Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast was the scene of heavy fighting for 15 years beginning in 1984 when the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms against the Ankara government with the aim of carving out an independent state.

In 1999, it announced that it would stop fighting in order to seek greater rights and freeedoms for the Kurdish community through democratic and peaceful means.

Three years later, the group changed its name to the Congress for Freeedom and Democracy in Kurdistan (KADEK), shortly before the European Union included the PKK on its list of terrorist organizations. KADEK is not on the list.

"We had thought that there would be a common international approach against the terrorism of PKK-KADEK ... after the September 11 attacks," chief of general staff Hilmi Ozkok told a symposium on Monday.

"But I am sorry to say that we have not seen any realistic support on KADEK terrorism," he added.

The general harshly criticized the failure of the EU not to include KADEK -- which shares the same cadres and militants with the PKK -- on its list of terrorist organizations.

"This situation amounts to support and encouragement for the terrorist activities of the KADEK terrorist organization, which still continues its terrorist activities and maintains 5,000 armed militants," he charged.

The Turkish army, which sees the PKK as its number one enemy, has brushed aside the group's 1999 truce, and has called on rebels to either surrender or face the military's wrath.

Turkish public opinion is highly sensitive to the PKK issue on account of the 36,000 people who were killed in rebel attacks and counter-attacks by the army.

WAR.WIRE