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Turkey's pro-Kurdish DTP criticizes
alleged mistreatment of Ocalan
22.10.2008
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October
22, 2008
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, — Turkey's pro-Kurdish Democratic People's
Party (DTP) criticized the treatment of the
imprisoned leader of the PKK in a statement made in
the southeastern Kurdish province of Diyarbakir on
Tuesday.
"The reason we are gathered here is the physical
violence used against the Kurdish PKK leader,www.ekurd.net
Mr. Ocalan," said head
of the party, Ahmet Turk, in a statement.
The statement claimed the treatment of Abdullah
Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Turkey's
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was
unlawful and inhumane.
It also said it is necessary to send a delegation,
including DTP members, to Imrali, where Ocalan is
serving a life sentence.
Tensions rose in Turkey's Kurdish southeastern
region after some deputies from the DTP claimed that
Ocalan had been mistreated while imprisoned in
Imrali jail.
The Turkish government has denied the allegations.
Mass demonstrations were held at the weekend across
the country’s southeastern provinces including
Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Batman, as well as Mersin.
On Monday shopkeepers in the region closed-up shops,
a common form of non-violent protest in the region,
as Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in
region.
Turkey’s DTP says 1980 coup
waged “cultural genocide” on Kurds
The military coup in 1980 conducted "political,
social and cultural genocide" on Kurds and paved the
way for the establishment of the Kurdish
organization,www.ekurd.net
PKK, the leader of the
pro-Kurdish party said on Tuesday.
The claims sparked huge protests in the
mainly-Kurdish southeastern regions, leaving one
person dead.
Turk said their aim is to resolve the Kurdish issue
peacefully and criticized the ruling Justice and
Development Party's (AKP) policies for viewing the
issue solely as a security problem.
"The Kurdish issue is a political problem and its
solution is possible only by political means. The
mentality of saying 'if I win the Kurdish regions in
the elections, if I wipe out the DTP in the region,
then I would eliminate this problem' shows how
humiliating and disrespectfully Kurds are
approached. We urge everybody to be careful and to
withdraw from playing such dangerous games," Turk
said,www.ekurd.net
referring to the AKP's
aim to win the local elections in the strongholds of
the pro-Kurdish party.
Turk also said it is necessary to send a delegation,
including DTP members, to Imrali jail, where Ocalan
has been imprisoned since 1999.
"The reason we are gathered here is the physical
violence used against the PKK leader, Mr. Ocalan,"
said Turk, claiming the treatment of the imprisoned
terrorist leader was unlawful and inhumane.
ONE DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED
BY TURKISH POLICE |
The leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (Ahmet
Turk)
PKK flags, Ocalan's photos at the demonstrations
Tear gas used by riot police to disperse Kurd
protestors. Kurds angry at alleged
abuses against jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan
have clashed with Turkish police.
Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned Kurdish leader of the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in his
island prison of Imrali |
One Kurdish
protestor was killed
Monday during a rally organized by the DTP after
clashes erupted between Turkish police protestors in
the Dogubeyazit district of Agri province.
The protestors shouted slogans in support of Ocalan
and the PKK,www.ekurd.net
and attempted to stage a
march, ignoring Turkish police orders to disperse. A
large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise
with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
Four people
were injured Tuesday in southeastern Turkey when Kurds protesting the
alleged abuse of jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan
(Apo) clashed with Turkish police for a fourth day.
Over 39,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan). A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
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, ranting them full
political freedoms.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel
group PKK and its political wing on
the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians
say the measures fall short of their expectations.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
hurriyet com.tr | AFP | Agencies
** 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 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
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