|
Iraqi Kurdistan peshmergas urge Turkey's
PKK rebels to free Turkish soldiers 27.10.2007 |
|
|
|
October
27, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq',-- The
peshmerga fighters of northern Iraq's Kurdistan
region on Friday urged the rebel Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) to release the eight soldiers the are
holding hostage in Turkey.
"We have called on the PKK to free the Turkish
soldiers as they are ordinary soldiers who have not
chosen to fight against them, but were forced to do
so by the government of Turkey," said Jabar Yawar,
the deputy minister for peshmerga, the security
force of Iraq's northern Kurdistan regional
government.
"We have also requested their release on purely
humanitarian grounds, because these soldiers are
expected by their families" back home.
Last Saturday PKK rebels attacked a Turkish military
patrol along the Iraq-Turkey border, killing 12
soldiers and taking eight more hostage. The seized
men are reportedly being held in Turkey.
Yawar said the situation on the Iraqi
Kurdistan-Turkey border had been quiet for 48 hours.
"We do not want in any way to interfere in this
issue" between the PKK and Turkey, he said.
"We have learned now with the experiences of
Palestine, Sudan, Somalia and others that such
issues are not resolved by war or fighting, which is
why we recommend that the PKK abandon their fight
and struggle politically and diplomatically
instead."
A high-level delegation from Baghdad is currently in
Ankara negotiating ways to avert a Turkish incursion
into Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' aimed at
flushing out the PKK rebels.
More than 37,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
www.ekurd.net
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using a
Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an excuse to
invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent the
establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq'. Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
AFP
Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule in
part of the country. Today's teenagers are the first
generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. In the new
Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as Kurdistan
region. Kurdistan region has all the trappings of an
independent state -- its own constitution, its own
parliament, its own flag, its own army, its own
border, its own border patrol, its own national
anthem, its own education system, its own
International airports, even its own stamp inked
into the passports of visitors.
**
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 