"TURKEY: KURDISH 'QUESTION' JUST WON'T GO AWAY
Istanbul, 10 Jan. (AKI) - Whatever their ethnic origin and religion, all citizens are Turks, affirmed Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer in his 2006 New Years Message, stepping into a heated national identity debate. The taboo question of Turkish identity has emerged in recent months, as the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) resumed attacks after a 1999 unilateral ceasefire and as Ankara faces tough scrutiny on human rights in its EU membership bid. Since the PKK began its battle against the Turkish state in 1984 some 35,000 people have been killed. Kurds make up 12-14 million of Turkey's 70 million inhabitants."
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