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Turkish warplanes bomb Kurdish PKK rebels
in Iraq's Kurdistan
20.3.2008
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March 20, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', --
Turkish warplanes bombed Iraqi Kurdistan on the
pretext of the presence of Turkey's Kurdish PKK
rebel Thursday, private news channel NTV reported.
The planes flew reconnaissance flights over the
border area before bombing targets of the Turkey's
Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, the station said,
citing Iraqi Kurdish officials.
There were no reports of civilian casualties, it
said.
Last month Turkey launched a major
ground operation into
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in
'northern Iraq' to hit Kurdish guerrilla camps
there. The eight-day incursion
ended on Feb.
29. only a day after US President George W. Bush
urged Ankara to
quickly wrap up the incursion and Defense Secretary
Robert Gates personally
put pressure on
Turkish leaders during a visit to Ankara. |
Turkish warplanes bombed Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebel
on Thursday inside Iraq's Kurdistan. |
There was no immediate confirmation of the new
attack from the Turkish military. But military chief
Gen. Yasar Buyukanit has said Turkey will continue
its attacks against rebels in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The military has said it inflicted heavy losses on a
large group of rebels in Iraq's Kurdistan Zap
region, close to the Turkish border,www.ekurd.net
during the ground
incursion. The rebels have disputed that claim.
Iraqi Kurdistan politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group (Kurdish
freedom fighters) 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.
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
Ankara, U.S. and the EU.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,www.ekurd.net
who visited Ankara
earlier this month, said the rebels would not be
tolerated inside Iraq's borders and that Baghdad was
pressuring them to lay down their arms.
AP | 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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