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Turkish prime minister says U.S. not
helping Turkey counter Kurdish rebels
3.1.2007 |
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January 3, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey,-- The Turkish prime minister
accused the United States on Wednesday of not living
up to a pledge to help counter autonomy-seeking
Kurdish rebels, despite the appointment of a special
envoy to address the threat guerrillas pose to
Turkey, a news report said.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no action
had been taken to expel the Kurdistan Workers Party,
or PKK, from its bases in northern Iraq or to cut
off financial support to the rebel group, CNN-Turk
television reported.
"We were expecting serious steps, but these did not
materialize," the station's Web site quoted Erdogan
as telling reporters during a flight to Lebanon.
The United States, under increasing pressure from
Turkey, in August appointed retired Gen. Joseph
Ralston, a former NATO supreme allied commander, as
its special envoy for countering the PKK. |
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister |
The rebel group has been fighting for autonomy in
Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast since 1984 — a
fight that has left some 37,000 dead. The PKK is
considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and
the European Union.
Before Ralston's appointment, Turkey had threatened
to take action itself against the PKK in Iraq if the
United States failed to address the problem.
The U.S. has warned Turkey against such action,
fearing a Turkish incursion could alienate Iraqi
Kurds — the most pro-American group in the region.
Erdogan said Wednesday that PKK offices were still
operating across the border, despite assurances from
Iraq that they had been closed, CNN-Turk reported.
Turkey's support to the United States in its war
against terrorism was not being reciprocated,
Erdogan was quoted as saying.
"Give us support in the same way that we support you
in your fight against terrorism," CNN-Turk quoted
Erdogan as saying.
The PKK declared a unilateral cease-fire, which came
into effect on Oct. 1, following a surge of violence
that left more than a dozen soldiers and policemen
dead and injured tourists over a period of a few
weeks. Turkey has ignored the truce, however, and
has vowed to fight on until all rebels surrendered
or were killed.
More than 37,000 Turkish solders and Kurdish rebels
have been killed since 1984 when the PKK, took up
arms for self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
- AP
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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