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Iran urges Turkey for "talks", not
cross-border into Iraqi Kurdistan 15.10.2007 |
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October
15, 2007
Newsdesk,-- Answering IHA's questions during
his weekly press conference on Monday, Muhammad Ali
Hosseini, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said
Iran favoured a diplomatic solution to Turkey's
fight against separatist faction PKK (Kurdistan
Workers' Party) which sparked a debate over Turkish
military's possible cross-border operation in
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' against militants
holed up there.
Hosseini said, "We believe that the issues should be
resolved through diplomatic ways. The options of
negotiation and dialogue should be assessed. We
believe that the options other than diplomacy would
be against the interests of the region."
Iranian forces have bombed some border locations in
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' in past months to
eradicate the claimed presence of PEJAK (Party of
Free Life of Kurdistan),
PEJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan) , took up
arms for self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdistan
province northwestern of Iran. Half the members of
PEJAK are women.
The Turkish government was to discuss a draft on
Monday which would then be sent to the parliament
for approval, that permits Turkish armed forces to
conduct operations in autonomous Kurdistan region so
called 'northern Iraq'. Possibility of a
cross-border operation came to the spotlight again
recently following the massacre of 13 Turkish
soldiers in the southeastern Turkey by PKK recently,
which shocked the nation.
Turkey, US and the EU, class the PKK as a "terrorist
organisation"
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.
trend az
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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)
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