Turkish troops to be transported by air to Kurdish region in an attempt to prevent further deaths: Army

Turkish Airlines (THY) to carry soldiers to the Kurdish region

October 24

, 2012

ANKARA, The Turkish General Staff has decided to transport soldiers to and from their military units by air in an attempt to prevent further deaths, primarily in the Turkey's Kurdish region (northern Kurdistan) in the southeast of the country, where tense military operations are ongoing against the rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Today`s Zaman reported.

The decision has received a thumbs-up from prominent terrorism experts in the country who defined it as belated but still very positive.

The deal, agreed upon on Monday and carrying a price tag of $11 million to be paid by the Ministry of Defense to THY, aims to boost the security of conscripts.

The new regulation will be put into effect soon and is expected to be fully implemented by January or February 2013.

The General Staff sent a statement to all military units last week in which it said soldiers serving in terror-stricken parts of the country are to be transported to their military units and taken back to their hometowns via military helicopters or civilian planes. Acting on the statement, authorities from the Ministry of Defense began holding meetings with Turkey's leading aviation company, Turkish Airlines (THY), to reach an agreement for soldiers to be transported via THY planes.

It is estimated that approximately 400,000 soldiers will use helicopters or planes every year to travel to their military units or hometowns. THY Chairman Hamdi Topu spoke to the press on Tuesday and said soldiers will travel on THY planes free of charge. "Our talks with the Ministry of Defense are continuing. We are working on the details," he said.

The General Staff decision came after 10 soldiers were killed and 70 others injured when rebels from the PKK attacked a military convoy with rocket launchers in September in the eastern Kurdish province of Bingl in (northern Kurdistan). The convoy -- made up of three buses,www.ekurd.net one minibus and 10 armored vehicles -- was carrying 200 unarmed soldiers to their military units. The General Staff came under heavy criticism for transporting soldiers by land. Some terrorism experts argued that no such attack would have occurred if the soldiers had been transported by air.

The PKK has several times proposed peaceful solutions regarding Kurdish problem, Turkey has always refused saying that it will not negotiate with terrorists.

Since it was established in 1984, the PKK has been fighting the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to establish a Kurdish state in the south east of the country. By 2012, more than 45,000 people have since been killed.

But now its aim is the creation an autonomous region and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds who constitute the greatest minority in Turkey.? A large Turkey's Kurdish community, numbering to 23 million, openly sympathise with PKK rebels.

The PKK wants constitutional recognition for the Kurds, regional self-governance and Kurdish-language education in schools.

PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees, lifting the ban on education in Kurdish, paving the way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within Turkey, reducing pressure on the detained PKK leader Abdullah calan, stopping military action against the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish constitution.

The rebels have scaled back their demands for more political autonomy.

Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish language and private Kurdish language courses with the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians say the measures fall short of their expectations.

The PKK is considered as 'terrorist' organization by Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which overturned a decision to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its political wing on the European Union's terror list.

Copyright respective author or news agency, todayszaman.com | turkishweekly.net | ekurd.net | Agencies?

Source: http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/10/turkey4244.htm

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