Istanbul - German and Turkish authorities breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday after Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas freed three German climbers they had held captive for 12 days. The rebels released Lars Holger Renne, 33, Martin Georg S., 47, and Helmut Johann H., 65, unharmed after the kidnappers themselves were faced with the threat of capture by Turkish forces.
"Half-an-hour after their release our forces came and took charge of them," said Mehmet Cetin, governor of Agri province where the climbers were seized July 8 while attempting to scale Mount Ararat.
The tourists were taken to a police base in the town of Dogubayazit and given a health check before being handed over to German officials, the governor said.
Turkish units had surrounded the entire area, so that the rebels and their hostages were trapped, Cetin said, giving this as the reason why the group decided to free the mountaineers.
It appears the PKK made a serious miscalculation with their operation to to press a series of demands, including an end to Turkish military activities against the group.
But Turkish troops in fact did the opposite and killed several dozen PKK guerrillas ion a series of raids launched after the tourists were seized.
The kidnappers also demanded Germany end its "hostile polices" against the PKK, following the German Interior Ministry's banning last month of the Kurdish television broadcaster Roj-TV.
The channel was banned because of its links to the PKK, which is outlawed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Ankara blames the separatist group for the deaths of more than 32,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.
The hostage-taking was also controversial within the PKK's own ranks. The PKK leadership distanced itself from the action, which it blamed on a local group within the movement.
Turkish sources said a power struggle might also have been behind the abduction, which was believed to have been led by Fehman Huseyin, a Syrian Kurd who operates from northern Iraq.
Some sources said Huseyin felt his position within the PKK leadership was under threat and he wanted to use the Germans as a bargaining chip to shore up his authority.
Others dispute this view, saying such a unilateral action would not be possible within the strict hierarchy of the PKK.
After days of tense negotiation, the kidnappers were forced to release their captives without being able to secure a propaganda victory for their actions.
The Germans were kidnapped by five PKK guerrillas who raided their 3,200-metre camp on the mountain, Turkey's highest. Immediately afterwards, Turkish authorities sealed off the area for tourists.
Officials in Agri province hope that the region will continue to attract tourists now that the hostage drama has been resolved peacefully .
"We'll do everything we can to ensure there is a revival of tourism," said Governor Cetin.
