Turkish Soldiers Battle Kurdish Rebels
Soldiers battled separatist Kurdish rebels across southeast Turkey, trapping about 100 in caves near the Iraqi border after blocking escape routes across the frontier, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Monday.The guerrillas denied the report.
President Abdullah Gul pledged to remain resolute in the fight against the rebels, addressing the nation as massive military parades across the country celebrated the 84th anniversary of the Turkish republic.”The struggle that we have been leading for a long time, as a nation, against this terrorism curse is now being led with more determination,” he said after a parade through the capital with Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the head of the military.
I have mixed feelings about the Kurd-Turk situation. I am certainly not an expert in the matter, but my genral impression are while I don’t approve of all the tactics of the PKK, I also don’t think that Turkey has treated the Kurds within its territory in an entirely fair manner.
I would like to see the PKK defeated, but also that the empowerment of Iraqi Kurdistan will foment change within Turkey, leading to more equal treatment of the Kurdish minority there.
