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ERDOGAN ASKED ITALIAN PREMIER TO SHUT DOWN PKK OFFICE, SAYS REPORT
AKI
09.11.07 15:33
( AKI ) - Turkish media reports say that prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan asked his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi to close down
an office of the Kurdish rebel group PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party)
in Italy.
While the talks between the two leaders this week focused on messages
of friendship and ways to boost bilateral ties, the Turkish daily
Milliyet said that behind the close door sessions, Erdogan also asked
Italy to shut down a PKK office.
However the paper did not give the details about where this PKK office
is located and under what name it functions.
The Kurdish rebel group has been blamed for a spate of attacks on
Turkey that prompted Ankara to threaten a cross-border offensive
against its bases in northern Iraq. Washington has urged Turkey to
exercise restraint.
During his two-day visit to Italy, the Turkish prime minister said
that the PKK is a terrorist organisation that must be eliminated and
he referred to the furstration that Ankara felt in not getting the
support to deal with the Kurdish rebel group.
Both the United States and the EU have labelled the PKK a terrorist
organisation, but Erdogan said some European nations have captured
leaders of the group only to release them and allow them to return
to Iraq.
Turkish officials have also said in the past that the PKK operated
under different names in many European countries and they criticise
the European officials who are slow to shut these groups down.
They claim that these PKK offices operate as "Kurdish cultural centres"
in European cities. Turkish officials say these offices are used for
laundering money for the PKK and raising funds for the organisation.
For his part, the Italian prime minister Romano Prodi said Rome will
continue to cooperate with Ankara in the fight against terrorism and
also praised Turkey for the moderation it has shown until now.
In his meeting with the Italian prime minister, Erdogan also stressed
that his government is committed to changing the controversial
article 301 in the Turkish penal code, which criminalises "insulting
Turkishness"
Article 301 has often been invoked by nationalists against those who
argue that the Ottoman empire committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I.
Nobel-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk and murdered Turkish-Armenian writer
Hrant Dink were both prosecuted under the law for their comments on
the mass killings of Armenians.
In his speech at the Italy-Turkey Business Council in Rome, Erdogan
also thanked Italy for "continuously supporting" Turkey in its EU bid.
"You get to know us very well, that's why you supported us," said
Erdogan. "Thank you for that," he said. He also invited Italian
businessmen to invest in Turkey.
AKI
09.11.07 15:33
( AKI ) - Turkish media reports say that prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan asked his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi to close down
an office of the Kurdish rebel group PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party)
in Italy.
While the talks between the two leaders this week focused on messages
of friendship and ways to boost bilateral ties, the Turkish daily
Milliyet said that behind the close door sessions, Erdogan also asked
Italy to shut down a PKK office.
However the paper did not give the details about where this PKK office
is located and under what name it functions.
The Kurdish rebel group has been blamed for a spate of attacks on
Turkey that prompted Ankara to threaten a cross-border offensive
against its bases in northern Iraq. Washington has urged Turkey to
exercise restraint.
During his two-day visit to Italy, the Turkish prime minister said
that the PKK is a terrorist organisation that must be eliminated and
he referred to the furstration that Ankara felt in not getting the
support to deal with the Kurdish rebel group.
Both the United States and the EU have labelled the PKK a terrorist
organisation, but Erdogan said some European nations have captured
leaders of the group only to release them and allow them to return
to Iraq.
Turkish officials have also said in the past that the PKK operated
under different names in many European countries and they criticise
the European officials who are slow to shut these groups down.
They claim that these PKK offices operate as "Kurdish cultural centres"
in European cities. Turkish officials say these offices are used for
laundering money for the PKK and raising funds for the organisation.
For his part, the Italian prime minister Romano Prodi said Rome will
continue to cooperate with Ankara in the fight against terrorism and
also praised Turkey for the moderation it has shown until now.
In his meeting with the Italian prime minister, Erdogan also stressed
that his government is committed to changing the controversial
article 301 in the Turkish penal code, which criminalises "insulting
Turkishness"
Article 301 has often been invoked by nationalists against those who
argue that the Ottoman empire committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I.
Nobel-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk and murdered Turkish-Armenian writer
Hrant Dink were both prosecuted under the law for their comments on
the mass killings of Armenians.
In his speech at the Italy-Turkey Business Council in Rome, Erdogan
also thanked Italy for "continuously supporting" Turkey in its EU bid.
"You get to know us very well, that's why you supported us," said
Erdogan. "Thank you for that," he said. He also invited Italian
businessmen to invest in Turkey.