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Turkey's Gul says democratic rights key to
Kurdish conflict
20.11.2007
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November 20, 2007
ANKARA, -- Turkish President Abdullah Gul
said Tuesday that more democratic rights for the
Kurdish community will help defeat a bloody
separatist rebellion in the country's Kurdish
southeast.
"The more importance we place on democracy, the
stronger we will be in this struggle," Gul told a
meeting with businessmen here.
"Democracy isolates terrorists from the people, from
the grassroots whose support they seek."
The Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed
as a 'terrorist' group by Ankara, US and EU, has
waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in the mainly
Kurdish southeast since 1984 in a conflict that has
claimed more than 37,000 lives. Turkey is home to
over 25 million ethnic Kurds. |
Turkey Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül |
Faced with mounting PKK violence, the government
last month obtained parliamentary authorisation for
a military incursion into neighbouring autonomous
Kurdistan region of 'northern Iraq', where the PKK
enjoys refuge.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also faces
mounting calls to back the military struggle against
the PKK with political, social and economic measures
to boost the freedoms and the prosperity of the
sizeable Kurdish community.
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. www.ekurd.net
Turkey rejects direct talks with Iraqi Kurdistan
government, Officially, Turkey does not recognise
the regional government of Kurdistan led by
president Massoud Barzani.
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. www.ekurd.net
The Turkish media have speculated that the
government may consider a comprehensive plan to win
over the Kurds and erode support for the PKK.
Erdogan on Tuesday renewed an appeal to Turkey's
main Kurdish political movement, the Democratic
Society Party (DTP), to sever alleged links with the
rebels.
"Those who are unable to cut their links with
terrorism should not place their hopes in
democracy," he said.
Turkey's chief prosecutor last week asked the
Constitutional Court to outlaw the DTP, arguing that
the party, through its links with the PKK, had
become "a hive of activity" targeting Turkey's
unity.
The DTP holds 20 seats in the 550-member parliament.
Under EU pressure, Ankara has in recent years
granted the Kurds a measure of cultural freedoms but
Kurdish activists say the reforms are inadequate.
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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