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Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman opposes
Maliki's anti-PKK agreement
10.8.2007
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Dr Mahmoud Othman: Turkey has been committing the
crime of terrorism against the Kurdish people since
almost 100 years and isn't granting them their
rights.
August 10, 2007
Baghdad, -- Dr Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish
legislator, member of the Kurdistan National
Democratic Union in the Iraqi Parliament, has
objected to a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
signed this week by the Iraqi and Turkish
governments concerning bilateral cooperation against
the Kurdish PKK separatists based in the border
mountains of Kurdistan (northern Iraq), alleging
that PKK was not a "terrorist" organization.
Othman, a member of the Kurdish coalition in the
Iraqi Parliament, said the MoU "didn't represent the
stance of the Kurdistan regional government,"
pukmedia.com -- the official Web site of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani -- reported on Thursday. |
Dr
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, member of the
Kurdistan National Democratic Union |
His comments came two days after the
signing of the MoU in Ankara by
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his
Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Turkey
has been committing the crime of terrorism against
the Kurdish people since almost 100 years and isn't
granting them their rights." That's why it's not
sensible to describe the PKK as a terrorist
organization. Because the PKK is struggling against
the terrorism committed being committed by the
Turkish government," Othman was quoted as saying by
pukmedia in remarks to an Iraq-based radio station.
Meanwhile in Ankara, Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Levent Bilman referred journalists to remarks by
Maliki in Ankara when he was asked Thursday at a
weekly press briefing whether the Iraqi Kurdistan
regional president Massoud Barzani would fulfill its
requirements on the Iraqi side via the signing of
the MoU by Maliki concerning his government's
responsibilities in dealing with the PKK, which is
listed as a 'terrorist' organization by United
States and the European Union and Turkey.
Officially, Turkey does not recognise the regional
government of Kurdistan led by president Massoud
Barzani.
More than 37,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Turkey is home to over
25 million ethnic Kurds.
When asked the same question at a press conference
following the signing of the MoU, Maliki said:
"Iraqi Kurdistan is a part of Iraq. The agreement
reached between the two states concerns the whole of
the countries and puts [the whole country] in the
zone of responsibility. Thus, it will be binding for
all sides." but Iraq's prime minister said he could
not sign an agreement implementing the promise until
it was put to his parliament.
"My response will be the same," Bilman briefly said.
When reminded that Iraq's largely autonomous
Kurdistan region passed its own oil law on Monday,
despite the Iraqi Parliament having failed to pass a
national law after months of negotiations by the
country's main political blocs, Bilman said it would
not be appropriate for him to comment on such
decisions by regional administrations. "What matters
for us as well as for both the international
community and international companies is the
decision that will be made by the national
Parliament," he nonetheless added.
A day ago in Washington US State Department
spokesperson Sean McCormack
hailed the MoU between Ankara and
Baghdad, describing it as "a very positive step."
"… now Turkey and Iraq are directly engaging on the
issue of fighting the PKK at the highest levels. And
you now have buy-in at the highest levels to jointly
work on the issue of fighting the PKK. So a very,
very positive step," McCormack said on Wednesday,
noting that "there should be more to follow."
Source: todayszaman com
**
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.
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.
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 25 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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