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The Multi-National Forces, Iraqi army to
protect Kurdistan border with Turkey
10.6.2007
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June
10, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), Jun 10, --
The Iraqi army and the Multi-National Forces (MNF)
are responsible for encountering any attack by the
Turkish army on Iraq's Kurdistan region, the
military spokesman for the Peshmerga forces
(Kurdistan national guard) said on Sunday.
"Protecting the borders of Kurdistan, which
represent the borders of Iraq, is part of the
responsibility of the federal government according
to the Iraqi constitution. If any attack occurs on
the region, it will be the responsibility of the
Iraqi government and the Multi-National Forces to
defend the region," Jabar Yawer said.
Yawer added, "the role of the Peshmerga fighters
will be to support these forces."
On Saturday, local residents said Turkish artillery
had shelled the border villages of Dishish and
Bidohi inside the Iraqi Kurdistan territories.
Accordingly, Iraq's foreign ministry summoned the
Turkish envoy to Baghdad and gave him a letter
protesting the shelling.
The Peshmerga spokesman said, "the recent Turkish
shelling of the Iraqi Kurdish villages was due to
clashes that broke out between Turkish forces and
fighters from the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)
and they occurred inside Turkish territories."
He added, "The clashes took place one week ago and
left a number Turkish soldiers dead, and led to a
Turkish helicopter being gunned down, according to
sources in the area."
Shortly after the clashes, Yawer pointed out, ten
Turkish choppers flew over the area and a senior
army officer was onboard for surveillance.
The Kurdish spokesman said "villages in Duhuk
province came under artillery shelling leaving no
human casualties but it set people into a panic."
Meanwhile, the Peshmerga spokesman said talks are
underway in Baghdad on the Peshmerga forces' number,
tasks and structure.
The spokesman, who denied any dispute over the
number of Peshmerga with Baghdad, said "the Iraqi
government demanded a reduction in the number of
Peshmerga fighters if the security situation
improves in Iraq."
The current number of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters is
estimated at 100,000.
Yawer added, "the expenses of the Peshmerga fighters
and weaponry will be part of the national defense
ministry's budget."
VOI
** 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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