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President of Iraqi Kurdistan region urges
PKK to end armed struggle against Turkey
24.10.2007 |
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October
24, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',--
The president of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on
Wednesday urged the outlawed Turkey's Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) to end its more than two-decade
armed struggle against Turkey.
"We call upon the PKK to eliminate violence and
armed struggle as a mode of operation," said a
sternly worded four-point statement issued by the
office of Massoud Barzani, president of the
autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.
"We do not accept in any way, based on our
commitment to the Iraqi constitution, the use of
Iraqi territories, including the territories of the
Kurdistan region, as a base to threaten the security
of neighbouring countries."
The statement, issued after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on PKK offices, said
the Kurdistan government opposed the use of violence
as a "doctrine" and method to achieve political
objectives.
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Massoud Barzani, the President of the autonomous Regional
Government of Kurdistan 'Iraq' |
"We condemn all terrorist activities from any party
because the people of Kurdistan itself are victims
of terrorism," the Kurdish presidency said.
It called upon the PKK to adhere to its ceasefire
call and not "resort to armed operations."
The PKK, which has been fighting for a self-rule in
the mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey since 1984,
has offered a
conditional ceasefire
if Ankara drops plans to launch a military incursion
into Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' to flush out
the rebels.
"We have always struggled for the sake of peace,
democracy, development and stability for our people
and peoples of the region. We are in fact in a
bitter and continued state of struggle against
terrorism," the statement said.
The presidency declared the four-point statement to
be the firm policy of "the people of Kurdistan."
"We reiterate that we endeavour to build friendly
relations with the people of the region and we share
a commitment to good neighbourly relations with
all," it added.
"We have always called for peace and security and we
believe that the outstanding problems can be solved
only through dialogue and understanding."
On Tuesday after meeting visiting Turkish Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan Maliki ordered that offices of
the PKK be closed, saying the rebel group was a "bad
terrorist organisation."
The PKK largely operates clandestinely through local
social groups in the three northern Iraqi Kurdish
provinces of Sulaimaniyah, Erbil and Duhok.
Wednesday's statement from Barzani's office is a
meltdown from his hardline position of a few days
ago.
On Sunday, both Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani, also a Kurd, had expressed an inability to
hand over rebel leaders present in northern Iraq to
Turkey.
Barzani also said the Kurdish administration will
"defend" its land in the event of an attack by
Ankara.
Babacan, meanwhile, used his high-profile visit to
reassure Iraq that Turkey wants a diplomatic
solution to the problem of Kurdish rebel bases.
"Politics, dialogue, diplomacy, culture and economy
are the measures to deal with this crisis," the
Turkish minister said in Baghdad.
"We do not want to sacrifice our cultural and
economic relations with Iraq for the sake of a
terror organisation," he said, referring to the PKK.
But Babacan also rejected the truce offer made by
the PKK.
On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan maintained during a visit to London that
Ankara had still not ruled out military action,
which was sanctioned by parliament last week.
Erdogan had also raised the possibility of joint
action with the United States against PKK bases
inside Iraqi Kurdistan.
Washington downplayed the talk of joint military
operations but said it may provide Turkey with
intelligence to help its armed forces strike Kurdish
rebels based in Iraq.
The United States, which uses the Incirlik air base
in southern Turkey to supply its forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan, fears that any unilateral military
action by Turkey could wreck efforts to stabilise
Iraq.
AFP
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
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.
Others estimate over 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.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
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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