Kurdishaspect.com – By Aso Ahmadian
In a recent speech, the Pope Benedict XVI declared that Kurds should be given their complete rights unconditionally. The Pope acknowledged that the Kurds have been oppressed peoples for a long period and that they should be granted their rights.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his speech, said “everyone should acknowledge that the Kurds are a nation that lives in the current borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey”. The pope praised the Kurdish people saying that they have a rich culture, but that they are oppressed and should be given their utmost rights.
During his speech, the Pope called for a meeting between the world’s religions to put an end to the oppression against the Kurdish people. Pope Benedict XVI said that a meeting must be arranged immediately to discuss a plan to urge the world to grant Kurds their rights.
My interest piqued on the PKK so I found the following reports and sites.
Nationalists Without a Nation CNN Report 1999 – Speaks to the PKK to that time fighting to have an independent state of Kurdistan in Southern Turkey.
http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/ocalan/nationalists.html
It appears PKK has since transformed their apparent goals and their name to seek cultural recognition and equal rights in Turkey and presumably in Northern Iraq, etc. It is unclear whether this transformation is real or more illusory.
For a better detailed history see FAS – Intelligence Resource Program at the following link:
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/pkk.htm
Included in the October 26th, 2007 Global National Report – Turkey Says It Will Exhaust Talks Before Striking PKK by Thomas Grove, Reuters, the following sentence appears:
“The decades-long fight against the PKK, which wants an independent homeland in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, is highly emotive.”
See Link:
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=655a60f5-0605-4d16-8635-b8fb9fd76cd8&k=37123
For so long as Turkey does not want to accomodate the goals of the Kurds as represented by the PKK for either cultural recognition and equal rights or to have their own state and Iraq does not want to give the Kurds that, you can rest assured that America and Europe that suck up to Turkey and don’t want to anger an already unstable Iraqi government that relies almost entirely for stability on American forces in the area, are going to support the Kurds in whatever goals they have.
The first question we should ask is why did the Pope come out in support. What’s his purpose.
I think Bill is not right to say the PKK is fighting for severence. They are fighting for cultural equality and human rights. At least that’s how I understand their expressed goals.
Now isn’t this interesting that the Pope should weigh in on behalf of the Kurds, not that he is wrong to do so.
The Kurds have sought self determination and their own state for a great many years. Western powers sucking up to Turkey and any other regional power that does not want to see and independent Kurdistan, have steadfastly stood in the way of Kurdish self determination.
The PKK as many of you know was founded on revolutionary Marxism-Leninism and Kurdish nationalism and is currently listed by a number of Western nations, including the U.S. and Canada I believe as a terrorist organization.
Strange is it not that while Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization, the Fatah being cloaked in secularism is no less a terrorist organization, yet it is called moderate. Go figure!!
As for the PKK’s goal, it has been to create an independent socialist Kurdish state in a territory which it claims as Kurdistan, an area that comprises parts of south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Iraq, north-eastern Syria and north-western Iran; those states oppose any such change.
I wonder how Turkey and the rest of the Muslim world will react to the Pope’s words?
For that matter, will the Kurds and the PKK take heart from the Pope’s words? Will the PKK redouble its attacks against the Turks and will the Turks pour into northern Iraq to try to fight the final battle against the PKK?
Stay tuned!!!!