Thursday, October 12, 2006
Al-Maliki to visit Turkey
Politics, Region
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit Turkey this weekend for talks that are expected to focus on the issue of Turkish Kurdish rebels who operate in northern Iraq and southern Turkey, the foreign minister said Wednesday. Al-Maliki will fly to Turkey on Sunday for the talks accompanied by a large team of advisers, including an official from the autonomous northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan, to talk about a wide range of issues between the neighboring countries, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters.
"The most important issue is known, namely the Turkish concern over the development of events, and the movement of the PKK," Zebari said, using the abbreviation for the Kurdistan Workers Party. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast since 1984 in a fight that has left some 37,000 dead. Turkey has been pressing the United States to crackdown on the rebels, which operate out of bases in northern Iraq.
The group is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It declared a unilateral cease-fire which came into effect on Oct. 1 following a surge of violence that left more than a dozen soldiers and policemen dead and injured tourists over a period of a few weeks. But Turkey has ignored the truce and has vowed to fight on until all rebels surrenders or are killed.
"The most important issue is known, namely the Turkish concern over the development of events, and the movement of the PKK," Zebari said, using the abbreviation for the Kurdistan Workers Party. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast since 1984 in a fight that has left some 37,000 dead. Turkey has been pressing the United States to crackdown on the rebels, which operate out of bases in northern Iraq.
The group is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It declared a unilateral cease-fire which came into effect on Oct. 1 following a surge of violence that left more than a dozen soldiers and policemen dead and injured tourists over a period of a few weeks. But Turkey has ignored the truce and has vowed to fight on until all rebels surrenders or are killed.
