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Iraqi interior minister in Turkey to
discuss Kurdish PKK threat
25.9.2007
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September
25, 2007
ANKARA, Turkey, -- Iraq's interior minister
arrived in Turkey on Tuesday to discuss Turkish
concerns over separatist Kurdish rebels holed up in
bases in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'.
Turkey is seeking an anti-terrorism cooperation
agreement with Iraq that would engage its neighbor
in cracking down on the rebels of the Kurdistan
Workers Party, or PKK, which has been attacking
targets in Turkey from bases in 'northern Iraq.
On Tuesday, a soldier was killed and four others
were wounded when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated
a bomb that was placed inside a van, at the entrance
of a Turkish military outpost in the southeastern
province of Tunceli, the private Dogan news agency
reported.
"We cannot accept any person or group that is
against Turkey," Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani
told reporters on arrival at Ankara's airport. "We
are here to take up every issue."
Turkey has threatened to stage a military incursion
into northern Iraq to eradicate rebel bases there if
U.S. or Iraqi forces do not take action against the
PKK.
During a visit by Iraq's prime minister to Ankara in
August, Turkey and Iraq agreed to try to root out
the rebels. But the Iraqi prime minister said the
Iraqi parliament would have the final say on efforts
to halt the guerrillas' cross-border attacks into
Turkey.
The guerrillas have been fighting for autonomy in
the mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey since 1984. The
conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds. The
PKK is considered a terrorist group by the United
States and the European Union.
AP
**
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 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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