KARASU, MUSTAFA (HUSEYIN ALI)

Mustafa Karasu has long been one of the main leaders of theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK). He was imprisoned for a number of years after the military coup of 1980 inTurkey. In the 1990s, he was a member of the leadership council (politburo) of the PKK and at one time also headed theKurdistan National Liberation Front(ERNK), the PKK's now defunct popular front. After the capture of the PKK's leaderAbdullah Ocalanin February 1999, Karasu was chosen to be one of the members of the presidential council to act for him.