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Thousands of Turkish Kurds protest in
Diyarbakir against Iraqi Kurdistan incursion
26.2.2008
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February 26, 2008
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern region of
Turkey, -- Thousands demonstrated in Turkey's
mainly Kurdish southeast on Monday against a major
cross-border ground offensive in Kurdistan 'northern
Iraq' to hunt separatist PKK rebels.
The rally in Diyarbakir -- organized by the
country's main Kurdish party, the Democratic Society
Party -- drew up to 10,000 protestors who condemned
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for ordering
troops into Kurdistan region in 'northern Iraq'.
"Terrorist Erdogan, hypocrite Erdoagan," they
chanted.
"Damn the hands that touch Qandil,"www.ekurd.net
they said, referring to
a mountainous stronghold of the Turkish Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in the autonomous
Kurdistan region in 'north of Iraq'.
A banner carried by the demonstrators warned Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, that Iraqi Kurds,
whom Ankara accuses of tolerating the PKK, might be
Turkey's next target.
"Take care Talabani, if we are lunch, you are
dinner," it read.
The protest ended peacefully, but there were
scuffles in nearby neighbourhoods between small
groups of demonstrators and police, journalists
said.
Turkish troops
crossed into Kurdistan region
of 'northern Iraq' Thursday in major cross-border
assault which the Turkish army said Monday had
claimed the lives of 153 rebels and 17 soldiers so
far.
Turkey has given assurances that the operation only
targets the PKK and that troops will return once
they achieve their objectives.
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.www.ekurd.net
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.
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.
Analysts believe the Turkish raids inside Iraqi
Kurdistan region had a secondary purpose of
discouraging a referendum on Kirkuk city. Ankara
fears that if the oil-rich Kirkuk joins Kurdistan,
the Kurds will have the economic foundation they
need for an independent state.
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 | 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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