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Turkish PM defends military incursion in
Iraqi Kurdistan
26.2.2008
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February 26, 2008
ANKARA, -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan defended Tuesday Turkey's military
offensive against Turkish-Kurdish PKK rebel bases in
Kurdistan region in 'northern Iran', amid US and
Iraqi for troops to be withdrawn as soon as
possible.
"Turkey's cross-border operation is a result of its
legitimate right to self-defence," Erdogan said in a
televised speech to the parliamentary group of his
Justice and Development Party (AKP).
"Turkey is in a rightful struggle against the
terrorist organization that is threatening regional
peace and stability... Turkey has the right to
defend itself,www.ekurd.net
eliminate those that
harm its citizens' peace, unity and solidarity," he
said. |
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
Turkish forces
stormed into Kurdistan
region 'northern Iraq' on Thursday evening to flush
out an estimated 4,000 Turkish-Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) rebels who Ankara says have found refuge
in the autonomous region and use it as a springboard
for their armed separatist campaign in southeast
Turkey.
Both the United States and Iraq have in recent days
issued repeated calls for the incursion to be
wrapped up as swiftly as possible, so as to avoid
destabilising the region.
Baghdad has labelled the incursion a "threat" to its
sovereignty.
Turkey says it will withdraw its troops once they
achieve their objective of flushing out the rebels
and destroying their camps, but has given no
timeframe.
Erdogan argued that the PKK presence was a source of
"political instability" for Baghdad and gave fresh
assurances that Turkey's military action had no aim
other than routing the rebels.
"This operation is not against northern Iraq but
only against the terrorist organization... Turkey
has always supported the protection of Iraq's
territorial integrity,www.ekurd.net
sovereignty and
political unity," he added.
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.
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.
The Turkish army says it has so far killed 153
rebels and lost 17 soldiers in the offensive.
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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