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Kurds aiming for final agreement next week Ecevit says Turkey prepares its defenses Trouble brews between Kurds/Islamic rebels in Iraq KDP and PUK Set to Seal Agreement on Implementing Four-Year-Old Peace Deal Kurds tell of Iraqi war ignored by outside world Iraq's Kurds Fear Results of U.S. Attack on Saddam Former US diplomat visits Iraqi Kurdistan Turkey's Kurdish party sees no ban before polls Al-Qaeda Surrogate Islamic Group in Southern Kurdistan Destroys Sufi Shrines Two Kurdish guerrillas killed in Southern Kurdistan Police Smash Immigrant Smuggling Ring Washington will not lay the groundwork for a "provisional government" Iraqi Kurds Fear Islamic Militant Group Attack by Islamist Radicals in Kurdistan Brings Kurdish Factions Closer Sweden Arrests Kurd in Immigrant "Honor Killing" Turkey set for November polls, EU reforms in doubt
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Kurdish family takes Turkey to European Court demanding Kurdish name for child AP Sep 7, 2002 A Kurdish family is petitioning an international court saying Turkey infringed on their rights by denying them permission to give their baby boy a Kurdish name, a newspaper reported Friday. Berdan Acun, an attorney, petitioned the European Court of Human Rights after authorities in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, turned down several requests by his family to name their child Hajar Pola, the daily Hurriyet reported. The name means 'silent and calm child,' in Kurdish, Acun said. Turkey fought a 15-year war with Kurdish rebels and has long said that allowing Kurds to give their children Kurdish names could encourage separatism and break up the country. Turkey, a candidate to join the European Union, is, however, under pressure to grant greater rights to Kurds. If the court finds Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights, it can demand a fine and request that Turkey overturn the ban. As part of its EU bid, Turkey's parliament recently passed sweeping laws allowing Kurds the right to broadcast and teach in Kurdish. European officials have said they are waiting to see how the reforms are implemented. Earlier this year, prosecutors in Diyarbakir province charged several families with supporting the rebels by giving their children traditional Kurdish names, but a court later dropped the case. Prosecutors have pressed similar charges elsewhere in Turkey.
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