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UN chief concerned about possible Turkish
raids in Iraqi Kurdistan
19.10.2007 |
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October
19, 2007
UNITED NATIONS, -- UN chief Ban Ki-moon on
Friday expressed concern about possible Turkish
military counter-strikes against Turkey's Kurdish
PKK separatists based in Iraqi Kurdistan but
welcomed Ankara's readiness to discuss all
outstanding issues with Baghdad.
"The Secretary General is concerned about the
decision by the parliament of Turkey (Wednesday)
enabling the armed forces to take cross-border
military action in Iraq against PKK (Kurdistan
Workers' Party) targets," Ban's spokeswoman Michele
Montas said in a statement.
The PKK, Turkey's ethnic Kurdish PKK separatist
group, uses bases in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' for
attacks on targets across the border in Turkey.
Kurdish authorities in Kurdistan region strongly
reject the claim.
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UN chief Ban Ki-moon |
Ban urges all sides "to demonstrate restraint at
this delicate juncture" and "welcomes the
affirmation by the Turkish foreign minister (Ali
Babacan) that Turkey is open to discussing all
problems in Iraq," the UN statement said.
Faced with mounting PKK attacks on Turkish targets,
Ankara has said its patience has run out with what
it terms US and Iraqi inaction over the rebels.
The Kurdish administration of Kurdistan region
'northern Iraq', called for direct negotiations with
Turkey.
Ban renewed his call to the Iraqi government and the
Kurdistan regional government "to ensure that Iraq's
territory is not used to mount cross-border
attacks."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on
Friday raised the possibility of a joint military
operation with the Iraqi government against Kurdish
PKK rebel camps situated in Kurdistan 'northern
Iraq'.
In an interview on Kanal 24 television, Erdogan said
that if negotiations proposed by Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not result in a
solution, the two countries may take joint action
against the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
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.
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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