|
Greece urges Turkish 'self-restraint' on
Kurdish PKK rebels
3.11.2007
|
|
|
|
November 3, 2007
ATHENS, -- Greece on Friday called on Turkey
to show "self-restraint" and avoid entering
Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq' in pursuit of
Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels.
"We call on the neighbouring country to show
self-restraint," Greek Prime Minister Costas
Karamanlis told parliament in response to a question
tabled by the far-right LAOS party.
"Violence does not solve, cannot solve problems.
Diplomacy must be allowed to run its course," he
said.
Karamanlis is technically a family relation of
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after
serving as a witness at his daughter's marriage in
2004.
Greece is a traditional rival of Turkey but
relations have drastically improved in recent years
despite ongoing territorial disagreements.
"We condemn terrorism in all its forms, no matter
where it comes from," Karamanlis said.
"Respect of territorial integrity is a basic tenet
of international law, and no nation should ignore or
violate international law."
Turkey has in the past accused Greece of acting as a
haven for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which
has waged a 23-year armed campaign for Kurdish
self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday met
Turkish leaders with offers of an "effective
strategy" against PKK fighters based in northern
Iraq in exchange for Ankara holding off on its
threat of cross-border military action.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey
wants to see action not words in dealing with the
rebels.
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's 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', Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan regional
government that holds sway in northern Iraq,
regretted Ankara's refusal to hold direct talks on
the crisis over the Turkey's separatist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
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
|
® 