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Turkey confirms 8 soldiers missing near
Iraqi Kurdistan border 22.10.2007
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October
22, 2007
SIRNAK, , Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, -- Turkey said on Monday eight of its
soldiers were missing a day after clashes with
Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels near the Iraqi Kurdistan
region border, in which at least 12 soldiers were
killed.
The General Staff also said 34 rebels from the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed in the
clashes, two more than reported earlier.
The pro-PKK Firat news agency said eight Turkish
soldiers had been captured and gave the names of
seven men. Turkey has denied some of its soldiers
were captured in the fighting.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he
expected the United States to take "swift" steps
against the PKK, many based in northern Iraq.
Turkey has deployed as many as 100,000 troops,
backed by tanks, F-16 fighter jets and attack
helicopters along its border with Iraqi Kurdistan in
anticipation of a possible incursion.
Asked about any pending attack, Defense Minister
Vecdi Gonul said on Sunday: "Not urgently. They are
planning a cross-border (incursion)...We'd like to
do these things with the Americans."
The United States and Iraq have called on Turkey to
refrain from a military push into the largely
autonomous Kurdistan region, one of the few
relatively stable parts of the Iraq since the
U.S.-led liberation in 2003.
Turkey estimates 3,000 rebels from the PKK are based
across the border and a series of recent attacks on
Turkish forces. Kurdish authorities in Kurdistan
region strongly reject the claim.
Turkey believes U.S. forces could, if they wanted,
capture PKK leaders in the Qandil mountains, shut
down their camps and cut off supply routes and
logistics support.
Turkish media said more than 200 rebels were
involved in the clashes on the Turkish side of the
border over the weekend.
Gonul, speaking in Kiev after meeting U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, said 17 soldiers were killed
and 10 were missing.
The Turkish losses, among the worst in a decade,
came four days after parliament overwhelmingly
approved a motion to allow troops to cross into
northern Iraq.
The Turkish lira currency fell three percent to
1.2360 against the dollar and the Istanbul stock
exchange fell five percent early on Monday on
concerns of a cross-border offensive.
Turkey's tougher stance has helped propel global oil
prices to record highs over the past week. The PKK
has said it might target pipelines carrying Iraqi
and Caspian crude across Turkey.
U.S. President George W. Bush condemned Sunday's
attacks.
"Attacks from Iraqi territory need to be dealt with
swiftly by the Iraqi government and Kurdistan
Regional authorities," White House National Security
Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
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'.
Ankara is anxious to prevent the emergence of a
Kurdish state in Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq',
fearing this could fan separatism among its own
large Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
The speaker of the Kurdish parliament, Adnan
al-Mufti said, Turkey is not really after the PKK
rebels but wanted to eliminate the idea of an
autonomous Kurdistan.
"Turks have Kurdophobia," said Mahmoud Othman, a
member of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc in parliament.
"They are afraid of anything Kurdish."
Reuters | Agencies
**
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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