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Turkish Kurd chief slams Ankara for
snubbing ceasefire
24.12.2006 |
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DIYARBAKIR,
Turkey-Kurdistan, December 23,-- The leader of
Turkey's main Kurdish party slammed Ankara Saturday
for failing to respond to a unilateral ceasefire
called by Kurdish separatists earlier this year.
"We were expecting the government to make use of
this process aimed at ending the bloodshed, but
unfortunately... the state remains indifferent,"
Ahmet Turk said in Diyarbakir, the principal city of
the mainly Kurdish southeast where the rebels have
waged a bloody fight for independence.
Turk, chairman of the Democratic Society Party
(DTP), also denounced Parliament Speaker Bulent
Arinc for refusing to meet a group of Kurdish
activists earlier this month.
"We see this as a blow dealt to peace," he said. "In
the eyes of our people, the government has failed to
pass the test."
Turk said his party, which is not represented in
parliament, would continue to work for a peaceful
resolution of the Kurdish conflict, but added: "We
are always ready to... pay with our lives for
freedom and democracy."
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been
behind the 22-year campaign for Kurdish self-rule in
the southeast, declared a unilateral truce from
October 1, saying it wanted to pave the way for a
dialogue to resolve the conflict.
The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives
since the PKK, considered a terrorist group by
Ankara, the EU and the United States, took up arms
in 1984.
This year's ceasefire, like previous ones called by
the PKK, was quickly rejected by Ankara, but
fighting has decreased markedly since then.
A PKK commander warned earlier this month that the
group would call off the ceasefire if Ankara
continues to pursue the rebels and fails to
introduce measures to improve Kurdish rights.
Activists have been calling particularly for a
general amnesty for PKK militants to encourage them
to lay down their arms for good.
Ankara, on the other hand, has been pressing
Washington and Baghdad to clamp down on PKK bases in
neighboring northern Iraq, where the rebels have
enjoyed safe haven for years.
Under pressure from the European Union to improve
democracy, Turkey has in recent years undertaken a
series of reforms to improve the lot of the Kurds,
but minority leaders say the measures are
inadequate.
AFP
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan"
Southeast Turkey. The Kurds have no rights in
Turkey.
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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