|
Ten Kurdish PKK rebels killed in eastern
Turkey
4.2.2008
|
|
|
|
February 4, 2008
ANKARA, -- Turkish troops killed 10 Turkey's
separatist Kurdish PKK rebels on Sunday in the
eastern province of Bingol, the Anatolia news agency
reported.
Fighting erupted in a rural area near the village of
Ortacanak where troops have been hunting down rebels
from the outlawed Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) for the past three days, the report said.
The pro-Kurdish Firat news agency also reported
clashes between troops and guerrillas in Bingol but
said there were no details about any casualties.
The statement said military operations were
continuing and the Turkish troops were backed by
helicopters.
Turkish jets have conducted at least four
cross-border aerial attacks on rebel positions in
northern Iraq since Dec. 16.
The military has claimed to have inflicted heavy
losses on the group in those raids, killing as many
as 175 rebels and destroying command and logistic
centers, shelters, and ammunition depots.
More than 37,000 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.www.ekurd.net
A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK
rebels.
Turkey charges that thousands of PKK rebels use
bases in neighbouring Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' as a
springboard for attacks on Turkish territory.
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. Turkey is home to
over 25 million ethnic Kurds
Faced with mounting PKK violence, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government secured a
parliamentary approval in October to order
cross-border operations into Iraq, if necessary,
against PKK targets.
Since December 16, the Turkish army has said it has
carried out four air strikes against rebel positions
in northern Iraq as well as a ground cross-border
operation to stop a group of rebels trying to
infiltrate 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,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded an
end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, granting them full
political freedoms.
The group is listed as a "terrorist" organisation by
Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
AFP | AP
**
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
|
® 