Iraqi President Jalal Talibani had a clear message for fighters of the Kurdish terrorist organization the PKK today.

“The PKK has two choices: lay down its guns or leave Iraq,” he said during a news conference with visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

Although undoubtedly welcomed by Gül and Turks in general, the central Iraqi government has done little to nothing to force the PKK to “lay down its guns or leave Iraq” thus far.

Northern Iraq is a true safe haven for the PKK. Its fighters cross the border into Turkey, attack Turkish troops, sometimes civilians, turn around and hurry back into Iraq where it’s easier to hide from the Turkish military.

Iraq promised to do something about it years ago, yet has done nothing (partially because the central government focused on other areas and other problems of course).

Let’s see whether Talibani will put his words into action this time.

Turkish forces continued to fight against PKK militants yesterday The fighting killed five terrorists and five Turkish soldiers in the southeastern part of the country.

Another Turkish soldier died, and 15 were wounded, when the helicopter carrying them crashed. The Turkish army said that the heli crashed due to a technical error. The PKK, however, say they shot it down.| MORE ›

Meline Toumani’s New York Times Sunday Magazine article, “Minority Rules”, is simply phenomenal. Her account of the contemporary situation of Kurds in Turkey, which is based on an interview with Diyarbakır’s former mayor, weaves together all of the most necessary threads to describe the current state of affairs.

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