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Kurdistan regional government ready to
settle Turkey-PKK conflict
29.2.2008
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February 29, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', --
Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is ready
to help settle Turkey's problem with the Turkish
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) through dialogue in
order to reach political solutions, a Iraqi Kurdish
official said on Friday.
"We are following up the reported cessation by
Turkey of all military operations in Iraqi
Kurdistan. It is, however, premature to comment on
it but we welcome any step in the direction of
Turkey's withdrawal of troops from the KRG," Falah
Mustafa,www.ekurd.net
the official in charge
of foreign relations in the Iraqi Kurdistan region,
told VOI on Friday.
A Turkish NTV satellite channel said on Friday that
Turkey stopped its military incursions into Iraqi
Kurdistan.
A source in the border guards in the KRG said he had
no information about the cessation of military
operations in the KRG territories. "It is better for
Turkey to withdraw from our lands because its
incursion would further complicate matters," he
said.
"The Turkish forces on Friday morning pounded the
areas of Nirewrican in Duhok province and the two
banks of the river Zab on the Iraqi
Kurdistan-Turkish borders,"www.ekurd.net
the source, who declined
to have his name mentioned, said.
Thousands of Turkish troops, backed by tanks,
attack helicopters and warplanes,
crossed into Kurdistan region in northern
Iraq on February 21 in an operation which Ankara said was aimed at Turkey's Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas and their bases. The Turkish forces used
artillery and aircraft to back up its ground
campaign, destroying bridges and infrastructure in
the province amidst condemnation by the Iraqi and
Kurdistan governments.
Turkey rejects direct talks with Iraqi Kurdistan
government, Officially, Turkey does not recognise
the regional government of Kurdistan led by
president Massoud Barzani.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Iraqi Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
Earlier, Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan
regional government that holds sway in northern
Iraq, regretted Ankara's refusal to hold direct
talks on the crisis over the Turkey's separatist
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.
Iraqi Kurdistan politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group (Kurdish
freedom fighters) 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.
The core of Turkey's "Kurdish problem" is not the
PKK. It is Turkey's denial of basic political and
cultural rights to its Kurds.
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 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.
VOI | 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 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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