Turkey Bombs Iraq PKK Bases

[Ropey]

^^ Kurdish Woman

Up until the 1990s, the country continued to deny the existence of a Kurdish ethnic identity, classifying them simply as mountain Turks. In 1923, when the modern-day Turkish Republic was formed, the Kurdish language was banned from use for roughly 68 years in an attempt to assimilate Kurds into a "Turkish" identity. Today the language is still barred from public schools, Parliament and other official government institutions such as judicial courts.

Yet the attempted forced assimilation of Kurds and the denial of their identity seems to have added fuel to the Kurdish rights movement, strengthening their resolve to maintain a cultural and ethnic identity.

"They say don't give up your identity, there isn't anything more holy than your identity," says Murat Aktepe, 39, a Kurdish businessman from Mus in southern Turkey. "It's the most important thing for you."

The Kurdish Struggle for Identity in Turkey - Worldpress.org

Outsiders in their own country

Turkey's rejection of the Kurdish identity causes many Kurds within the country to grow up feeling like second-class citizens. Many recount feeling ashamed, alone and helpless in the face of the traumas their communities suffered.

At age 15, Aktepe ran away from his village in the mountains to Istanbul. Unable to speak Turkish and legally prohibited from speaking his mother tongue, Aktepe spent his first few months isolated and alone.

The Kurdish Struggle for Identity in Turkey - Worldpress.org

See how these Turks here glorify the deaths of the Kurds? This is how the culture loves death rather than life. It's not even a tough decision. It's a glory to them.

Go, kill them all they say.

Remember this when the Genocide is taken to an extreme. 'These' Turks are ready. But then again, these Turks do not live in Turkey.

I neither give a fuck about you nor the Armenians.

It's the plan. When the next war comes, then ekrem can talk about his love of Kurds who want their own country.

 

[CitizenPained]

I'm just sad it took Israel decades to recognize the Armenian genocide. Sigh.

 

[ekrem]

Around 320 PKK-terrorists have been killed so far.

The country is preparing for a land operation following the Eid al-Fitr.
According to information from intelligence units, 320 PKK terrorists have been killed in the latest operations.

Turkey deals heavy blow to PKK in cross-border operations

 

[Sallow]

I'm just sad it took Israel decades to recognize the Armenian genocide. Sigh.

Israel committed genocide against the Armenians?

Do tell.

 

[CitizenPained]

I'm just sad it took Israel decades to recognize the Armenian genocide. Sigh.

Israel committed genocide against the Armenians?

Do tell.

That isn't what I said.

People in Israel have been pushing to have it recognized by the Knesset (same as Armenians in the US), especially Israeli historians. The government has been reluctant because of its ties with Turkey and because Turkey is a large arms buyer from Israel. Turkey reacts quite negatively to any Israeli criticism. It's like dealing with a three year old. But since the flotilla incident last year, it's pretty much a given that the Knesset will give Turkey a middle finger...if not in an outright bill, through speech and suggestion.

The U.S. has done the same thing. Obama promised to recognize it as genocide and now won't say the word.

Diplomacy sucks.

 

[JStone]

I'm just sad it took Israel decades to recognize the Armenian genocide. Sigh.

Israel committed genocide against the Armenians?

Do tell.

That isn't what I said.

People in Israel have been pushing to have it recognized by the Knesset (same as Armenians in the US), especially Israeli historians. The government has been reluctant because of its ties with Turkey and because Turkey is a large arms buyer from Israel. Turkey reacts quite negatively to any Israeli criticism. It's like dealing with a three year old. But since the flotilla incident last year, it's pretty much a given that the Knesset will give Turkey a middle finger...if not in an outright bill, through speech and suggestion.

The U.S. has done the same thing. Obama promised to recognize it as genocide and now won't say the word.

Diplomacy sucks.

So, the Jews are now the reason Turkey refuses to acknowledge its complicity in the Armenian genocide.

 

[JStone]

Turkey and Lebanon would do themselves well to form better diplomatic alliances with Israel. The world is casting a weary eye on Syria, and Lebanon stands to lose (even more) in that battle. Turkey and Egypt will both be jockeying for power in the new Arab region (yes, I understand that Turkey is not Arab, but you know what I mean) to stand off against Iran. Egypt has clearly shown that they are not looking to honor a thirty plus year peace arrangement with Israel any longer and Turkey's only shot at the EU is to maintain its secularism. I know the current Turkish-Israeli situation is pretty rough, but I think this "Arab Spring" will create strange bedfellows for Israel.

Evidently, you're unaware that Turkey has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1949.

Now, you're aware of it

 

[High_Gravity]

Turkish bombing campaign against PKK signals shift in strategy

Turkey has cracked down hard on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, responding to their attacks by hitting guerrilla bases with air strikes. The bombing campaign, coming amid rising tensions with the country's significant Kurdish minority, signals a shift away from diplomacy to military might in dealing with the rebels.

Turkish leaders today claimed to have killed up to 100 Kurdish rebels following six days of intense bombing of their bases. The bombing campaign was launched following an ambush last week in which the rebels killed eight Turkish soldiers near the Iraqi border, after which Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government had "run out of patience."

“The state is obliged to carry out these operations for the peace of the nation and it is the natural right of the state to do so,” said Mr. Erdogan yesterday.


Despite reports of civilian casualties and condemnation from the president of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, Erdogan vowed to continue the attacks on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a separatist guerrilla outfit that has been fighting the Turkish state for 26 years. Turkey, the US, and the European Union have all designated the group to be a terrorist organization.

Rising tension between government, Kurdish minority

The assault comes amid rising tensions between the Turkish government and the country's Kurdish minority since June elections. Candidates backed by the Kurds, who make up almost a fifth of Turkey's population, performed well in the poll, garnering 36 seats. But after some members of parliament were barred because of PKK-related convictions, the Kurdish bloc boycotted parliament – a boycott that is still in effect.

In recent years Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has repeatedly said it plans to redress the long-running grievances of the country’s 15 million Kurds, who are seeking greater cultural and political autonomy. Among other initiatives, the government has loosened restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language, launching a Kurdish state TV channel.

But partly as a result of a backlash among Turkish nationalists, the government’s rhetoric has become increasingly hostile in recent months.

“Even before this last PKK attack, the government was preparing to increase pressure, but the latest attack has forced them to step forward,” says Gokhan Bacik, director of the Middle East Research Centre at Zirve University in southern Turkey.

Backed by US intelligence?

The Turkish Army has often bombed PKK positions in the Qandil Mountains of Northern Iraq, a safe haven for the rebels, but seldom with such apparently devastating effect.

Professor Bacik says the bombing may also have been aided by US intelligence. According to the Turkish Army, some 2,000 fighters are hiding in the mountains. The government of Iraqi Kurdistan has repeatedly claimed it is not able to eject the rebel group.

"I call on Turkey to stop these operations,” said Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Massud Barzani on Monday. “Actions that injure people and destroy their property cannot be justified.”

Turkish bombing campaign against PKK signals shift in strategy - CSMonitor.com