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US: Turkish military action in Iraqi Kurdistan
would be harmful
28.6.2007 |
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June
28, 2007
WASHINGTON,-- The United States said Tuesday
that a move by to counteract Kurdish rebels inside
Kurdistan region (Iraq) would be harmful.
Earlier, Turkey's top general asked his government
in a televised speech to set guidelines for an
incursion into Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
Turkey has been considering a cross-border move to
strike rebel hideouts amid an escalation of attacks
by the guerrillas this year that have killed 64
troops, the commander of the land forces said.
"We understand absolutely the Turkish government's
sensitivity and the need for the Turkish military to
defend the Turkish people against attacks terrorist
groups," U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean
McCormack said. "All of that said, it is not our
view that a substantial land incursion by Turkish
forces into Iraq is going to help the situation."
More than 37,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
(Kurdistan Workers' Party) took up arms for
self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast
of Turkey.
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.
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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