|
Turkish attack forces Iran to reinforce
border with Iraqi Kurdistan
25.2.2008
|
|
|
|
February 25, 2008
TEHRAN,-- Iran said Sunday it had reinforced
its border security with Iraqi Kurdistan region
after Turkey launched an offensive in Kurdistan
region 'north Iraq' against Turkish-Kurdish PKK
rebels, a move an analyst said was likely aimed at
stopping rebels hiding in Iran.
Turkey said it launched the cross-border offensive
after Iraqi authorities failed to stop an estimated
3,000 members of the Turkey's separatist Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) from using northern Iraq as a
base to stage attacks on Turkish territory. Kurdish
authorities in Kurdistan region strongly reject the
claim.
Iranian forces have also often clashed in Iraqi
Kurdistan border areas with rebels from the Iranian
Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Since 2004 PJAK took up
arms for self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdistan
province northwestern of Iran. Half the members of
PEJAK are women.
“Necessary measures have already been taken to
reinforce our borders,” Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a weekly news conference.
Iran, which brands PJAK a “terrorist” group, was
probably concerned that Kurdish rebels might seek
haven in or near Iranian territory as a result of
the Turkish action,www.ekurd.net
one analyst said, adding
this was more likely than concern about a refugee
influx.
“Regarding the PKK and other terrorist factions
active in the region,www.ekurd.net
we stress that the best
way to face regional terrorists is for security
cooperation between the regional countries,”
Hosseini said.
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.
Over 40 million Kurds live in Big Kurdistan (Iraq,
Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia), which covers an area
as big as France.
Reuters | Agencies
Iranian Kurdistan
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Îranę or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatę
Kurdistan (East of Kurdistan)) is an unofficial name
for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has
borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes the
greater parts of West Azerbaijan province, Kurdistan
Province, Kermanshah Province, and Ilam Province.
Kurds form the majority of the population of this
region with an estimated population of 4 million.
The region is the eastern part of the greater
cultural-geographical area called Kurdistan.
More about Iranian Kurdistan
KDPI
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in Kurdish
(Hîzbî Dęmokiratî Kurdistanî Ęran) is a Kurdish
opposition group in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks
the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a
democratic federal republic of Iran.
The current
General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan is Mustafa Hijri
More about KDPI- Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
PJAK
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PEJAK are women, many of them still in
their teens, and one of the female members of the
leadership council is Gulistan Dugan, a psychology
graduate from the University of Tehran. This is due
primarily to the fact that PEJAK is strongly
supportive of women's rights. PEJAK believes that
women must have a strong role in government and must
be on an equal level with men in leadership
positions.
More about PEJAK- Party for a
Free Life in Kurdistan
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 