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Kurdish party official detained in Turkey
26.3.2007
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March 26, 2007
ANKARA, -- Turkish police on Sunday detained
a senior member of Turkey's main Kurdish party for a
speech in which he allegedly praised jailed Kurdish
rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, Anatolia news agency
reported.
Orhan Miroglu, deputy chairman of the Democratic
Society Party (DTP), was detained after he referred
to Ocalan as "sayin" -- a word that means esteemed
or honourable but also doubles for "mister" in
Turkish, the report said.
Ocalan, serving a life sentence for treason since
1999, is the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody
separatist campaign in the mainly Kurdish southeast
since 1984. It is listed as a terrorist group by
Turkey and other countries.
DTP members have increasingly become the target of
judicial action in recent weeks for supporting the
PKK.
Miroglu made the speech at a rally in Ankara, which
was part of festivities this week to celebrate the
Kurdish New Year, Newroz Day, the biggest Kurdish
festival.
He was to be released or formally arrested after
being questioned.
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
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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