June
10, 2007
NAJAF, Iraq -- Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada
Al Sadr Sunday warned Turkey over its bombardments
of Iraqi villages in the northern region of
Kurdistan aimed at flushing out Kurdish rebels.
"We will not be silent in front of this threat," the
cleric warned in a statement issued by his office in
the holy city of Najaf.
"The Kurdish people are an indivisible part of the
Iraqi population and it is our duty to defend them.
Turks are also our friends whose sovereignty,
security and territories should be respected," Sadr
said in the statement.
Vowing to defend the people of Kurdistan, Sadr
called on the people of Turkey to stop their armed
forces from carrying out cross-border shellings in
Iraq. |
Radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr |
|
"We are ready to mediate with Turkey to end this
crisis. Turkish people have to reject such actions
and help to stamp out the fire between the two
Muslim nations," Sadr said.
"I hope Turkey will not repeat such bombardments of
Iraqi territory. It has no right to do it."
Sadr commands the Mehdi Army, a militia of tens of
thousands of young, impoverished Shiites, who are
accused of spearheading a sectarian conflict against
Iraq's minority Sunnis.
On Saturday, Iraq lodged an official complaint with
Turkey claiming it had bombarded the northern
Kurdistan region.
A Kurdish security official said that Turkish forces
had shelled villages in the northern Duhok province
of Iraq early Saturday to flush out rebels from the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkey says the PKK, whose two-decade-old insurgency
in eastern and southeastern Turkey has claimed more
than 37,000 lives, is acting under the protection of
Iraqi Kurds of Kurdistan.
Violence increased with the spring thaw as rebels
hiding in the rugged mountains of northern Iraq
slipped back across the border to attack Turkish
troops, effectively ending a unilateral ceasefire
the PKK declared in October 2006.
Turkey maintains a 1,500-strong troop presence
several kilometers inside Kurdistan region (Iraq) to
try to stem the flow of PKK fighters across the
mountainous 384-kilometer (240-mile) border.
It has repeatedly demanded tougher action from Iraq
and the United States against the rebels and refuses
to rule out acting unilaterally if its demands are
not heeded.
AFP | Agencies
** 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.
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.
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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