Kurd rebels kill 9 Turk soldiers: military sources

Source: Reuters

Kurd rebels kill 9 Turk soldiers: military sources
Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:31am EDT

TUNCELI, Turkey (Reuters) - Nine Turkish soldiers
were killed overnight in a clash with Kurdish rebels
near the Iraqi border, military sources said on Sunday,
in an attack that will increase pressure on Turkey to
send troops into Iraq.

The soldiers were the first Turkish casualties since
the Ankara parliament on Wednesday authorized troops
to conduct cross-border incursions into northern Iraq
to hunt down rebels using the region as a base.

The incident occurred in mountainous Hakkari province,
where large numbers of Turkish forces are deployed to
try to prevent rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) crossing over from Iraqi bases to
stage attacks inside Turkey.

"Nine soldiers have been martyred during a clash with
the terrorists. Operations are continuing in the area,"
a security source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2148710720071021

and that the fighting continues.

Much smaller article, now, as well. Only three paragraphs total.

There are millions of Kurds, over 15 million of them in Turkey
alone, and over 5 million in Iraq and Iran, probably over a
million in Syria, too.

The Turks have been repressing their language and culture for
such a long time, what did they expect? This is not like the
Basques in Spain, who have a standard of living indistinguishable
from other inhabitants of Spain, and whose central government has
come to terms with the fact that Basque culture was indeed brutally
repressed in the past. The Basques (as well as the more numerous Catalans)
now enjoy a fair degree of autonomy, and the great majority of them
no longer want secession from Spain. If Ankara would attempt something
similar with their Kurdish population (greater than the population of
Belgium, for Pete's sake!), the extremists and armed resistance would
lose a lot of their raison d'être. As long as the Turkish government
treats being Kurdish as some kind of disease that needs to be cured
and eradicated, they will have armed resistance, whether it's in the
form of armed guerillas hiding whever they can, or car/suicide bombs
going off in tourist centers.

Even if the Turks come to their senses, the armed Kurdish resistance will
not disappear overnight. Distrust and ill will are not dissolved by a
somple apology and a handshake, but they have to take the first step, or face
more and more violence. You can't ignore an ethnic minority that makes up
more than a fifth of your country's population. It's a constant uphill
struggle and a drain on resources to repress them, as well. Why bother?

Make it just as OK to say "roj baj" as "iyi günler," and the Turkish government
would be amazed at how quickly things would quiet down. Some will not give up
without an independent Kurdistan, but most bellies that are full will not
initiate, or even wish to continue, a battle to the death.

Source: Reuters


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21509562.htm

Source: Reuters


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2168899.htm

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi parliament Sunday condemned Turkey's threats to launch an incursion into Iraq's northern Kurdish region in a bid to crack down on rebel Kurds battling Ankara.

A parliamentary motion condemning the Turkish threat was approved by 183 lawmakers of the 275-member national assembly Sunday.

"Iraq's parliament unanimously votes to condemn the threat of using force to solve the dispute. It feels that the Turkish parliament's decision to use force does not boost bilateral relations," the motion said.

snp
The parliament urged the government in Ankara to be "wise and work in coordination with the Iraqi government in order to deal with the crisis."

It also rejected armed activity by Kurdish rebels from Iraqi territory against neighboring countries.

"The parliament calls on PKK fighters to leave Iraqi territories and ask the Iraqi government to take the required measures to stop PKK activities being launched from Iraqi territories," it said.

snip

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20071021-082703-4087r

183 of 275 MP's feel the violence going on in Turkey is all home grown ( internal Turkish population issue ) .

The vote doesn't reveal the # of "nay's" let alone # of did not vote or not present to vote.