|
Turkish general says 'never too late' to
attack Kurdish PKK rebels
11.11.2007
|
|
|
|
November 11, 2007
ANKARA, -- Turkey's army chief has said it
was "never too late" to launch broad operations
against Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebel bases in
Kurdistan 'northern Iraq', a newspaper reported
Saturday.
"I don't think that it's too late. It's never too
late," general Yasar Buyukanit was quoted as saying
by the Hurriyet daily.
"One does not organise an operation just for the
pleasure of organising one. There has to be a target
and results," he said.
Turkey has accused the Iraqi Kurds of tolerating and
aiding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), but they
have come under US pressure to act against the
rebels to head off a large-scale Turkish incursion.
Tensions along the Turkish-Iraqi border increased
after October 21, when PKK militants ambushed a
military unit, killing 12 soldiers and capturing
eight. The captives were released Sunday.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara, US
and EU.
Over 37,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
After talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on Monday, President George W. Bush pledged
to provide
Ankara with "real-time" intelligence on rebel
movements, calling the PKK a "common enemy."
Analysts say a large-scale Turkish incursion into
Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' is unlikely, but see
Bush's promises of intelligence support as tacit US
approval for limited Turkish strikes on PKK targets.
Ankara said Tuesday that it retains the military
option in northern Iraq, where the PKK has long
taken refuge.
The Turkish press has speculated of contained
attacks against the rebel bases but general
Buyukanit dismissed the notion, saying: "There will
not be a small operation. We think there is an
important target there."
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
|
® 