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Turkey says Iraq not doing enough against Kurd
rebels
15.6.2007 |
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June
15, 2007
ISTANBUL, Turkey, -- Turkey on Thursday
accused Iraq of making "no effort at all" to curb
Turkish Kurd rebels who it says take refuge in
northern Iraq where they obtain large amounts of
explosives.
"According to information we have, between 3,500 and
3,800 terrorists take shelter in camps in northern
Iraq, meeting their logistical needs and obtaining
explosives and ammunition," Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul told a conference in Istanbul.
"It is regrettable that... the Iraqi authorities
make no effort at all to prevent the activities of
the PKK on their soil," he said.
The Turkish army has called for a cross-border
operation into northern Iraq to destroy camps of the
separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it
says are supported by Iraqi Kurds who run the
region.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by
Ankara and much of the international community, has
stepped up attacks in Turkey this year.
Facing general elections on July 22, the government
has come under pressure to toughen its stance
against Iraq. Public anger boiled over in May when a
suspected PKK militant blew himself up in Ankara,
killing seven people.
But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
signalled his opposition to a cross-border
operation, saying Ankara would focus on fighting the
PKK inside Turkey and seek dialogue with Baghdad.
"We expect the Iraqi government to control its
borders. If it is unable to do that, the coalition
forces should do it. If this does not happen either,
then they should cooperate with those who can
resolve the problem," Gul said.
According to media reports, Ankara wants to set up a
15-kilometer (10-mile) wide security belt on the
Iraqi side of the border to stop PKK militants from
infiltrating Turkey.
"Turkey has no territorial ambitions against any
country... But the Turkish government is determined
to take all measures to ensure the security of its
people (who)... as any other people, have the right
to live free of the threat of terrorism," Gul said.
Gul said anti-PKK operations in Turkey last year
resulted in the seizure of two tonnes of plastic
explosives originating from Iraq.
Washington is opposed to Turkish military action in
northern Iraq, wary that this would destabilise a
relatively peaceful region of the conflict-torn
country and further strain tense ties between Ankara
and Iraqi Kurds, staunch allies of the United
States.
Washington has promised to combat the PKK by
non-military means such as cutting off financial
channels, but Ankara wants more.
The mounting violence in Turkey's southeast claimed
another life Thursday as PKK rebels killed a soldier
in fighting in Elazig province, the Anatolia news
agency reported.
The army is cracking down against the PKK in the
east and southeast of the country and has massed
troops on the border with Iraq.
The PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
Kurdish-majority region in 1984. The conflict has
claimed more than 37,000 lives so far.
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.
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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