"Turkey Wary As Kurds Assert Power in Iraq
LOUIS MEIXLER
Associated Press
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkey, home to the largest Kurdish minority in the world, is watching nervously as Kurds gain unprecedented political power in neighboring Iraq following major gains in that country's elections.
Opposition to Kurdish nationalism has been a cornerstone of Turkish policy for decades, out of fear that Turkish Kurds could be encouraged to press for independence. Some 12 million Kurds live in Turkey.
The Turkish military has battled Kurdish insurgents in southeastern Turkey since 1984, a fight that has left 37,000 dead, and Turkish officials have stressed that the country will not accept Kurdish independence in northern Iraq, which borders Turkey."
More:AP Wire | 02/16/2005 | Turkey Wary As Kurds Assert Power in Iraq:
