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Turkish Kurds protest in Van city against
Iraqi Kurdistan incursion
27.2.2008
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February 27, 2008
VAN, Kurdish Southeastern region of Turkey,
-- Hundreds of Kurds in Turkey’s Van took the
streets Tuesday to protest cross-border operations
in Iraq's Kurdistan autonomous region. The police
used water cannons and tear gas. Five protests were
injured,www.ekurd.net
several arrested,
EuroNews reports.
Collisions between Turkish-Kurdish PKK rebels and
Turkish troops are going on. Turkish troops with the
assistance of defense technology and aviation
advance through the snow-covered mountains to
eliminate Kurdish PKK facilities.
The Turkish command reported 150 killed Kurdish PKK
rebels and 19 Turkish troops.
Thousands of
Turkish troops crossed the
border last Thursday to root out
Turkish-Kurdish PKK fighters, Ankara says they used
the mountainous of Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' as a
base for their fight for self-rule in the mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey since the 1990s. Kurdish
authorities in Kurdistan region strongly reject the
claim
On Monday thousands
demonstrated in Diyarbakir
city, Turkey's mainly Kurdish
southeast against a major cross-border ground
offensive in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' to hunt
separatist PKK rebels, AFP reports.
The rally in Diyarbakir -- organized by the
country's main Kurdish party,www.ekurd.net
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'.
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 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.
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 is considered a terrorist organization by
Turkey, U.S. and EU.
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.
Information for this report was provided by EuroNews
| 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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