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Turkey sacks special envoy for struggle against
Kurdish rebels
22.5.2007 |
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Turkey replaces envoy coordinating efforts with U.S.
to counter Kurdish guerrillas
May
22, 2007
ANKARA,-- Turkey on Monday sacked a
special envoy tasked with coordinating the fight
against armed Kurdish rebels after he said that the
consultation process with the United States was not
working.
Retired general Edip Baser was removed because some
of his recent statements could "adversely affect"
the joint US-Turkish struggle to stamp out rebel
bases in Kurdistan (northern Iraq), the prime
minister's press office said in a statement.
"Turkey is pursuing with utmost importance," joint
efforts with the United States and Iraq aimed at
curbing the activities of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) and cutting off support to the
group, the statement said.
Baser had been replaced with Ambassador Rafet
Akgunay, the deputy undersecretary of the foreign
ministry, it added.
Baser was appointed last year as counterpart to
retired US general Joseph W. Ralston, Washington's
envoy for the coordinated effort against the
thousands of PKK rebels holed up in Kurdistan
(northern Iraq).
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office
emphasized the importance of the cooperation with
the United States, adding that it was feared that
Baser's remarks would have a negative effect on the
efforts.
"Great importance has been attached to the bilateral
efforts that are under way between the United States
and Turkey to stop the activities of the terrorist
organization abroad and the trilateral efforts with
the United States and Iraq," Erdogan's office said.
In remarks published in the mass-selling Sabah daily
Monday, Baser said that he and Ralston had made
progress in their efforts against the PKK.
Ankara charges that Iraqi Kurds controlling the
north of the country tolerate, and even support, the
rebels, who enjoy unrestricted movement and are able
to obtain arms and explosives there for attacks
across the border.
Last month, Turkish army chief called for a military
incursion into neighbouring Iraq to hunt down PKK
rebels.
In response, Washington urged Ankara to refrain from
such a move and to pursue negotiations to resolve
the issue.
More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984
when the PKK, blacklisted by Turkey, the United
States and the European Union, picked up arms for
Kurdish self-rule in the country's southeastern
corner.
The U.S. has warned Turkey against any incursion
into Iraqi Kurdistan region, fearing it could
alienate Iraqi Kurds — the most pro-American group
in the region.
Iraqi Kurds, who in the past fought against the PKK
alongside Turkish troops in Iraq, are now openly
urging Turkey to consider a political solution, and
accuse Turkey of interfering in Iraq's internal
affairs.
AFP | AP
** 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"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan ( Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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