Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', -- A
leader of the Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
acknowledged on Sunday that rebel fighters had come
under attack by Turkish helicopters inside Iraq but
insisted they had suffered no casualties.
The commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
had initially denied any attack when Turkey
announced on Saturday that it had inflicted heavy
casualties on a group of "50 to 60 terrorists"
inside Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq'.
"There were helicopter strikes along the
(Iraq-Turkey) border, but we suffered no
casualties," the commander told AFP.
Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported that combat
helicopters had targeted various locations in a bid
to prevent Kurdish rebels from returning to
rear-bases inside Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Flash Video - English RIA Nova - Reuters
Speaking by telephone, the rebel leader said the PKK
is "keen to resolve the crisis" and urged Ankara to
consider a conditional ceasefire offer made by the
group in October after its guerrillas ambushed and
killed 12 Turkish soldiers.
Ankara rejected the ceasefire offer and received
parliamentary authorisation in October to launch
military action against the PKK inside Iraqi
Kurdistan.
Turkey has so far held back from any ground
operation amid strong lobbying by the United States
which is concerned about the impact on the
autonomous Kurdistan region of 'northern Iraq' which
is much the most stable area of the country.
But Turkey has warned Iraq that it reserves the
right to resort to military action.
Among the conditions laid down by the PKK in its
October ceasefire offer, the group demanded that
Turkey enshrine the rights of the country's large
Kurdish minority in its constitution.
It also wants rebel leaders in Turkish prisons to be
released.
"If these conditions are met, we can give up arms,"
the statement announcing the offer said.
Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Sunday welcomed the PKK's
desire to resolve the crisis.
"We welcome any initiative aimed at achieving
justice and guaranteeing the rights of the debating
parties,"www.ekurd.net
said Fadhel Mirani, head
of the political bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party headed by Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani.
"We all are suffering from this trouble."
Mirani urged both the PKK and Turkey to work towards
a solution to the crisis.
"We do not want more trouble. We want to confront
the problem with an open mind," he said, adding that
the issue can be solved only by peaceful means.
In recent weeks Turkey has deployed around 100,000
soldiers along its 380-kilometre (235-mile) border
with Kurdistan region 'Iraq'.
However US Deputy Secretary of State John Negronte
reiterated Washington's opposition to the PKK as a
"terrorist" group as he wrapped up a six-day visit
to Iraq during which
he travelled to Kurdistan
region in 'northern Iraq'.
"We all agree that the PKK is a very negative
organisation, a terrorist group and it cannot be
allowed to operate from Iraqi territory against the
country of Turkey,"www.ekurd.net
Negroponte told
reporters in Baghdad.
"So we share the common goal of seeking to end PKK
activities once and for all."
Negroponte said that failure to end PKK activities
could "jeopardise" the achievements in both northern
Iraq and Turkey.
"So it is very very important that the PKK be
effectively dealt with," he said.
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"
® 