|
Rice urges Turkey for restraint against
Kurdish PKK rebels in Iraqi Kurdistan
13.10.2007 |
|
|
|
October
13, 2007
ISTANBUL, Turkeu, -- Acknowledging "a
difficult time" in relations with Turkey, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday appealed to
the U.S. ally for restraint against Kurdish PKK
rebels in Kurdista region 'northern Iraq' and in
reaction to a genocide resolution in Congress.
The Bush administration sent two high-ranking
officials to Turkey for talks Saturday with
government leaders. Eric Edelman is undersecretary
of defense for policy and was U.S. ambassador to
Turkey from July 2003 to June 2005. Dan Fried is
assistant secretary of state for European Affairs.
"It's a difficult time for the relationship," Rice
told reporters during her trip to Russia.
|
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice |
U.S. officials said Friday there are about 60,000
Turkish troops along the country's southern border
with Iraq. The U.S. military had not seen activity
to suggest an imminent offensive against Kurdish
rebels in northern Iraq.
But Turkey's parliament was expected to approve a
government request to authorize an Iraq campaign as
early as next week. The United States opposes a
possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, which
is one of the country's few relatively stable areas,
and urged a diplomatic solution between Iraq and
Turkey.
The preparations come amid concern by the U.S. about
what effect the genocide resolution that passed a
U.S. House committee this past week could have on
supply routes the American military has used to move
armored vehicles to troops in Iraq.
"I came here to express our regret (for the
measure)," Edelman was quoted as saying by private
CNN-Turk television. The officials were expected to
discuss military plans against the rebels before
leaving the country later Saturday.
At issue in the measure is the killing of up to 1.5
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Turkey denies
that the World War I-era deaths constituted genocide
and says the toll has been inflated.
Turkey also contends the dead were victims of civil
war and unrest that killed Muslims as well as the
overwhelmingly
Christian Armenians.
Rice said she spoke Friday by telephone with
Turkey's president, prime minister and foreign
minister about the resolution.
"They were dismayed," she said.
In discussing their reaction to the resolution and
activities of the PKK in the border mountains of
Kurdistan 'northern Iraq', she said, "I urged
restraint."
"The Turkish government, I think, is trying to react
responsibly. They recognize how hard we worked to
prevent that vote from taking place," the secretary
added.
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Washington for
consultations and warned of serious repercussions if
Congress passes the resolution.
"We'll continue to try to deal with anti-American
sentiment that has been heightened by this vote,"
Rice said. "We'll keep working to try to prevent it
from winning on the floor."
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the
nonbinding measure by a 27-21 vote Wednesday,
defying warnings by President Bush. The
administration, led by Rice and Defense Secretary
Robert Gates, warned lawmakers that passage of the
resolution could put U.S. troops in Iraq at risk.
AP
**
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
|
® 