Turkish PM reiterates urgency to recognize Kurds
March
30, 2011
ERBIL-Hewlęr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey should give up
“traditional policy” of denying Kurds in the
country, while he highlighted Turkey’s improving
relations with Iraqi Kurds.
The statements by the Turkish senior official came
in the sidelines of a visit to Erbil Tuesday where
he met with Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Regional
president and a number of other top Kurdish
officials.
The PM said in those areas of his country where the
majority is Kurdish, “we should give up the
traditional policy of denying Kurds.” He stressed
during his eight years of power as the PM “I have
always rejected that policy.”
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Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani (R) receives
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Erbil
International Airport, March 29, 2011. Erdogan, the
first Turkish premier to visit the autonomous
Kurdistan region of Iraq. KRG photo |
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Despite the statements
and some efforts to amend the Turkish constitution
recently, it recognizes “one nation, one flag, one
language”, and thus sidelines 20 million Kurds and
some other ethnic groups in the country.
Erdogan said that Turkish Airlines will launch
flights from Istanbul to Erbil in April to serve
what he said “our Kurdish brothers” and the rest of
Iraq.
He went on saying that Turkey has made many steps
forward to promote brotherly relations among all its
citizens during the past eight years, referring to
the giant projects launched by the Turkish
government in those parts of Turkey which are mostly
populated by Kurds.
By doing so, he said, Turkey continued to end the
denial of Kurdish existence in Turkey.
After landing in Baghdad, delivering a statement in
Iraqi parliament and paying a visit to the holy Shia
city of Najaf,www.ekurd.netErdogan
arrived in Erbil and participated in the ceremonial
for opening Erbil International Airport.
During the ceremonial the PM commended Barzani as
well as Barham Salih, current Kurdistan PM, and
Nechirvan Barzani, Salih precedent, for supporting
Kurdistan’s economic, cultural, and political
relations with Turkey.
As another step to improve economic relations with
Kurdistan, Erdogan said so far only private
companies operated the flights between Kurdistan and
Turkey, “but we have decided to also engage Turkish
Airlines in the travels.”
The PM also opened the International Bank of Turkey,
adding in a near future Turkish Agriculture Bank
will also be opened in Erbil, Kurdistan Regional
capital.
In the past years Turkey officially does not
recognize the Kurdistan region government (KRG) and
refuses to meet with its representatives in any
official capacity. At that time Ankara feared that
direct negotiating with Kurdistan regional
government in Iraq's north would be a kind of
recognition of Kurdistan as a state.
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