Turkish prime minister paves the way for deal with the Kurds

cannedmoose

WHEN Turkey's prime minister came to power some 30 months ago, few expected his mildly Islamic government to resolve the country's knotty Kurdish question. But last week, in a landmark speech in Diyarbakir, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first Turkish leader ever to admit that Turkey had mishandled its rebellious Kurds. Like all great nations, declared Mr Erdogan, Turkey needed to face up to its past. He added that more democracy, not more repression, was the answer to the Kurds' long-running grievances.

Mr Erdogan's visit to the largest city in the mostly Kurdish south-east followed ground-breaking talks with a group of Turkish intellectuals, seen by some as mouthpieces for rebels of the outlawed PKK terrorist group. In these talks, Mr Erdogan pledged that, despite a renewed spasm of rebel violence, there would be no going back on his reforms. The Kurdish problem, he said, could not be solved through purely military means.

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4300168

brother · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:37 am Post subject:

At last they have woken up, may many good things follow for our kurdish brothers.

brother · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:26 pm Post subject:

Kurdish rebels declare ceasefire

The PKK has declared several unilateral ceasefires before

The Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy in south-eastern Turkey, the PKK, has announced a one-month ceasefire.

The statement called on the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to hold fire until 20 September.

But the PKK said rebels would defend themselves if attacked.

Last week Turkey's prime minister described the situation in the south-east as a political problem which needed settling through more democracy.

The PKK statement on Friday said the ceasefire call was a response to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speech.

"We will give time to Prime Minister Erdogan's well-intended efforts," said Zubeyir Aydar, head of the PKK's political wing Kongra-Gel.

The PKK has been blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The rebels called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire last summer.

More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has been going on for more than two decades.

The PKK has stepped up attacks in recent months.

It was blamed for a bomb in the Aegean resort of Kusadasi last month that killed five people, recalling a PKK campaign against tourism in 1993.

magikthrill · Mukhtar/is Joined: 14 Aug 2005 Posts: 630 Location: NYC

looks like Turkey's desparation to join the EU is no secret...

erolz · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:16 pm Post subject:

magikthrill · Mukhtar/is Joined: 14 Aug 2005 Posts: 630 Location: NYC

i dfeinitely agree with you erol. alas, the kurds will not have the same fate that the Turkish Cypriots had. and the sad thing is the kurds wont need to steal anyone's land in order to achieve what the Turkish Cypriots did.

detailer · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:26 pm Post subject:

magikthrill · Mukhtar/is Joined: 14 Aug 2005 Posts: 630 Location: NYC

brother · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:39 pm Post subject:

erolz · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:37 am Post subject:

Moderator note. Several posts were plit out from this topic at this point. They can be found here
http://www.talkcyprus.org/viewtopic.php?t=238

magikthrill · Mukhtar/is Joined: 14 Aug 2005 Posts: 630 Location: NYC

(to bring us back to the topic)