Text News

Commenting on the latest atrocities against the Kurds by the Arab terrorists in Kirkuk and Mosul, Barzani and Talabani warned that they will not stay silent while those crimes are unfolding daily

• Deployment of Kurdish Troops In Mosul Alarms Arabs

Now, with Mosul threatening to turn to chaos after most of the city's 4,000 police deserted, the Kurds are again proving staunch allies. "They're well-organised, fierce and get the job done," said Captain Robert Lackey, a company commander with the U.S. Stryker Brigade, which is responsible for northern Iraq. More

• News Snapshot

Talabani, Barzani and have revealed that they have reached an agreement with Iraqi political parties to postpone elections in Kirkuk which was planned to be held next January until the issue of Kurdish settlement resolved.

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Turkish FM Gul criticized Talabani and Barzani for their demand that local elections in Kirkuk be postponed until the issue of Kurdish settlement resolved. "They are not the ones who will decide. They might have some demands as Iraqi citizens; however, they cannot decide when elections will take place. There is a council in Iraq and it will decide on it. That the election is held on a designated date is crucial."

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Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan told US Vice President Cheney that the operation against terrorists in Falluja has caused outrage in Turkey and the Muslim world, reported Turkish Daily News yesterday.

Nov 21, 2004

• Election Setback

• Militants Try to Stir Arab-Kurd Violence

• Sunni Arabs Kill Two Kurds In Mosul

• The EU, Turkey and the Kurds - European Parliament Conference

Nov 19, 2004

• In Mosul, Kurdish Peshmarga Helps Keep Order

• In Mosul, Mortar Attacks Continue

Nov 18, 2004

• US And Kurds Attack insurgents In Mosul

American warplanes flew over Arab parts of the city, and some units of the American Task Force Olympia ventured out of their base on patrol. An insurgent unit crossed over to the mainly Kurdish west of Mosul and attacked offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Three of the four attackers were killed, and the fourth was wounded. More

• New Labour Tells Kurds To Return To Torture Or Death

Nov 16, 2004

• Kurdish Interpreter killed in Fallujah

• Kurdish Gov't Blocks Roads to Korean Base Town of Arbil

• Hear NPR's Philip Reeves

Nov 15, 2004

• Kurds' Separatist Ambitions Pose Challenge To Iraq Unity

• Kurds in Iran Cheer Iraqi Neighbors' Efforts for Greater Voice

• 300 Kurdish Families Leave Falluja, Rumadi

Nov 14, 2004

• Peshmerga Prevents Arab Terrorists From Crossing Into Eastern Side Of Mosul

"The Peshmergas captured five and killed eight," Mr Piri said. "The five captured did not carry identity cards, so we do not know yet whether they are Iraqi." The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Saleh, said the rebels were trying "to destabilise Mosul" and "to prevent elections" scheduled for January. More

Nov 13, 2004

• Turkish Generals calls for massive operation into Kurdish region

• U.S. Forces Launch Attacks On Militants In Mosul

• Insurgents Attack Fiercely in North, Storming Police Stations in Mosul

• Dutch Police Raid Kurdish Training Camp, Arrest 38

• Ashcroft's Departure May Help Jailed Kurd

Nov 12, 2004

• Kirkuk Governor Survived Car Bombing

Nov 11, 2004

• Turkey Warns US to Stop Operation in Fallujah

• Political Parties Stir Unrest In Kirkuk

• Barzani Trip To Taiwan Postponed

Nov 10, 2004

• Religious Appeals Have Turned Against The Kurds

• South Korean Bank Inaugurated In Irbil

• The Chairman of KDS Party Congratulates Bush

Nov 8, 2004

• Dutch Court Forbids Extradition Of Kurdish Leader To Turkey

Nov 7, 2004

• Minority Phobia Haunts Turkey

• Along border, Kurds Say, Iran Gives Boost To Uprising

Nov 6, 2004

• Kurdish identity key to Turkey’s EU entry: Roth

• Analysis: Is Mosul The Next Al-Fallujah?

Nov 5, 2004

• Kurds Walk Political Tightrope

• Swedish Delegation: Still Much To Do For Human Rights

• Turkey And EU Speak 'Different Languages' On Minorities, Says Minister

Nov 4, 2004

• Kurdish Politicians Lend Support To Zana's Call For New Party

• Ankara Hosts Kurdish Islamic Party Leader

Nov 2, 2004

• Turkey's Basbug Calls For Clampdown On Ocalan Lawyers

• Human Rights Report Sparks Row In Turkey

KurdistanObserver.com

Thousands of Kurds Demonstrate in Turkey For More rights, EU Membership

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Dec 12 (AFP) - About 50,000 Kurdish demonstrators gathered Sunday in Diyarbakir, the heart of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, to lend support to Turkey's EU membership bid and demand more freedoms.

Although the demonstration itself was peaceful, around 100 people clashed with police when they were stopped from holding a separate march after the rally ended.

Waving flags in the traditional Kurdish colors of yellow, red and green, the demonstrators, who poured into the city from all over the region, chanted peace slogans as bands performed songs in Kurdish.

The meeting, organized by Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party DEHAP, was entitled "Yes to diversity, no to separatism."

"We want to be part of Turkey with our Kurdish identity, we want EU membership," "Long live peace," read the banners held up by the crowd.

"Neither Sevres nor Lausanne, but a democratic republic," said one placard referring to two key post-World War I documents, the first of which, the 1920 Sevres Treaty, envisaged an independent Kurdistan in what is today southeastern Turkey, while the second, the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, failed to guarantee cultural freedoms for the Kurds.

Some participants brandished portraits of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of Kurdish militants who waged a bloody separatist war against Ankara between 1984 and 1999, and chanted slogans in favor of the outlawed rebels.

"The Kurds should be recognized as a founding element (of the republic) and their identity should be guaranteed by the constitution," Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle, who was released in June after 10 years in jail, told the rally.

"The EU should give Turkey an unconditional date for the start of accession talks and the Kurds should not be ignored," he said.

The EU is set to give a green light for the start of membership talks with Ankara at a crunch summit on Thursday and Friday, but under tough conditions.

Turkey's sizeable Kurdish community, which has only recently been granted a measure of cultural rights, believes that closer ties between Turkey and the EU will help it win more freedoms.

Many Turks, however, worry that expanded rights for the Kurds may encourage them to seek autonomy and even independence from Ankara.

Five officers and several prostestors were injured towards the rally's end when a group of protestors barred from holding a separate march pelted the security forces with stones and sticks.

The police, in full riot gear, used truncheons and tear gas to disperse the group. Several protestors were detained.

KurdistanObserver.com