Ankara debates crackdown on Kurds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ANKARA - A special session of the Turkish parliament was debating yesterday whether to adopt a package of security measures proposed by the Prime Minister, Suleyman Demirel, to tackle the critical situation in the south-east of the country, where some 12,000 Kurdish rebels fighting for independence are holding down Nato's second largest army.
No details of the measures were released before the session, but Mr Demirel has hinted recently that army intervention in northern Iraq to hit rear bases of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party was not being ruled out. He has also pointed out that Turkey's constitution provides for martial law - which was in place for seven years until 1987 - and for the use of legitimate force to crush the rebellion.
About 150,000 troops - a third of the Turkish army's strength - have been put into the troubled region, which borders Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The politicians have been forced into action by continuing violence at Sirnak, the south-eastern Turkish provincial capital. where a rebel offensive and government counter-attack have reportedly left 26 dead in the past week. Almost all the 25,000 ethnic Kurds who live in Sarnak have abandoned the city for fear of their lives.
Additional pressure has come from growing hostility among Turks to all things Kurdish, with alarmist editorials in the Turkish press warning that any further delay in settling the Kurdish problem could mean civil war.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments