 11th events in the United States in 2001.
In 2002, the terrorist organizations of PKK and DHKP-C were included in the list.
The EU envisaged to freeze all possessions of the organizations and persons included in the list, in the EU.
However, practice seems to be insufficient. It is observed that these terrorist organizations are still able to continue holding several demonstrations in the EU-member countries and do not have any financial difficulties.
After the PKK decided to change its name first as ''KADEK'' and then ''KONGRA-GEL'', Ankara asked the EU to include also these names in its list of terrorist organizations.
The EU updates the list once in six months to add names of several persons and organizations.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives, known as COREPER, decides the changes in the list. After being published in the Official Gazette, the new list comes into force.
Turkey has launched intense initiatives and pressures in the EU-member countries just before all meetings of COREPER for more than a year, and asked the EU to include new names of the terrorist organization in its list.
Some EU-member countries have prevented inclusion of new names of the PKK in the list claiming that the organization had not staged acts of violence under its new names.
Number of these countries reduced one by one as a result of initiatives of Ankara. Belgium, the last country, has approved the decision at last by not raising an objection in the process.
(UK-AÖ) 05.04.2004