|
Turkish leader rules out "political
solution" to PKK crisis
9.1.2008
|
|
|
|
January
9, 2008
WASHINGTON, -- Turkish President Abdullah Gul
indicated Tuesday that his country cannot, by
itself, forge a "political solution" ending two
decades of attacks by Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels
based in nearby Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq'.
Speaking after White House talks with President
George W. Bush, he said resolution of the crisis
with the rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) was difficult because they were
"terrorists" and based outside of Turkey.
"There are attacks (from the PKK) coming into Turkey
from another country targeting security forces and
civilians," Gul told a Washington forum.
"So how could one speak of a political solution when
that act of terrorism emanates externally from
another country," he said to a question on the
possibility of political solution to the conflict.
"This is like trying to find a solution to an
Al-Qaeda attack from another country," he said.
Gul also appeared to indicate that the issue of a
political solution to the PKK crisis was not raised
during talks with President Bush on Tuesday.
"Neither today nor any other meeting that we had, we
did not discuss this issue and we would not discuss
it in that context," Gul said, through an
interpreter.
Earlier Bush said after talks with Gul that
Washington would keep helping Ankara's military
against the PKK.
"It's an enemy to Turkey; it's an enemy to Iraq; and
it's an enemy to people who want to live in peace,"
said Bush.
The White House also encouraged Gul's government to
pursue talks with leaders in Iraq's Kurdish northern
region and leaders in Baghdad to forge a "long-term
political solution" to end the PKK's two-decade
campaign.
"This has been going on for so long that it's time
to put a stop to it," said spokeswoman Dana Perino,
who urged Gul to work with Iraq's President Jalal
Talabani -- himself a Kurd -- and Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki.
Asked whether Washington was proposing any specific
political solution,www.ekurd.net
Perino replied: "No, I
think that we just would encourage an open dialogue
which they have had over the past couple of months."
Asked whether the PKK -- branded a terrorist group
by the European Union, Turkey and the United States
-- would have a seat at the table, Perino replied:
"I don't know whether they talk to terrorists. I
know that we do not."
Iraqi Kurdistan politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an
excuse to invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent
the establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq',www.ekurd.net
Turkey fears this could
fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey.
Since 1984 the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
A
large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, granting them full
political freedoms.
AFP
**
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, a
large Turkey's Kurdish community 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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 