|
Two Turkish policemen wounded in bomb
blast in southeast Turkey
6.2.2008
|
|
|
|
February 6, 2008
ANKARA, -- Two police officers were wounded
in a bomb explosion in a restive province in
Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast
(Turkey-Kurdistan), the Anatolia news agency
reported Wednesday.
A roadside bomb was set off by remote control as a
police vehicle was passing late Tuesday in the town
of Yuksekova, in Hakkari province bordering both
Iraq and Iran, the report said.
One of the officers in the car sustained serious
injuries, it added.
There was no immediate word on who was behind the
attack, but the Turkey's separatist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) is active in the region.
The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Turkey
and much of the international community, has
threatened retaliation following Turkish air raids
on its bases in northern Iraq.
Since December 16, the Turkish army has said it has
carried out five air strikes against rebel positions
in Kurdistan region in 'northern Iraq' as well as a
ground cross-border operation to stop a group of
rebels trying to infiltrate Turkey.
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',www.ekurd.net
Turkey fears this could
fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey. Turkey is home to
over 25 million ethnic Kurds
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,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
**
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
|
® 