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Turkish government and military agree on Iraqi
Kurdistan incursion plans
7.7.2007 |
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July
7, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey, -- Turkey's government and
military have agreed on detailed plans for a
cross-border operation against Kurdish PKK rebels
based in Kurdistan region (northern Iraq), the
foreign minister said Friday.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul urged the United
States and Iraq, which oppose a Turkish military
move into Iraq, to crack down on rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. But he said Turkey
was ready to stage an offensive if necessary.
"We have decided how to act, everything is clear,"
Gul told private NTV television. "We know what to do
and when to do it," he said without providing
details.
Turkey has long complained of U.S. inaction against
separatist rebels, who have escalated attacks in
Turkey in recent months. Last week, Turkey's
military chief asked the government to set political
guidelines for an incursion into Kurdistan (northern
Iraq).
Asked whether the government would discuss a
possible cross-border offensive during a Cabinet
meeting next week, Gul said: "Everything can happen
in one day."
Turkish political leaders have said Parliament must
approve any major incursion. Such a move could
strain ties with Washington, which is trying to deal
with violence elsewhere in Iraq and wants to
preserve the north as one of the country's few
relatively calm areas.
Turkey has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels
since 1984 in a conflict that has killed tens of
thousands of people.
There has been a recent surge in rebel attacks, and
67 soldiers have been killed so far this year. More
than 110 rebels were killed in the same period,
according to the Turkish military.
Ahead of parliamentary elections on July 22,
opposition parties have criticized the government as
being too soft on terrorism because of a perceived
reluctance to approve a military incursion.
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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