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Turkey's National Security Council gives
green light for talks with Iraqi Kurdistan government
25.4.2008
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April
25, 2008
ANKARA, -- Turkey's top political leaders and
military commanders have discussed relations with
neighboring Iraq and given the green light for talks
with Iraqi Kurds after having refused for several
years to have dialogue with the Kurdistan regional
government on suspicion that they support the
outlawed Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"Activities in the legislative field, which
constitutes the basis of national consensus in Iraq,
and developments toward restoration of Iraq's
standing in the region have been assessed,www.ekurd.net
and it has been
considered that it will be beneficial to continue
consultations with all Iraqi groups and movements,"
a statement released after a regular meeting of the
National Security Council (MGK) said yesterday
afternoon. The statement also said prospects for the
deepening of bilateral cooperation with Iraq,
particularly in the field of energy, were discussed
at the meeting.
Ankara maintains low-level talks with Iraqi Kurds
running autonomous Kurdistan region in 'northern
Iraq' but refuses to have senior-level dialogue,
urging them to condemn and isolate the PKK in Iraq's
Kurdistan region first. News reports have recently
suggested that Turkish officials are planning talks
with Nechirvan Barzani,www.ekurd.net
the prime minister of
the autonomous regional Kurdistan region. Massoud
Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan, has also
softened his usually harsh tone while describing the
state of relations with Turkey in recent speeches.
Turkey rejects direct talks with the official Iraqi
Kurdistan government on the crisis over the Turkey's
separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.
Officially, Turkey does not recognise the regional
government of Kurdistan led by president Massoud
Barzani.
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
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.
The MGK statement also said Turkey's efforts to
fight the PKK so called "terrorists" will continue.
The MGK discussed the new Cyprus reunification
process as well. The statement said Turkey fully
supported efforts to reach a just and lasting
solution on the island and emphasized that the
settlement must be based on the principle of
political equality for both sides.
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 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.
Information for this report was provided,
todayszaman com,
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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