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PKK denies casualties after Turkish air
strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan
19.4.2008
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April
19, 2008
ANKARA,-- Turkish warplanes
attacked a
group of Turkey's separatist Kurdish PKK rebels in
Kurdistan region in 'northern Iraq' as they
attempted to sneak across the border into Turkey,
the Turkish military said Wednesday.
A statement said the armed group was "rendered
ineffective" in the raid, which took place on
Tuesday in the Avasin-Basyan area of Kurdistan
'northern Iraq', without saying how many rebels were
killed.
Ahmad Danis, the spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) confirmed the air raids and said
similar strikes were carried out on Wednesday
morning.
"There was a Turkish air strike against some old PKK
bases in Zaqros mountain near Amediyah but there
were no casualties," he told AFP by telephone from a
rebel hideout in the Qandil Mountains of Iraqi
Kurdistan region.
"Turkish aircraft targeted the same area Thursday
morning again without causing any casualties," he
added.
Turkish warplanes have targeted PKK positions in
Iraqi Kurdistan region since mid-December. In
February, thousands of Turkish troops, backed by tanks,
attack helicopters and warplanes,
crossed into Kurdistan region in northern
Iraq on February 21 in an operation which Ankara said was aimed at Turkey's Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas and their bases.
Turkish forces withdrew
from semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in 'northern
Iraq' on February 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.
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
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision to place the Kurdish
rebel group PKK and its political wing on
the European Union's terror list.
The Turkish government has a one-year parliamentary
authorization,www.ekurd.net
which expires in
October, for cross-border raids in semi-autonomous
Kurdistan region in northern Iraq against the
Turkey's Kurdish PKK separatists.
The United States has backed Turkish military action
against the rebels by providing real-time
intelligence on PKK movements in Iraq.
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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