|
Turkish jets strike Kurdish PKK rebel
hideouts in Iraqi Kurdistan
8.10.2012 |
|
|
|
Turkish jets strike Kurdish PKK rebel hideouts in
Iraqi Kurdistan. 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.
Photo: UKS •
See Related Links
October 8, 2012
DIYARBAKIR, The Kurdish
region of Turkey,— Turkish jets bombed Kurdish rebel
hideouts in Iraq's Kurdistan region overnight,
Turkish military sources told AFP, but it was not
immediately clear if there were any casualties.
At least 12 F-16 fighter jets took off from the
Diyarbakir base in the southeast and targeted four
camps in the Turkish-Iraqi border area of Qandil
Mountains and the surrounding area where the
leadership of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)
is believed to be hiding, the sources added.
The latest operation comes after the Turkish
government asked parliament last week to renew the
mandate for its armed forces to attack Kurdish rebel
bases in Iraq for another year, as the clashes
sharply escalated between the two sides.
The last air strike was in early September when
Turkish jets bombed suspected PKK ammunition depots
and shelters.
Last Tuesday, Iraq moved to end Turkey's military
presence in the north of the country,www.ekurd.net
saying it rejected any foreign bases on its soil or
action by foreign forces, signalling a further
deterioration in ties between the two neighbours.
Baghdad's move appeared to be linked to the Turkish
government's request for parliamentary approval for
a new mandate for operations in northern Iraq. The
current mandate expires on October 17.
Since the 1990s Turkey has maintained several
military bases in the autonomous Kurdistan region of
north Iraq, where the PKK also has bases.
Ties between Iraq and Turkey have been marred by
several disputes this year, including Ankara's
refusal to extradite Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi,
who has been sentenced to death in absentia by a
Baghdad court.
The PKK has several times proposed peaceful solutions regarding Kurdish problem,
Turkey has always refused saying that it will not negotiate with “terrorists”.
Since it was established in 1984, the PKK has been fighting the Turkish state,
which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to establish a Kurdish
state in the south east of the country. By 2012, more than 45,000 people have since been
killed.
But now its aim is the creation an autonomous region
and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds who
constitute the greatest minority in Turkey,
numbering to 23 million. A large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK
rebels.
The PKK wants constitutional recognition for the Kurds, regional
self-governance and Kurdish-language education in schools.
PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees, lifting the ban on education in
Kurdish, paving the way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within Turkey,
reducing pressure on the detained PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, stopping military action
against the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish constitution.
The rebels have scaled back their demands for more
political autonomy for Turkey's estimated 23 million
ethnic Kurds.
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.
The PKK is considered as '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.
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency, AFP
| ekurd.net | Agencies
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|
