ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan said he would make a "historic" appeal on Thursday, raising expectations of ceasefire in a 28-year-old conflict which has riven Turkey, killing some 40,000 people, and battered its economy.
Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas, a member of parliament, conveyed Ocalan's statement on his return to Istanbul on Monday from a visit to his prison on the island of Imrali. A ceasefire could cement talks with the government that have been progressing tentatively since October.