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Turkish FM, U.S. Rice discuss PKK issue on
phone
20.12.2007
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December
20, 2007
Ankara, -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan and U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice
held phone talks on Wednesday evening over Turkey's
operations against the outlawed Kurdish Workers'
Party (PKK), the semi-official Anatolia news agency
reported Thursday.
Turkish diplomatic sources were quoted as saying
that Babacan and Rice discussed the operation
against the Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels in Kurdistan
the 'north of Iraq', adding that during the phone
conversation, Babacan told Rice that Turkey was
pleased with intelligence sharing from the United
States.
Babacan reiterated that the operation was not
against territorial integrity of Iraq, the Iraqi
people or its natural resources, but against
elements of "terrorist organization in the north of
Iraq."
Rice told Babacan that she was also pleased with the
intelligence sharing and it functioned well, saying
that the PKK was a common enemy for both Turkey and
the U.S.
Rice said there was still sensitivity in general
situation in Iraq, but there is also progress there.
Babacan said Turkey still have some expectations
from the regional government in Kurdistan 'northern
Iraq'.
It was reported that Turkish chief of staff General
Yasar Buyukanit said earlier in the week that the
United States gave the green light for Sunday's air
raids by providing "intelligence" and opening Iraqi
air space.
On Sunday, the Turkish warplanes carried out air
strikes at some villages near the border in the
Qandil mountains, killing a woman and wounding six
people and civilians according to a Kurdistan
security source.
Iraqi Kurdistan 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.
A statement from the Turkish General Staff posted on
its Web site said the Turkish warplanes bombed
positions of PKK rebels in northern Iraq.
On Tuesday, at least 300 Turkish troops entered
northern Iraqi Kurdistan territories overnight in
the hope of flushing out Turkeys Kurdish PKK rebels
there.
Since late October, Turkey has deployed about
100,000 troops along Turkish-Iraqi Kurdistan borders
in preparations for a possible cross-border
operation to crush about 3,000-strong PKK rebels.
The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a
'terrorist' group.
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. A
large Turkey's 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.
Xinhua |
chinaview.cn
**
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,
a large Turkey's 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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