|
Germany condemns violence in Turkey, urges
Turkey to show restraint
22.10.2007
|
|
|
|
October
22, 2007
BERLIN, Germany,-- The German government
condemned on Monday an attack by Turkey's Kurdish
PKK rebels that left 12 Turkish soldiers dead over
the weekend, but called on Turkey to show restraint.
"The federal government condemns in the strongest
way all forms of terrorism," German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.
He expressed his condolences but urged Ankara "to
react in a measured way in order to avoid a
dangerous destabilisation of the region."
"There is a fear that this latest provocation (by
rebels) could unleash a spiral of violence in the
region," he said.
The Turkish government has said 12 soldiers and 32
rebels were killed in heavy clashes near the
country's tense border with Iraq on Sunday.
Turkey has been threatening to invade northern Iraq
to take military action against Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) bases there.
Ankara says some 3,500 PKK fighters are based in
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' where they are able
to obtain weapons and are supported by Iraqi Kurdish
leaders, a charge the Iraqi Kurdistan administration
strongly denies.
The United States strongly opposes any unilateral
Turkish action in Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq'
as a move that could destabilise the relatively calm
region.
More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984
when the PKK took up arms fighting for self-rule in
Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 