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Turkish minister slams EU court's decision
on PKK
4.4.2008
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April
4, 2008
ANKARA,-- Turkey accused a European court of
undermining security efforts after it ruled against
the European Union's inclusion of a Turkey's Kurdish
PKK rebel group on its list of "terrorist"
organizations.
"The judges were supposed to think very well before
making such a ruling that weakens the international
struggle against terrorism," Justice Minister Mehmet
Ali Sahin was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news
agency.
"I wish they had come to Turkey...and seen the
threats," he said. "But, of course, they made the
decision at home where there is no risk of
terrorism, far from the realities."
The Luxembourg European Court of First Instance -
the E.U.'s second highest court - had ruled earlier
to annul the inclusion in 2002 of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party,www.ekurd.net
or PKK, on the E.U.'s
official terrorist list. |
Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin |
A European Union court
on Thursday
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its political wing on
the European Union's terror list.
The court judged that the E.U. had failed at the
time to provide adequate reasons for listing the
group.
An E.U. spokesman said the ruling would have no
impact as the 2002 list had since been updated
several times and was now in compliance in terms of
justifying the PKK's inclusion.
Since 1984 the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey, sparking a conflict
that has claimed more than 37,000 lives. 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.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, 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 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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