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Turkey: Ankara gives US assurances over
intelligence
21.6.2008
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June
21, 2008
ANKARA,
Turkey, — Turkey has moved to reassure
the Bush administration about intelligence shared
with Iran regarding the Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan
Worker's Party (PKK).
The news came amid reports that two alleged PKK
separatists were killed in clashes with security
forces in the eastern province of Van in Turkey on
Friday.
According to the Turkish daily, Today's Zaman,
civilian officials and military officers said Turkey
has been engaged in intelligence cooperation with
Iran regarding the PKK and that both countries had
conducted coordinated operations against the
militant group.
"Turkey has been doing its best to control its
borders with Iraq [against PKK infiltration]. Our
second priority is the border with Iran," said
Commander General Ilker Basbug in early June.
"There have been serious clashes between the Iranian
security forces and the terrorists. We have been
conducting simultaneous and coordinated operations
against the terrorists with Iran."
Washington is afraid that the highly valuable
intelligence regarding the PKK presence in
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in "northern Iraq"
that the US has been providing to Turkey since
November last year might have been shared with Iran.
Today's Zaman has learned,www.ekurd.net
however, that the
Turkish Foreign Ministry has assured the US that
Ankara has not shared any US-supplied information
with Iran.
The US has imposed several restrictions on Turkey
regarding its use of its intelligence, with limits
on sharing information with third parties.
Turkish jets reportedly used Iranian airspace during
incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan region to hit PKK
targets in the Qandil Mountains several months ago.
The Turkish army has stepped up action against the
PKK since December. 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, where Ankara says more than
2,000 militants take refuge.
Over 39,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas have been killed since 1984 when the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (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.
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..
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
adnkronos com | 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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