|
Talabani praises Turkish decision to
withdraw from Iraqi Kurdistan
1.3.2008
|
|
|
|
March 1, 2008
BAGHDAD -- President Jalal Talabani on
Saturday praised Ankara for ending its incursion
against Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels in Iraqi
Kurdistan, and said he is looking forward to
accepting an invitation to visit Turkey.
The Turkish military announced on Friday that it had
ended a eight-day ground
offensive against Turkish Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in the mountainous
regions of Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'.
Turkey's withdrawal "bolsters the credibility of the
Turkish government when it said that military
operations would be limited and temporary," said
Talabani, an ethnic Kurd.
Talabani also said he was looking forward to an
invitation from his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul
to discuss with him and Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan economic and political ties between
Iraq and Turkey,www.ekurd.net
and "to achieve their
aims in defeating the terrorists and ending violent
actions." |
Iraqi President : Jalal Talabani, a Kurd |
Since 1984 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
the U.S. and the EU.
Ankara charges that an estimated 4,000 PKK rebels
have found refuge in northern Iraq.
Separately Massoud Barzani,www.ekurd.net
president of the
autonomous region of Kurdistan, urged the PKK and
Turkey to halt all military action.
Barzani also said that he was ready to work with
both sides to "search for a peaceful solution" to
the PKK's grievances in Turkey.
"We are not part of this armed dispute," said
Barzani. "Turkey must find a solution to it within
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, the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
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.
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 