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Kurdistan regional government slams US
over Turkish incursion
24.2.2008
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February 24, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',--
Iraq's Kurdistan region, usually one of Washington's
closest friends in the region, on Saturday attacked
the United States for green-lighting a
Turkish incursion
onto its territory.
"We place responsibility for the military operations
on the US government because without its consent
Turkey would not be allowed to violate the land and
air sovereignty of Iraq," said regional government
spokesman Falah Mustafa.
"The regional government condemns these military
operations and the air bombing targeting
infrastructure," he told AFP.
The Erbil-based regional government has demanded "an
immediate Turkish retreat from the Kurdish region of
Iraq. The problem will not be solved militarily, but
rather by peaceful means," Mustafa said. Erbil,www.ekurd.net
is the capital of Iraqi
Kurdistan.
He insisted that the regional government has taken
measures to stop the activities of the
Turkish-Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Kurdistan
region 'northern Iraq'.
"The regional government offers no support
whatsoever to the PKK, and has taken a series of
measures to limit its activities in the region," he
said.
Mustafa called for a "direct dialogue between
Ankara, Washington and Erbil to find a solution to
this problem."
Iraq has protested against the operation, Turkey's
second incursion into its southern neighbour in
three months, and the United Nations and Western
powers have also called for restraint.
The Turkish army's general staff said on Friday that
at least 24 rebels and five of its soldiers have
been killed in clashes.
Some 10,000 troops were reported to have penetrated
10 kilometers (six miles) into the autonomous
Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
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',Turkey fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
Over 39,000 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. 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
the U.S. and the EU.
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
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