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EU urges Turkey to think twice before
Iraqi Kurdistan action 24.10.2007
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October
24, 2007
STRASBOURG, -- The EU's Portuguese presidency
on Wednesday urged Turkey to think twice before
launching military action in Kurdistan region in
northern Iraq, following deadly attacks on Turkish
troops from Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels in the
region.
"It's important that the international community
supports Turkey in its efforts to counter terrorism,
in respect of the law, without risking the stability
of the region and the whole continent," Portuguese
European Affairs Minister Manuel Lobo Antunes told
the European parliament in Strasbourg.
"Turkey should think twice before launching a
military intervention," added Antunes, whose country
holds the EU rotating presidency until the end of
the year. |
EU's Portuguese presidency on Wednesday urged Turkey
to think twice before launching military action in
Kurdistan region in northern Iraq |
His message was echoed by EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn who called on Ankara and
Baghdad to work in cooperation and in accordance
with international law when dealing with the attacks
on Turkish troops by Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels.
The European Union "condemns all terrorist attacks
and understands Turkey's need to protect its
citizens," Rehn told the same session of the
European parliament.
"But we also urge Turkey to seek a political
solution in cooperation with Iraq, regional
authorities and the international community and to
show a sense of proportionality in its response to
PKK terrorism," Rehn added.
Tensions between Baghdad and Ankara have risen since
Sunday's ambush on a Turkish military patrol along
the tense northern Iraqi-Kurdistan border in which
12 Turkish soldiers and 34 PKK rebels were killed,
according to an official Turkish toll.
Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish PKK separatist
camps in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' shortly after the
attack, reports have since claimed.
Eight soldiers remain missing and the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) has said it is holding them
hostage.
The Turkish government last week obtained
parliamentary authorisation to carry out
cross-border strikes into Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'
to hit the PKK rebels. Since 1984 the PKK took up
arms for self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
The PKK is on the European list of 'terrorist'
groups, Turkey says PKK is tolerated by the local
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities. Kurdistan government
strongly reject the claim.
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', fearing this
could fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey. www.ekurd.net
Rehn said the parliament's decision "should be seen
as part of this overall political strategy."
"The Turkish authorities are understandably trying
to engage the United States as well as the Iraqi and
Kurdish authorities in their efforts, with some
signs of progress recently," he added, while
stressing that both the EU and Turkey were committed
to "the independence, sovereignty, unity and
territorial integrity of Iraq."
Washington, which is concerned that a Turkish
incursion into Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' would
destabilise one of the few stable areas of the
country has also made calls in recent days for
Ankara and Baghdad to seek a joint solution to the
crisis.
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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