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Turkish prosecutor launches probe into
Kurdish DTP party after calls for autonomy
9.11.2007
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November 9, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey,-- Prosecutors launched a
probe into a pro-Kurdish DTP party on Friday after
it demanded autonomy for the Kurds living in the
country's southeast.
The prosecutor's office in Ankara said it will
examine the statements made during the congress of
the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party on Thursday
to determine whether they violate the law against
separatism.
The
party demanded more rights
for the Kurdish minority and autonomy for the Kurds
living in the mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.
"It is envisaged that each autonomous section is
represented with its own colors and symbols and
creates its own democratic administration, although
the national flag and official language remain valid
for the entire nation of Turkey," the party said in
a statement, according to pro-Kurdish Firat News
Agency on Friday.
A small Turkish flag was hung in the congress hall
but the Turkish national anthem was not played and
no picture of the founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was
hung, according to reports, signs perceived by
authorities as being rebellious.
During Thursday's congress, the party
elected Nurettin Demirtas
— a man once convicted of membership in the Kurdish
rebel group — as its new chairman, and he quickly
pressed for rights for Kurds similar to those
granted to Turks in Bulgaria.
During the communist era, Bulgaria's Turks were
under pressure to change their names and were
deprived of the right to use their language,
religion and customs. The repression ended in 1989
after 320,000 people fled to Turkey, forcing the
Bulgarian government to give rights to the remaining
Turks. Most of the Turks who fled to Turkey later
returned to Bulgaria.
"In Bulgaria, the problems of Turks were solved by
giving them rights. We also want to solve these
problems through democratic autonomy and the
constitution," daily Milliyet quoted Demirtas as
saying on Friday.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
Turkish leaders often accuse the Kurdish party of
having ties to the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or
PKK, and are likely to
ignore their call for more rights. Turkish leaders
insist that the political party should first declare
the PKK a terrorist
organization to prove their allegiance to Turkey.
The call from the party comes at a time of
heightened tensions on the Iraqi border with Turkish
troops poised for a possible cross-border offensive
against PKK hideouts in northern Iraq. A series of
hit-and-run attacks by rebels left nearly 50 dead,
primarily soldiers, since Sept. 29.
AP
**
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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