Obama lauds Turkey's approach to Kurdish community

Dec 7, 2009, 18:32 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama Monday praised Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's overtures to Turkey's minority Kurdish community after the two leaders met at the White House.

The more the Kurdish population feels included in the national government, the 'more the Kurds will recognize that their interests are not in supporting any kind of military activity but rather in working through conflicts politically in a way that allows everyone to be prosperous,' Obama said.

Obama was referring to the initiative by Erdogan's government to create an anti-discrimination commission and allow political campaigning in languages other than Turkish in an effort to stem the militant terrorism of Kurdish separatists.

An estimated 12 to 15 million Kurds live in Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been fighting Turkish forces since 1982, in a conflict that has cost the lives of an estimated 40,000. Although the group originally sought the creation of a separate Kurdish state, it now calls for improved rights for Turkey's Kurds.

The Turkish government hopes that its initiative will encourage the PKK to end its struggle. Small groups of PKK fighters have already surrendered recently, in an apparent test of the government's intentions.

Obama said the overtures by Ankara reflected recognition that terrorism cannot just be dealt with militarily.

'There are social and political components that must be recognized,' Obama said, referring to progress in neighbouring Iraq in accommodating the Kurdish minorities there into Baghdad's deliberations.

'It is important for us to have a consistent position on terrorism wherever it takes place,' Obama said.

The two leaders also likely discussed Obama's newly unveiled strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul has said his country would not be sending any combat troops to Afghanistan, despite the US call for more NATO forces.

Turkey currently has 1,750 soldiers in Afghanistan, providing security for Kabul, but not engaged in active combat operations.