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Turkish PM says Turkey could launch action
against PKK at 'any time'
23.10.2007
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October 23, 2007
LONDON, -- Turkey could launch military
action into Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' at "any time",
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday but
insisted it would solely target Turkey's Kurdish PKK
separatists and not threaten Iraq.
He made the comments after talks in London with
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who voiced
support for Turkey and condemned the "terrorist
violence" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"We have no calculations on the territorial
integrity or political unity of Iraq," Erdogan said,
referring to Turkey's threat to launch military
strikes against PKK bases in Kurdistan region
'northern Iraq'.
He noted that the Turkish parliament had given the
green light last week for cross-border action. "Any
such effort would target only the PKK," he said. |
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
And he pressed Iraqi authorities to take their
responsibility. "We have some expectation with
respect to what is to be done about the 'terrorist'
organization in the north.
"The Iraqi government must know that we can exercise
this mandate we have received from the Turkish
parliament at any time."
Brown meanwhile voiced his condemnation of the PKK,
which attacked a Turkish military patrol near the
border at the weekend, leaving 12 Turkish soldiers
dead.
"We condemn absolutely and unequivocally the
terrorist violence of (the) PKK," he told reporters,
while stressing that London and Ankara would
continue to work for a "diplomatic solution" to the
crisis.
"I can assure you we are doing everything in our
power... to make sure that there is no safe haven
for terrorist organisations in that part of Iraq
threatening Turkey," he added.
"We appreciate the frustration and also the anger
that exists in Turkey," he said.
Erdogan added: "The United Kingdom has suffered
greatly from terrorism and suffers from terrorism...
the UK is well positioned to well understand what
Turkey is experiencing.
"We know how terrorism can hurt people and we hope
that no other country or nation faces similar
difficulties... Unfortunately the pain that we
suffer is only understood after some incidents take
place," he added.
The Turkish leader added: "We believe that it is not
right to have or to permit (a) terror organisation
to base camps in that part of the country.
"Within the framework of international law, to allow
a terrorist organisation to go from one territory to
a neighbouring country is not allowed."
Since 1984 when the PKK, blacklisted by Turkey, the
US and EU, 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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