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Conan..Everyone is denying this happened.. the Turks and the White House..Only time will tell.
When will something good happen in this unhappy land?
The Kurdish terrorists have killed tens of soldiers and civilians in the past month in Turkey, and if US has the right to go into Iraq and if Israel can go into Lebanon then why cant Turkey cross its own border to kill terrorists. Remmember without Turkey protecting itself and Europe, Europe would be bordering the middle east with all the terrorists.
IN reply to number poster #1, Why should they be kicked out of NATO? They have been suffering twenty years of terrorist attacks from the PKK, the Turkish form of the IRA, which has been operating with immunity from NOrthern Iraq becouse America has been protecting the Kurds from Saddam. The PKK just 2 weeks ago bombed a bus stop at the largest shopping center in Ankara killing many people. Luckly the Turkish government was able to stop another attack which involved 2 females suicide bombers, as well as continually killing police and government officals in eastern Turkey. My question to #1 is when does a government have the right to proactively stop the murdering of its people? Please do not take from this that I support the actions of my country in Iraq, becouse I do not, but Turkey has been dealing with the issue of terrorism for years and desire peace and security. I believe that they do have the right to thumb their nose at the U.S. protection of the Kurds - A group that still regulary practices honor killing and other various afronts to human rights - and enter into a lawless region that is actively supporting the killing of innocent man, women, and children with descrection. I know this is a long entry and though I much more to say on the subject I will stop. On last thing. GO TURKEY good for you
The only fault of Turkey is that they are not aggressive enough, if the same bombings were happening in Europe, America, or Israel, as the past shows us the response would be the death of a lot more civilians compared to the people died in the attacks. Turkey has the one of the largest and most powerful Militaries in the world why should they show restraint when no one else does. Who is Turkey's friends Europe? America? Arabs?
Check the news on http://www.dozame.org/blog/index.php about the HPG(Kurdish party) that derailed a Turkish cargo train June 3 carrying rockets from Iran headed to Syria with the knowledge of the Turkish government. A Turkish judge in the Genc Criminal Court ruled that journalists could not report the contents of the train (that would be against the "anti-Turkish" law). So Turkish citizens got to read the slanted news that the HPG attacked a train in southestern Turkey without learning that it was carrying armaments from Iran. Now the Turkish government can use that as an excuse to attack the Kurds. This is really pathetic. The awful part is that people in Turkey won't get to read the truth because the websites and newspapers will be censored.
And if you think that's bad, a Turkish prosecutor is seeking a five-year jail sentence for Kurdish folk singer Xemgin Birhat who performed at a music festival March 21, 2007, for singing a song proclaiming the jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan as a hero. How can Turkey POSSIBLY be admitted into the European Union when it has no freedom of speech? Pass this on to your Turkish friends by chat and email because it is the only way they will have a chance of reading it.
Calling Islam a backward religion is offensive. Although I m against organized religion, one should not comment on others' beliefs so easily.
#8 your juvenile remarks are probably stemming from your elementary school education, "Kurdistan" as far as I know is not a sovereign country, and in no means a side in any of the arguments. Only recognized parties in this argument are Turkey and Iraq.
Saying Turkey has no place in NATO is outright stupid as Turkey is one of the founding members of NATO.
Turkish population is 99%, and I can say 70% does NOT hate US nor Europe. Even if they did, why does US and EU want Turkey, I hardly believe it is love. International relations is an easy subject to grasp, If you need something from a country, you give them something they need.
So if Turkey was not in a mutual relationship with US and EU. They would be in Northern Iraq raiding terrorist camps in the mountains months ago.
#9
So what if calling Islam backwards offends you. Going to cut our heads off and put the video on the Internet ?
Christians being murdered in your medeival slum of a country offends me.
#s 4, 5, 6 & 9 Well said.
#s 1, 2 & 10 Sad, deluded people!
Oh and #8 you are serious loser! Get a life you sad little man!
#13 and what makes you think that anyone has the slightest interested in your fanatical rantings?
Interest even!
#15 the middle east is a big place - where are you exactly? Sunning yourself in a Dubai built by slave labour?
Insurgents inside Iraq from Turkey this time, not Iran.
But these are friendly insurgents, from the American Empire, so that's alright then.
#16 That is none of your business!
#17 Sad!
9. Cider, Turkey
""Kurdistan" as far as I know is not a sovereign country, and in no means a side in any of the arguments."
Now where I have I heard that kind of statement before? Ah yes, Israel and Palestine.
Turkey is occupying Kurdish lands, as is Syria, Iraq and Iran. You'll be telling us that Kurds don't exist next.
4. joe5767Why can't "Turkey cross its own border" to protect itself? Indeed. Why couldn't Germany cross its own border to protect itself from Poland?
7. truthunveiled, USYou're right that Turkey has no freedom of speech. Surprising to most Americans, European countries don't have real freedom of speech either. In France for example it's criminal to deny that the World War I killings of Armenians of Turks was genocide. Ironically, in Turkey, it's criminal to say that it was genocide. Elsewhere in Europe, even completely unemotional and factual statements (such as about crime rates by ethnicity) can be classed as illegal "hate speech".
#20 well why mention unless you want to gain some spurious credibility. Unless you are full of bs of course
Turkey should think of it. If you blog or have a webpage check out http://www.widgetmate.com
In recent history, Turkey's been a pretty responsible country in it's use of force concerning its neighbors.. I tend to think that there's a good reason if they're willing to use it now. I know, I know, here comes the "they want to send a message to their own Kurdish minority that there will be no Kurd homeland built on Turkish soil" argument. But so what. Neither would I if it were my country. Neither would the Scot's if I decided to establish an independant Brooklyn in Scotland. Which is on the table, because I like Oban and Scottish Ale.
Covert Action.
Why mention it? There is a box to input your location. I work and travel around the Middle East, therefore my "location" is the Middle East - it's as simple as that. I wish I wasn't over here but we can't have everything in life now can we?
As for the exact location in the Middle East I'm not going to tell you; however I wish I was sunning myself in Dubai.
I can't see how anybody can gain or lose credibility by filling out the "Location" box but maybe I am missing something, maybe I should leave it blank like you and give myself an air of mystery - or maybe not.
There's fear among Turkish nationalists that the Kurds in Iraq are seeking a new Kurdistan. The old Kurdistan was dizolved by Britain after WW1 and absorbed into Iraq, Turkey and Iran. The fact that the Iraq is now a complete mess will certainly push all separatists/nationalists/whateverists to exploit this opportunity and get a new state or more power. Must be difficult to be a kurd... (And this is also why Saddam killed so many of them, it was not a civil/sectarian war before, it was state supression of separatist and indepence movements).
#30 Dragomir:
Correct. Here is a link that Wally posted a while ago regarding the redefining of borders in the region.
http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/06/1833899
The first link I posted no longer has the maps. The following link has the story and the maps.
http://governmentofbalochistan.blogspot.com/2006/07/armed...
This has been going on for ages it is just that our media, though not the rest of the world's, have chosen not to report it.
I discussed exactly this last May.http://a-place-to-stand.blogspot.com/2006/05/iraq-invaded...
Let's see an Independent Kurdistan established out of the occupied territories of Turkey, Iran and Syria ASAP.
Conan,
I tend to agree with most of your posts and see that censorshiop is alive and well. Having worked quite a bit in Turkey and having met a lot of Turks in that time I would say that they are split into 3 main areas, the deeply religous muslims, the muslims who have embraced secularism and Kurds (who are mainly conservative muslims themselves) of course there are others but this will do. Unfortunately for Turkey it is being radicalised and infilatrated by the conservative religous folks who want to turn turkey back to a theocratric state. If this goes on there is no way I would support their membership of Europe as they would not have european ideals at their core.A separate Kurdistan should probably exist but if it did whats the chances it would be another tinpot state that in the words of a famous Scottish film "couldn't agree the colour of s****"
Truthunveiled.... I am in Turkey and have read your comments, I think you are over dramatising 'restrictions' of free speech in Turkey.
I have no sympathy for terrorist activity, whatever the justification. It occurs to me that the hotspots of global terrorism in the last 80 years reflect colonial Britains' ability to draw perfectly straight lines of national demarkation, with scant regard to the displacement of milions and it's consequences - Ireland, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan....... The Kurds are a displaced people bereft of a country to call their own as a result.
The last 80 years reflect colonial Britains' INABILITY to draw perfectly straight lines of national demarkation.
Everyone I've met who's been to Turkey liked the place and the people. Could you say that about the UK? Kurds are very creditably organised and cohesive all things considered.
