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Turkish air raid in Iraqi Kurdistan fails
to kill top PKK commanders
17.12.2007
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December
17, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', --
Rebels from the Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
said on Monday that none of their top commanders
were killed in the
air strikes carried out by the
Turkish military in Kurdistan region
'northern Iraq' on Sunday.
A PKK source, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said that five PKK fighters were killed and two
others were injured in the raid. One woman was also
killed when Turkish warplanes dropped bombs on
targets allegedly linked to the PKK.
The source said that this was contrary to Turkish
media reports that said that top PKK commanders had
been killed and the air strike had dealt a heavy
blow to the PKK headquarters in the Kandil
Mountains, on the Iraq-Iran border.
The PKK representative said that the news in the
Turkish media is "false and is part of a
psychological war."
"All the top members of the party [the PKK] are safe
and sound and solid like the Kandil mountains," said
the source.
The PKK representative said that two elementary
schools were damaged, while a mosque in the village
of Qalatukan was destroyed in the attack.
"Injured civilians have been transported to
hospitals in the city of Erbil," said the source
adding that "400 families living in the villages of
the Qandil mountains have fled, from the nearby area
of Bashdar.www.ekurd.net
The humanitarian
situation is very serious," said the source.
The PKK representative said that none of these
families had received any help from the Kurdistan
regional authorities.
In the meantime, the Iraqi Kurdistan semi-autonomous
region prime minister Nechirvan Barzani, on Monday
condemned the bombing of the villages in the Qandil
mountains, calling on the United States to take a
position against such an action.
The US embassy in Iraq said commanders had not given
permission for the attacks but had been informed
that they would take place.
According to local Kurdish press reports, Barzani on
Monday said that "the international community and
the United Nations security council have been called
on to condemn the Turkish aggression in the region
and the United States is required to protect the
territory that lies within Iraqi airspace from any
external violations."
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',www.ekurd.net
Turkey fears this could
fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey.
More than 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.www.ekurd.net
In Turkey a large
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in southeast of Turkey.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, granting them full
political freedoms.
The (PKK) KONGRA-GEL released an
official declaration
reiterating their desire for negotiations with the
Turkish government.
The PKK is listed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey
and much of the international community.
adnkronos com
**
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,
large Kurdish community 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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