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Turkey's Erdogan in get-well gesture to
Jalal Talabani
2.3.2007 |
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March 2, 2007
ANKARA, -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called ailing Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani to convey his get-well
wishes, an aide to Erdogan said, days after harsh
exchanges between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds.
Talabani, a Kurd, has been hospitalised in Amman
since Sunday, suffering from exhaustion and
dehydration.
"They had a brief conversation. Mr. Talabani said he
believed that Turkey and Iraq can work together to
quickly overcome their problems," the official told
AFP.
Tensions between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds have
been running high over the safe haven Turkish Kurd
rebels enjoy in the autonomous Kurdistan region in
neighbouring Kurdistan (northern Iraq), led by
president Massoud Barzani.
The Turkish army last month accused Iraqi Kurds of
supporting the rebels and providing them with
explosives for attacks in Turkey. |
Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd (L)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) |
Barzani further angered Ankara this week when he
said regional countries should accept that Kurds,
who also live in Iran and Syria, have a right to
independence.
Despite objections from the military, Erdogan and
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul have both said Ankara
is open to dialogue with the Iraqi Kurds to mend
fences and discuss ways of curbing the rebels,
contrary to earlier Turkish threats of a
cross-border military operation into the region.
AFP
** 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 as many as 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 some 20 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
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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