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Turkish soldier killed by mine explosion 9.3.2010
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March
9, 2010
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern
region of Turkey, — A Turkish soldier was killed
Tuesday when a mine believed to have been planted by
Kurdish rebels exploded in the second deadly blast
in as many days, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The explosion occurred during a security sweep of
farmland near the southeastern Kurdish town of
Semdinli, close to Turkey's borders with Iraq and
Iran.
The operation was launched Monday shortly after
another mine blast, blamed on the Turkey Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), killed one soldier and wounded
three others.s |
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The explosions came after a routine lull in fighting
between the army and PKK rebels in winter when snow
makes the mountainous terrain in the country's
southeast inaccessible.
Since 1984 PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey
(Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around 45,000
lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish community
openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
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 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,www.ekurd.net
the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
Last August, the government announced plans to expand
Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support
for the PKK and end the insurgency.
Although the drive faltered amid a ban on the
country's main Kurdish DTP party, street protests and PKK
violence, Ankara has vowed to push ahead with the
reforms.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
AFP | Agencies
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