Turkey’s most wanted fugitive, the Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan, was in custody Monday after his capture by Turkish agents in Kenya.

Ocalan had been in the Greek embassy in Nairobi before Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit announced earlier Monday that the leader of the Kuristan Workers Party (PKK) was returned to Turkey at 3.00 a.m. local time (0100GMT).

The circumstances of his arrest were unclear and Ecevit made no reference to any other country in his announcement. Across Europe, however, Kurdish protesters demonstrated at Greek and Kenyan missions – taking diplomats and the families hostage in some cities, and threatening to set themselves on fire in others.

Kurds took control of diplomatic compounds in six German cities and occupied Greek buildings in London, The Hague, Marseilles, Stockholm, Vienna, Brussels and Zurich.

Ocalan was captured “in the wake of an intense and silent pursuit which we carried out in various countries on various continents,” Ecevit said. “Only 10 officials were aware of this operation. There were no leaks….Ocalan was captured without anyone getting hurt.”

Ocalan’s PKK followers have been fighting fore nearly 15 years for an autonomous Kurdish homeland – a conflict estimated to have cost at least 30,000 lives.

There were some 20-25 million Kurds spread across Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. The 12 million Kurds in Turkey, mostly in the poor southeast region.

Turkey has refused to recognize the Turks as a minority group – such as the Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians and Jews who live here. The Kurdish language is illegal in broadcasts, education or political settings.

Ecevit appealed to Ocalan’s supporters “…all the young people who hide in mountains and caves, who commit acts of self- immolation, and who inflict great pain on our nation… you have reached a dead end. Surrender to the justice of the state.”

Ocalan’s capture undoubtedly was a major blow to the PKK, diplomatic observers said. It remained to be seen whether more radical elements within the party intensified guerrilla action or whether moderates would opt for a political solution.

Ocalan has been on the run since January 16 when Italy refused to grant him asylum. The Netherlands then refused him entry after Ocalan sought to speak at the International Court in the Hague.

He also has been denied refuge in other European countries because of massive diplomatic pressure from Turkey and fears that the Kurdish leader simply was “too hot to handle.” (END?IPS?mom/mk/99)